International Business

After an 18-month hiatus on expansion, Amazon.com is reportedly preparing to roll out its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service to new markets including Boston and the U.K.

According to Re/Code, Amazon had initially planned to introduce the service to U.K. customers in 2015.

Click here for more.

Each year, Chain Store Age compiles a ranking of the fastest growing property managers based on the square footage added. See who topped this year’s list.
 
The 27th annual survey of Fastest-Growing Managers tallies new domestic and international third-party management and leasing contracts obtained during the 2015 calendar year and ranks the top performers. As always, the measuring stick is square footage. This year’s fastest-growing third-party managers are taking many roads to growth, from acquisition to a multidisciplinary focus.

The nation’s leading auto parts retailer produced modest sales and profit growth during its third quarter but managed to achieve double digit earnings per share growth thanks to stock buyback activity.

AutoZone sales increased 4% to $2.6 billion during the quarter ended May 7, thanks to the addition of new stores and a 2% same-store sales increase. Net income increased 6% to $327.5 million, while earning per share increased 12.6% to $10.77 as the company spent $533 million to repurchase 687,000 shares.

Amazon.com has been encroaching on Barnes & Noble Education’s collegiate bookstore business with a rapidly expanding network of campus pickup locations, but Barnes & Noble is striking back.
 
Fourteen colleges and universities have selected Barnes & Noble College as their partner of choice to operate their campus bookstores. The 14 new contracts represent 23 new campus and virtual bookstores. The schools represent a projected additional 140,000 students and their faculty.
 

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is saying thanks to representatives in Congress who back retailers on important issues.

Foot Locker Inc. saw net income reaching unprecedented levels during the first quarter of fiscal 2016, although sales growth missed Wall Street expectations.   Net income rose 4% to $191 million, from $184 million. Higher pretax income offset a slight increase in income tax expense, resulting in the profit boost. Sales also climbed 4% to $1.99 billion, from $1.92 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.9%.  

Moving forward with its promise to streamline its business model, Gap Inc. said it plans to close its fleet of 53 Old Navy stores in Japan and also shutter some Banana Republic stores, primarily outside of North America.

The retailer announced the moves on Thursday in its first quarter results, which marked the chain's fifth straight quarter of lower revenue and profit. The company also said it would not reaffirm its earnings guidance for the fiscal year.

Starbucks Corp. has turned to the bond market to fund its sustainable-coffee efforts. The chain issued a $500 million U.S. corporate sustainability bond to fund projtects that will support ethical coffee sourcing. The 10-year, 2.45 percent senior notes, due 2026, will fund programs that ensure coffee is grown and distributed in a way that can be maintained over the long run, such as providing fair pay for workers and protection for wildlife.