Strategy

The Cato Corp. reported sales of $61.2 million for the four weeks ended July 30, down 8% from the same period a year ago.     Same-store sales for the month were down 10% from the prior year.   On a quarterly basis, Cato sales for the second quarter fell 5% to $236.7 million, compared to $249.2 million a year ago. Second quarter same-store sales were down 6% from the prior year.  

Michaels purchased the rights to Hancock Fabrics’ brand and intellectual property for $1.3 million from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.    The Texas-based crafts retailer takes possession of its ex-rival’s patents and trademarks, as well as its name. Personal and transactional data from 10 million Hancock customers was included in the deal, according to the Memphis Business Journal.  

Ikea has tabbed a 123-acre parcel 17 miles north of downtown Denver as the potential site of its second location in the metro. The Swedish furniture retailer made its debut in the area with a store in Centennial in 2011.   Ikea set no time frame for the opening of the second store, though the city of Denver has begun the process of incorporating a new Ikea into the master-planned retail center destined for the site in Broomfield at the intersection of Interstate 25 and State Highway 7.  

Weis Markets on Thursday announced it has converted and reopened five former Mars Super Markets as Weis Markets stores located in Baltimore County, including two locations in Dundalk and individual units in Essex, Arbutus and Carney.  

Just three months after its proposed acquisition by Staples ran into regulatory roadblocks, Office Depot unveiled its plans for the future as a standalone retailer.   In its second quarter financial filing, the chain announced it would close an additional 300 stores during the next three years, a move that is anticipated to help cut annual costs by some $250 million by the end of 2018. Office Depot is also planning to cut costs by reducing procurement and general and administrative costs.    

Top Walmart executive Michelle Gloeckler, who landed 38th on Fortune’s list of most powerful women last year, will leave Bentonville to take over as executive VP and chief merchandising officer at Academy Sports + Outdoors.  

Hard hats are in big demand, as construction employment increased in 228 out of 358 metro areas in the last year.   According to a report just issued by the Associated General Contractors of America, which measured construction employment between June 2015 and June 2016, the status remained unchanged in 48 metro areas and dipped in 82 areas in the June-to-June timeframe.  

Credit card fraud is down by more than 60% at Mastercard’s top five EMV-enabled merchants since chip cards were introduced late last year, according to the company.   “Mastercard has helped over 150 countries adopt EMV and, time and again, we’ve seen the same result — significant reductions in counterfeit card fraud,” said Chiro Aikat, Mastercard’s senior VP of EMV product delivery.