Finance & Capital Management

Irvine, Calif. – Boot Barn Holdings Inc. is kicking off a set of store openings in Texas with four new stores Aug. 28-30. Three of the new stores will be in the Houston market and one will be in Euless, outside of Fort Worth.

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots on Friday reported second-quarter profit and revenue that beat analysts' estimates. The retailer also announced several promotions as part of a realignment of its supply chain management.

Big Lots’ net income dropped 13% to a better-than-expected $17.63 million from $19.94 million, with loss from discontinued operations cutting otherwise flat profit.

Net sales for the quarter increased 1% to $1.21 billion, from $1.19 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.8%.

Indianapolis -- Simon announced the opening of an additional 250,000 sq. ft. of outdoor shopping space, significantly increasing the footprint of Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, Illinois. New stores including Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Columbia Sportswear, UGG Australia, Vince, and the first Midwest outlet stores for Robert Graham and Clarins have joined existing brands such as Coach, Cole Haan, Michael Kors, Nike Factory Store, Skechers, Under Armour, and Vera Bradley who have expanded their presence.

GameStop Corp. grew sales and revenue in the second quarter, but it also took steps to expand its non-gaming business.

For the second quarter ended Aug. 1, the retailer’s net income rose 3% to $25.3 million from $24.6 million. Total global sales rose 2% to $1.76 billion from $1.73 billion, and consolidated global same-store sales increased 8.1% (10.8% in the U.S. and 1.8% internationally).

The turnaround plan at Big Lots, which is helping the retailer grow profit and same store sales, is also prompting some management changes.

For the second quarter ended Aug. 1,  same store sales increased 2.8%. Net sales increased 1.2% to $1,209.7 million. Big Lots reported a profit of $17.6 million, or 34 cents a share, down from $19.9 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, per-share profit rose to 40 cents from 31 cents. Revenue edged 1.2% higher to $1.21 billion.

Ulta Beauty is continuing to deliver blockbuster financial results by attracting blockbuster numbers of shoppers to its stores. 

The beauty retailer reported a 7% increase in customer traffic for the second quarter ended Aug. 1 and average spending rose by 3%. The company also raised its outlook for the second time this year: Comps are now targeted at rising 9%, rather than the 8% the Ulta team forecast in May. 

Specialty men’s retailer Destination XL Inc. reported Thursday that it shrank its net loss in the second quarter.

The CEO of Michaels says an improved merchandising strategy and a focus on the customer experience helped drive sales growth at the specialty retailer in the second quarter.

Total sales increased 3.8% to $984.3 million in the second quarter ended Aug. 1 at Michaels and same store sales increased 2.9%. Michaels reported a profit of $35.7 million, or 17 cents a share, vs. a loss of $46.8 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago.

Would-be experts are portraying a federal appeals court ruling in the Neiman Marcus data breach case as a tipping point toward victims of cyber fraud, one that may lead to a wave of successful class-action lawsuits filed against retail chains.

This interpretation is premature.

It is an overreach rooted in a lack of appreciation for the overall procedural context in which the court reviewed the case, without accounting for the most important part of any class action lawsuit – class certification.

Books-A-Million needs a lot more best-sellers.