Marketing

Seattle – Rising selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses resulted in shrinking profits for Blue Nile Inc. during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, despite healthy sales growth. In the fourth quarter, net income dropped 2% to $4.83 million from $4.93 million.

Net sales rose 8% to $157.47 million from $145.96 million. During the full fiscal year, net income fell 12% to $9.73 million, from $10.87 million. Net sales grew 5% to $473.51 million, from $450 million.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS Health Corp. showed vitality with its financial performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014. Net income for the fourth quarter grew 5% to $1.32 billion from $1.26 billion.

Walmart is making good on its pledge to boost sourcing of U.S. products by introducing its latest Made in the USA merchandise: bicycles.

The retailer and Bicycle Corporation of America announced that BCA bicycles, which are assembled in the United States, are now available for purchase in-store at various Walmart locations nationwide and on the Walmart website.

Free stuff and flexible employment opportunities for athletes are key elements of Dick’s Sporting Goods first ever partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The 2016 Summer Games will be held in Brazil in 2016 and to help athletes prepare Dick’s said it would offer jobs and equipment donations at U.S. Olympic training centers.

Chicago -- Famed British toy retailer Hamleys is coming across the pond. The 255-year old company, famous for has retained JLL to facilitate a multiple store roll-out throughout the United States.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced that Imran Jooma has joined the company as chief omnichannel officer and executive VP. He will be responsible for all of the Finish Line brand’s customer facing touch-points including digital, store operations, the customer care center and brand marketing

New York -- Aeropostale Inc. on Monday narrowed its fourth-quarter loss forecast on better than expected sales, margins, and expense management in January, and announced two executive appointments.  

New York -- Forever 21 opened a 36,000-sq.-ft. store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, joining such other fast-fashion retailers already in the neighborhood as Uniqlo, H&M and TopShop.  

The four-level space houses all of retailer’s collections under one roof, including Forever 21 Men. The store is located in a building that formerly housed an H&M store, which closed in December when the retailer moved to a different location on Fifth and 48th Streets.

For Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21, the journey from a single location on Figueroa Street in L.A. in 1984 to more than 680 global locations today has been transformative. Over the last three decades, the brand has not shied away from innovation and experimentation, implementing a range of different store sizes and concepts along the way: from smaller 5,000-sq.-ft. layouts in its early years, to larger 9,000-sq.-ft. concepts in the 2000s and a range of big-box stores that range up to 40,000 sq. ft.

London -- British women’s activewear brand Sweaty Betty plans to expand its presence in the United States. The London-based company has received a strategic growth investment from U.S. private equity firm Catterton. Sweaty Betty operates more than 40 stores in the United Kingdom, and two in the United States, where it also recently launched a website.