Strategy

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported Thursday a loss of $8.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a $10.7 million loss in the year-ago period.

Retail sales dipped 1.8% and same-store sales declined 1.7%.

Chief executive bear Maxine Clark said she is focused on the future. “In just over a month, we will open our first newly imagined store design in St. Louis with five additional stores opening in major U.S. markets in the following weeks.” 

Sidney, Neb. -- Outdoor-gear retailer Cabela's Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the second quarter increased to $33.9 million, from $21.7 million in the year-ago period.

Total revenue rose 11.6% to $627.3 million, boosted by a 17% rise in retail store revenue – to $384.7 million. Analysts forecasted total revenue of $606.3 million.

Same-store sales increased 4.7%.

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group reported that total revenue for the second quarter of 2012 was approximately $93.6 million, a 5% increase as compared with approximately $89.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Fashion retailer The Limited just got smarter about its purchasing and pricing decisions.

First Insight, a provider of predictive analytics, announced that it had reached an agreement with The Limited to provide predictive analytics for selecting and pricing new products. The company did not elaborate further on the extent of its relationship with The Limited.

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. — Shortly after announcing the firing of its CEO, Wet Seal said it was looking into the possible sale of the company to the Clinton Group.

Wet Seal received a letter from the Clinton Group on July 23 and issued the following response:

Whirlpool North America, a division of Whirlpool Corp., reported second-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, a 4% increase over its sales in the second quarter of 2011. Overall, North America unit shipments decreased approximately 2%, the company said, with its unit shipments of major appliances to the United States increasing approximately 1%.

SAN DIEGO — UPS has named Tim Davis president of The UPS Store franchise network.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney is boosting its store-in-store offerings by adding 700 Joe Fresh in-store boutiques to its department stores in April 2013.

Joe Fresh, which is a Canadaian fast-fashion brand, will also be featured on JCP.com.

Weak housing data notwithstanding, plenty of people spent money fixing up their homes this spring judging by the results of select retailers with exposure to the home improvement market.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. reported Wednesday its worst quarter since 1996, posting a loss of $21 million in the second quarter compared with a profit of $24.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Sales inched up 1.2% to $953.2 million in the quarter, missing Wall Street’s forecasted $970.4 million in revenue, and same-store sales were flat.