Finance & Capital Management

Russ Dispense, president of the King Soopers division of The Kroger Co., plans to retire on July 1 after 51 years with the company.

Dispense began his career with Kroger in 1965, when he joined King Soopers as a courtesy clerk. He served in various leadership positions in stores and district management through the years, as well as at warehouses, manufacturing plants and administrative offices. Dispense was promoted to VP of retail operations and merchandising for the King Soopers division in 1983. He also served as VP of real estate.

Amazon.com shoppers in the Midwest may be able to get a variety of goods a little quicker in the near future.

The e-tail giant plans to open two fulfillment centers in Edwardsville, Illinois, and create more than 1,000 full-time jobs between the facilities when they open. Amazon has an existing Illinois fulfillment center in Joliet where it currently employs 1,500 full-time employees, and also recently announced it will open a second Joliet facility that will create another 2,000 full-time jobs.

Several factors conspired to produce a drop in net income at Village Super Market Inc. during the third quarter of fiscal 2016, despite a slight bump in sales.

Net income was $5.88 million in the quarter, down 55% from $13.21 million in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. The prior year period including a net gain from the recovery of insurance receivables related to Superstorm Sandy and a tax benefit a result of a settlement with the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

With a couple of exceptions, May same-store sales figures reported by several major apparel, specialty and discount chains were less than impressive.

First the good news. Bath & Body Works reported a 3% same-store sales lift for May 2016 compared to the same month a year earlier. Same-store sales at Costco Wholesale Corp. and L Brands were flat, which may not sound that encouraging but was better than most other retailers reporting figures for the month.

Here is a roundup of other chains reporting negative same-store sales growth for the month.

For Pet Supplies Plus, it’s all about convenience and service. The third-largest specialty player in a fast-growing business that has proven resilient even in hard times, the privately held retailer has found a sweet spot amid bigger box competitors with its friendly neighborhood-store positioning.

Fred’s on Thursday reported its earnings for the first quarter ended April 30, posting an 8% increase in total sales and a net income of $1.3 million. The company saw comparable store sales increase 1% for the first quarter, which is slightly better than the 0.8% increase in comps it posted in Q1 2015. 

Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon Athletica Inc., is not one to mince words.

Wilson, the company’s largest shareholder with a 14.2% stake, on Wednesday issued an open letter to investors in which he sharply criticized the apparel retailer’s management, calling its competence “uninspiring at best.” He called for annual election of the board to hold members accountable for Lululemon’s performance.

A cold spring helped dampen sales and earnings at one of the nation’s leading apparel companies.
 
Ascena Retail, whose brands include Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant, Catherines, Justice and Dressbarn, reported profit of $15 million in the third quarter, ended April 23, down from $24 million in the year-ago period.