International Business

San Antonio – Convenience and fuel store operator CST Brands Inc. was not able to rev up profits and sales to Wall Street expectations in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Increased total operating expenses helped drive net income down 22% to $25 million from $32 million a year earlier.

Operating revenues also fell 22%, to $2.55 million from $3.26 million. Lower per gallon selling prices for both the U.S. and Canadian retail segments, as well as a weaker Canadian dollar, negatively impacted revenues. 

Denton, Texas – Sally Beauty Holdings is feeling the impact of its data breach.

Costs related to a data breach discovered in May 2015, as well as higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, helped reduce profit at Sally Beauty during the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Net earnings fell 8% to $62.46 million, from $67.76 million the same period a year earlier.

Panama City -- Starbucks Coffee Company has entered its 15th Latin America market.

The coffee giant — together with Premium Restaurants of America, its long-term strategic licensing partner in Central America — has opened its first store in Panama, making it Starbucks 15th market in Latin America and 67th worldwide.

Sally Beauty Holdings is feeling the impact of its data breach.

Costs related to a data breach discovered in May, as well as higher selling, general and administrative expenses, helped reduce profit at Sally Beauty during the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Net earnings fell 8% to $62.46 million, from $67.76 million the same period a year earlier.

Net sales rose 2% to $967.89 million, from $949.27 million. Same-store sales increased 2% in the Sally Beauty Supply division and 5.6% in the Beauty Systems division.

Hangzhou, China – The apparel selection on Alibaba Group’s Tmall.com third-party marketplace is getting a lot bigger.

Tmall has formed strategic partnerships with more than 160 brands from 110 global apparel chains.  It will work with apparel brands in areas of new product launches, online-to-offline initiatives, data-driven operations, digital marketing campaigns and other services to enhance consumer shopping experiences.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop retains its come-back momentum.

By limiting growth of costs and expenses and improving sales, Build-A-Bear Workshop reduced its net loss to better-than-expected $628,000 in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 from $4.3 million the same period a year earlier.

Build-A-Bear's recent push to reinvigorate its fading brand seems to be working as the retailer reported a big increase in same store sales in the second quarter. 

Atlanta - Gerard J. Arpey, former CEO of American Airlines, has been named to the board of directors of The Home Depot Inc. Arpey will serve on the company's Finance Committee and its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.