Strategy

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Kathy Ireland has put her name on a new line of office furniture for Bush Furniture. The Kathy Ireland Office line will be available in retail stores as early as this fall.

Each of the four collections in the line - New York Skyline, Volcano Dusk, Sonnet and Grand Expressions – includes coordinated home office furnishings and storage accessories, creating a complete work-and-play environment for people in business and their families. 

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela's reported Thursday that net income for second quarter rose to $22.3 million, from $19.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenue increased 7.7% to $562.1 million, and same-store sales increased 4.4%.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported Thursday that it narrowed its loss in the quarter ended July 2 to $6.7 million, compared with a loss of $8.5 million in the year-ago period.

The retailer increased total revenue 10% to $81.8 million, and consolidated same-store sales 7.1%.

The retailer cited improved efficiencies and reduced expenses for the performance improvements.

Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke was on Capitol Hill this week making the case for modernizing the U.S. tax code even as Democratic and Republican lawmakers continued to engage in brinksmanship over what all agree is a disturbing level of national indebtedness. Duke testified before the United States Senate Committee on Finance, which was holding hearings on CEO perspectives on how the tax code affects hiring, businesses and economic growth. A transcript of his prepared remarks appears below:

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Grocery retailer Meijer announced it will open a 14th Chicago-area store, this one under its Meijer Marketplace banner designed to bring a smaller-size localized concept to the Melrose Park neighborhood.

Meijer Marketplace spans 96,000 sq. ft. – about half the size of the grocer’s supercenters – and features a tailored offering as well as a variety of general merchandise items.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid’s same-store sales increased by 1.9% in July, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.

During the four-week period ended July 23, comp sales jumped 3.1% on the front end and 1.4% in the pharmacy, including a 151 basis point reduction resulting from introduction of new generic drugs. Prescription counts decreased by 0.4%. Total sales during the four-week period were about $1.92 billion, a 1.6% increase over July 2010.

SIDNEY, Neb. — Despite heat waves throughout the country that made leaving the indoors unbearable this summer, consumers still took the time to enjoy the great outdoors, as evidenced by the strong first-quarter results reported by Cabela's. The outdoor sporting goods retailer reported that total revenue for the first quarter increased 7.7% to $562.1 million. For the quarter, comparable-store sales increased 4.4%. 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grocery distributor and retailer Spartan Stores reported that its net sales for the first quarter increased 4.4% to $602.6 million compared with $577.2 million in the same period last year. Both the distribution and retail segments reported improved sales during the quarter, the company said.