Finance & Capital Management

Twenty retail executives traveled to the nation's capitol on Wednesday to voice their opposition to the proposed border adjustment tax (BAT).   

A luxury retail giant just made a move that could step up its digital efforts.    Nordstrom appointed Stacy Brown-Philpot to its board of directors, and she will also serve as a member of the board’s finance and technology committees. She replaces Enrique 'Rick' Hernandez, Jr., who announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking re-election.   

Although overall sales at Lowe's increased by double digits, the somewhat softer comparable numbers and the decline in net income have taken a little of the shine off first quarter performance.  

Advance Auto Parks turned in a disappointing performance in its first quarter.   The chain reported earnings of $1.46 per share, down from $2.16 per share in the year-ago period. Adjusted EPS was $1.60, far short of the $2.16 per share FactSet consensus.   

Williams-Sonoma Inc. on Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly results, fueled by a strong performance at its millennial-targeted West Elm division.    The home furnishings retailer's first-quarter earnings were $39.6 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $39.6 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 51 cents a share. Analysts had forecast earnings of 49 cents a share.   

Chico's FAS gave a downbeat outlook amid first quarter earnings and sales that missed Wall Street estimates.    The women's apparel retailer reported net income of $33.6 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, in the period ended April 30, compared to net income of $31.1 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had estimated earnings per share of 29 cents for the quarter.  

A tough February couldn't keep Tilly's down, which reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.    The teen apparel and footwear retailer narrowed its loss in the first quarter to $161,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Its results were better than expected.    Net sales inched up 0.6% to $120.9 million, better easily beating the Street. Same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

Sephora is all about offering top-notch service to its customers — even its business partners.   According to the Incentive Research Foundation and Incentive Gift Card Council, business-to-business (B2B) gifting is becoming more prevalent across U.S. companies, as they spend $22.7 billion per year on gift cards. Sephora’s new partnership will enable the company to claim a bigger portion of this market share.