International Business

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. is still searching for its turnaround.

Gap Inc. issued a second-quarter earnings forecast that was below Wall Street analysts' estimates, with its results impacted by foreign currency fluctuations, West Coast port delays and previously announced store closings in its namesake brand.

Gap reported less-than-expected total sales of $3.9 billion for the second quarter, down 2% from the $3.98 billion the year-ago period.

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is always coming up with inventive and innovative products to appeal to its core shoppers, but this time the retailer is marking a first in the industry.

IKEA announced it will become the first major global retailer to offer a 100% LED light bulb assortment. In a bid to make its products more sustainable, the retailer will switch all of its available bulbs to LED bulbs by the end of September.

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. 

One of Whole Foods Market's key buyers and longtime employees has been honored by one of the leading nonprofit trade associations in the United States.

Cathy Strange was honored with the American Cheese Society's Lifetime Achievement Award on July 30 at the organization’s annual conference in Providence, R.I.

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.