Strategy

J&R Music and Computer World may not be a retailer with which many are familiar, but it’s been a longtime institution in Lower Manhattan. After 43 years of business, owners Joe and Rachelle Friedman this week issued pink slips to all of the retailer’s employees and closed the doors of the block-long technology and music superstore.

Union, N.J. – Bed, Bath & Beyond met Wall Street expectations with falling net earnings during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Compared to the same period a year earlier, net earnings dropped 11% to $333.3 million, from $373.87 million.

Net sales fell 6% to $3.2 billion, from $3.4 billion. In one bright spot, same-store sales rose 1.7%. Bed, Bath & Beyond attributed some of its net earnings decline to disruptive weather in the fourth quarter.

New York -- March was a so-so month for retailers, whose performance was impacted by unspring-like, cold temperatures in many parts of the country and a late Easter. (Easter falls on April 20 this year as opposed to March 31 last year.)

The eight retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted a 2.2% increase in March same-store sales, better than the expected 1.4% increase.

In the wake of acquiring Houston-based RediClinic, Rite Aid reported revenues of $6.6 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 1, resulting from a 2.2% lift primarily attributed to an increase in pharmacy same-store sales.

For the full year, Rite Aid reported $25.5 billion in revenues, up 0.5%.

It looks like the battle between eBay and investor Carl Icahn is over — for the time being. Icahn is withdrawing his proposal to separate the company’s PayPal business as well as his two nominees to the company’s board of directors.

eBay reportedly reached an agreement with Icahn, ending the proxy contest before the upcoming annual meeting of stockholders.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart will carry Wild Oats organic food items later in April with a new, more affordable price point on products covering a broad variety of categories. Wal-Mart estimates customers will save 25% or more when comparing Wild Oats to national brand organic products.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity Corp. reported declining net and same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Net sales decreased 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 5.1%.

Destination Maternity said the decline in net sales resulted primarily from the decrease in comparable sales and decreased sales related to the company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores.