Corporate Governance

The retail industry's two major organizations are applauding reports that the House will drop efforts to repeal debit card swipe reform.   

A strong performance by Hollister helped Abercrombie & Fitch Co. beat first quarter sales and earnings expectations even as its namesake brand continues to struggle.    The teen apparel retailer's better than expected quarterly showing comes as speculation about its future heats up. Abercrombie previously confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with several parties regarding a sale of the company. 

There was a glimmer of good news in Sears Holdings Corp.'s first quarter earnings report.    

Ikea announced last week it would build a new location adjacent to a CBL property outside Raleigh, and this week CBL announced it would capitalize on that occasion to transform its Cary Towne Center into a mixed-use project.   CBL has been working with the town of Cary — an affluent and growing community in the Research Triangle — to start the zoning process to allow the construction of a multi-phase renovation of the property. Plans call for a mix of high-end retail, dining, entertainment, residential, office, and green space.

Among several developers reporting positive signs for leasing at the RECon Show in Las Vegas was Olshan Properties.   Head of Retail Ken Marshall said media reports about retail’s downfall did not ring true at his company. “The first few months of 2017 generated significant leasing activity throughout our highly-diversified retail portfolio and, most notably, within our retail holdings that are housed in mixed-use environments,” he said, noting that the trend began last year.  

Even with a double-digit sales increase, Lowe's Companies still managed to disappoint analysts with first quarter profit and comparable sales that missed their estimates.   Sales rose 10.7% to $16.9 billion, up from $15.2 billion in 2016. Same-store sales rose 1.9%, below the 2.6% increase expected by analysts polled by Consensus Metrix.  

A tough February couldn't keep Tilly's down, which reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.    The teen apparel and footwear retailer narrowed its loss in the first quarter to $161,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Its results were better than expected.    Net sales inched up 0.6% to $120.9 million, better easily beating the Street. Same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

Sephora is all about offering top-notch service to its customers — even its business partners.   According to the Incentive Research Foundation and Incentive Gift Card Council, business-to-business (B2B) gifting is becoming more prevalent across U.S. companies, as they spend $22.7 billion per year on gift cards. Sephora’s new partnership will enable the company to claim a bigger portion of this market share.