Finance & Capital Management

Nordstrom Rack has announced a fourth location as it makes preparations to drop anchor north of the border.   Nordstrom announced that Nordstrom Rack will open a 35,000-sq.-ft. store at South Edmonton Common in Edmonton, Alberta, in fall 2018.     The property is owned and managed by Cameron Corporation and CREIT.    

J.C. Penney Co. continues to make progress in its turnaround efforts as its narrowed its second quarter loss and posted a gain in same-store sales even as Macy’s and Kohl’s posted declines.    The retailer also reaffirmed its full year forecast of a 3%- to 4% increase in same-store sales.    It’s been a busy few months for Penney, which has been opening expanded appliance departments and testing in-store partnerships with Ashley Furniture and Empire Today.  

Consumers cooled their spending in July.    Retail sales were flat in July, in line with a revised 0.8% gain in June, according to figures released Friday by the Commerce Department. The report ended three straight months of monthly gains.     Sales in July rose 2.3% from a year ago. Excluding automobiles and parts sales, sales fell 0.3% in July — the weakest reading since January, after a 0.9% gain in the prior month.     

The chief executive of Hasbro Inc. has joined the board of directors of Gap Inc., effective Aug. 12.   The retailer said it is adding Brian D. Goldner to its board as the merchant focuses on its “next era of retail.” His appointment comes shortly after Gap posted a disappointing sales for the second quarter.   

Nordstrom Inc. on Thursday reported second quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates, and also lifted its full-year earnings outlook.   The upscale department store profit’s fell to $117 million, or $0.67 per share, from $211 million or $0.1.09 per share in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.56 per share.   

“I'm sad to see this news. Macy's is an iconic retailer with a long history of success, and one of many victims of Amazon success. In the same week that Jeff Bezos pockets roughly $800 million personal dollars, Macy's is forced to suffer a tremendous physical retail loss.  

Macy’s Inc. on Thursday posted second quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations. But with a steep drop in profit and sales still on the decline, the department giant said it will close 100 stores. It also gave an update on its real estate strategy.   

Wal-Mart Stores’ Mexican unit is shedding its apparel store chain.   Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB (Walmex) is selling its Suburbia chain to El Puerto de Liverpool SAB, one of the largest department store operators in Mexico, in a deal valued at 19 billion pesos ($1.03 billion), Bloomberg reported.  

Kohl’s Corp. beat analysts’ expectations for the second quarter even as its sales continued to show weakness.     The retailer posted a profit of $140 million, or 77 cents a share for the quarter ended July 30, compared with $130 million, or 66 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, earnings rose to $1.22 a share from $1.07 a year ago.   Revenue fell 2% to a better-than-expected $4.18 billion. Same-store sales fell 1.8%.