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Labor & Employment

  • Sprouts Farmers Market sales hit record high

    Perhaps no other retailer is profiting as well from Americans' changing eating habits than Sprouts Farmers Market, which reported record sales and earnings for the fourth quarter.

    The Arizona-based grocer said that same-store sales during the period ended Jan. 3 rose 7.4%. Net income was $28.2 million and diluted earnings per share were 18 cents. Net sales were $3.59 billion, a 21% increase compared to reported net sales in 2014. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.86, a 19% increase from 2014.

  • Zappos leaps into new holiday

    Most people do not get a paid holiday for “Leap Day,” Feb. 29.

    Then again, most people do not work for online footwear and apparel retailer Zappos. Known for doing things a little differently, such as replacing the traditional bureaucratic management structure with decentralized “holacracy,” Zappos is taking a novel approach to Leap Day.

  • Sears grows its loss; adds board members

    Sears Holdings Corp. says its trend of deep same-store sales declines is slowing, but the company did report a wider loss in the fourth quarter.

    For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Kmart and Sears same-store sales declined 7.2% and 6.9%, respectively, which was an improvement from the trend in the first three quarters of 2015. Sears reported a loss of $580 million, or $5.44 a share, compared with a loss of $159 million, or $1.50 a share, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 9.8% to $7.3 billion.

  • Veteran investment sales professional returns to CBRE

    Chicago -- CBRE Group announced that Blake Johnson has joined CBRE Capital Markets as executive VP. Based in Chicago, Johnson will join the firm’s Institutional Properties team and will be responsible for office investment sales, with a concentrated focus on Chicago central business district (CBD) office transactions. Johnson will partner with Paul Lundstedt, Dan Deuter, Tom Sitz and Cody Hundertmark to expand the firm’s market share in the region.

  • Kohl's to dip its toes into outlet stores, smaller formats

    Kohl's plans to make a lot of interesting moves this year with new formats and underperforming stores after the company reported another lackluster quarter of financial results.

    For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Kohl's said same store sales rose 0.4%. Total sales rose only 0.8% as unseasonably warm weather hurt sales of cold-weather goods. Revenue totaled $6.39 billion, up 0.8% from a year ago. Net income was $296 million, down 20%. Earnings per share for the quarter came in at $1.58, down from $1.83 a year ago.

  • Build-A-Bear adds toy, social media expertise to board

    Build-A-Bear is adding two new board members whose backgrounds should serve the company well as it moves forward with its transformation plan.

    Build-A-Bear announced that Tim Kilpin and Sarah Personette have been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

    Kilpin, 55, will serve as a member of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Development Committee. Personette, 36, will serve as a member of the Compensation and Development Committee and as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

  • Build-A-Bear Workshop adds toy, social media expertise to board

    Build-A-Bear is adding two new board members whose backgrounds should serve the company well as it moves forward with its transformation plan.

    Build-A-Bear announcedthat Tim Kilpin and Sarah Personette have been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

  • Consumer confidence slips in February

    Consumer confidence fell into a slump in February, driven largely by a less optimistic view of business conditions.

    According to the Conference Board, the index currently stands at 92.2, down from 97.8 in January.

  • Lowe's goes high with growth in 2015

    Lowe's rode the same wave of recovery in the housing market as its rival Home Depot in the fourth quarter, topping its own expectations with substantial gains.

  • TJX results show where consumers are spending

    Off-price giant The TJX Companies attracted record numbers of bargain-hungry shoppers during the holiday period as the retailer reported record sales and profit sales for the fourth quarter.

    For the period ended Jan. 30, net sales at TJX Cos. increased 8% to $8.96 billion, and same-store sales increased 6%.

    Net income rose 2.8% to $666.5 million and diluted earnings per share were 99 cents, a 6% increase over the prior year’s 93 cents. Both income and sales exceeded expectations.

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