Strategy

Union, N.J. – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for its third quarter net earnings even as they declined from the same quarter in fiscal 2013. Net earnings equaled $225.4 million, a 5% decline from $237.2 million.

An increase in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses was a major factor in the net earnings drop. Net sales rose 3% to $2.94 million, from $2.86 million. Same-store sales rose 1.7%.
 

Growth decelerated at Bed Bath & Beyond during the third quarter but the $1.3 billion the company spent buying back stock enabled it to achieve analysts’ earnings estimates.

Founded in 2003, American jewelry brand ALEX AND ANI has cultivated a loyal customer following based on careful craftsmanship, an eye toward personalization, and reliable, seamless engagement in stores and online. Next, the retailer is upgrading its behind-the-scenes processes with Oracle Retail merchandising, planning, point of service, and warehouse management solutions.

Exeter, N.H. -- Ice hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer Hockey is throwing its puck in the retail arena. The company will open its first-ever store this summer, in the Boston suburb of Burlington, Massachusetts. It will be followed by a second location in the fall, in the Minneapolis area.

As uncertainty continues to swirl around Bitcoin and its role in the future of payments, Overstock.com is rushing full-speed ahead in embracing the digital currency.

The online retailer has installed a Bitcoin ATM at its corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City. The ATM is accessible 24 hours a day and allows the public to convert U.S. dollars to Bitcoin, and Bitcoin to U.S. dollars.

Surging sales at Old Navy helped parent company Gap Inc. post an increase in same store sales for November and December.

Gap’s same store sales for the November and December holiday shopping season increased 3%.

For December alone, the figure rose 1%, slightly above Wall Street estimates for a 0.7% increase, according to Thomson Reuters.

King of Prussia, Pa. – EBay Enterprise is expanding its network of partnerships with a global program that will allow retail consultants and other partners to advise, design and integrate omnichannel commerce solutions and services from providers including Magento, Isobar, EPAM, Infosys, Bridge Consulting Group, AOE, Vaimo, and Gorilla.

Solutions and services offered include retail order management, store and warehouse fulfillment, and customer care. Global markets where services are offered include Europe, China and Latin America.
 

Plano, Texas – It will not be a happy New Year for employees of some 40 J.C. Penney stores. The company on Thursday said that it plans to close approximately 40 stores, which represent less than 4% of its total store base, on or about April 4, 2015. The closures will affect about 2,250 employees.