Corporate Governance

I’ve been attending the annual CIO Symposium hosted by the MIT Sloan School of Management for several years now, and always walk away with a fresh batch of thoughts from top business, IT and academic minds. Here are three of the most valuable insights I learned at the recent 2015 edition of the conference.

Know Your Customer – Now

Birmingham, Ala. – Hibbett Sports Inc. cane up short of Wall Street expectations for earnings and revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. Hibbett reported net income of $27.4 million, down 3% from $28.4 million a year earlier.

Increases in store operating, selling and administrative expenses, as well as depreciation and amortization, fueled the decline in profit. Net sales grew 3% to $269.8 million from $261.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 0.9%.

Greensboro, N.C. – It was a mixed first quarter for The Fresh Market Inc. as the grocery retailer met Wall Street expectations for profit but fell short on sales. Net income totaled $15.17 million, down 8% from $16.57 million.

Higher operating expenses drove the reduction in net income. Sales increased 7% to $462.04 million from $431 million. Same-store sales dropped 0.1%.

New York  - Foot Locker Inc. reported a better-than-expected 14% increase in profit in its first quarter amid continuing sales growth.

Dublin, Calif. – Ross Stores Inc. topped Wall Street expectations with net earnings of $282 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, up 15% from $244 million in the year-ago period. A one-time benefit related to timing of packaway costs (when a discount retailer buys end-of-season merchandise to sell at a markup the following year) boosted profits.
  The off-price retailer reported that its sales rose 10% to $2.93 billion from $2.68 billion in the year-ago period.  Same-store sales increased 5%.

New York - The proposed $19 million deal between Target Corp. and MasterCard stemming from the retailer's 2013 data breach has fallen apart after it failed to get the support of 90% of the banks affected by the breach, the Minneapolis StarTribune reported. Click here for the full story.

New York – Ann Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with strong profit growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, but revenue growth fell short of the Street’s outlook. 
  The company, which  is being acquire by Ascena Retail Group for $2.2 billion, reported that its net income more than doubled to $13.6 million from $5.2 million the same quarter a year earlier, driven by lower restructuring charges and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses that more than offset a softer gross margin.

Chicago – Real estate investment trusts (REITs), which represent a sizable share of retail real estate activity, are worried about possible increases in interest rates. According to a report by consulting firm BDO USA LLP, 97% of REITs mention risks related to increases in interest rates and hedging.    This is up from 90% in 2014 and 88% in 2013, according to the 2015 BDO RiskFactor Report for REITs, which analyzes the most recent SEC 10-K filings for the 100 largest publicly traded REITs in the U.S.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Krispy Kreme has signed development agreements to open 11 Krispy Kreme shops in Arkansas, Montana, Illinois and Kentucky in the next several years. An agreement with Dennis Porter,pPresident of DTL of the Emerald Coast, includes four additional shops to open in Arkansas.

New York – Increases in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and interest expenses helped increase net loss at New York & Co. to $4.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $300,000 the same period a year earlier. The growing loss occurred as sales improved 2% to $223.4 million from $219.6 million, and same-store sales rose 1.8%.