Finance & Capital Management

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a higher-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter.     In related news, shoppers opened 730,000 new credit card accounts since the Visa cards went live in June, Costco executives said on a conference call with analysts. (In June, Costco ended its longstanding relationship with American Express and switched to Visa.)    Net income rose to $779 million, or $1.77 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 28, from $767 million, or $1.73 per share, a year earlier.

In its new study of retail bankruptcies, Fitch Ratings identified seven retailers as being “at risk” for filing bankruptcy in the next year to 24 months.  

Despite strong digital gains, Pier 1 is feeling the effect of soft store sales during the summer.   Net sales for the second quarter for fiscal 2017, ended Aug. 27, 2016, decreased 6.7% to $405.8 million, compared to $435.0 million for the same period last year. Comparable store sales for the quarter decreased 4.3%.   Gross profit also fell during the second quarter, hitting $145.0 million, compared to $154.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016.  

Specialty retailer Conn’s is preparing for its newest round of securitization.   Conn’s has entered into an agreement to securitize approximately $700 million of retail installment contract receivables, with an expected Oct. 6 closing. The face amount of the notes to be issued is $1.12 billion, with an advance rate of 77.5% of the outstanding customer receivables portfolio balance. This equates to approximately 89.5% of net book value at July 31, 2015.   

There is a leadership change underway at Stein Mart.   Dawn Robertson resigned from her position of CEO and company direc-tor. D. Hunt Hawkins, the chain’s president and COO, has been named interim CEO.  

Gilbert Bankston, who’s managed shopping centers for both Simon Properties and General Growth Properties joined Levin Management as VP of property management.   Ten of his 13 years in commercial property management were spent at GGP, where Bankston rose to senior general manager with a focus on maximizing net operating income. At Levin, he is charged with delivering best-in-class service in property management and maintaining positive tenant-landlord relationships.  

American Eagle continues to strengthen its management team to further drive its growth.   Bob Madore has been appointed executive VP and CFO, starting Oct. 28. In his new role, Madore will oversee all aspects of finance, merchandise planning and allocation, and investor relations. He will report to American Eagle’s CEO Jay Schottenstein.  

In addition to posting its earnings, Pier 1 announced a plan to protect the company from potential takeover bids.    On Tuesday, the home decor chain announced a “Rights Protection Agreement,” which will protect itself from any single shareholder seeking to acquire a 10% stake or more, as summarized in an article in MarketWatch.