Corporate Governance

Atlanta – Bitcoin digital currency platform provider BitPay has become a Demandware Link Technology Partner. Demandware’s clients will now be able to easily add bitcoin as a form of payment due to BitPay’s development of a pre-built integration between its payment processing services and the Demandware Commerce platform.  

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported that its third quarter income rose 4% to $50.7 million from $48.9 million in the year-ago period, in line with forecasts. But the retailer issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.

Second quarter net revenues grew 6% to $1.04 billion, from $982 million in the year-ago period.

Total same-store sales increased 5.7%. Direct-to-customer revenues grew 9.4%.

Solid comparable sales gains and a strong topline performance in Genesco’s direct businesses were not enough to offset a sales and gross margin shortfall versus plan at the company’s Lids Sports Group, prompting the company to lower its guidance for the full fiscal year.

The company reported earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter ended Aug. 2 of $4.8 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $8.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the second quarter ended August 3, 2013.

Dollar General made the case for the superiority of its Family Dollar takeover bid with the release of second quarter results that revealed consistency as well some deceleration in sales and profit growth.

New Albany, Ohio – Challenged by fast-fashion competitors and teens more interested in technology than clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch reported on Thursday that its revenue decreased 5.8% to $890.6 million in the second quarter, missing Wall Street projections. Its income, however, beat estimates, and rose 13% to $12.9 million, from $11.4 million a year earlier. The company cited an ongoing profit improvement initiative as driving its net income growth.

Roseville, Minn. -- JLL Retail announced the firm has been retained to manage Rosedale Square, a 160,000-sq.-ft. upscale, grocery-anchored strip center in Roseville, Minnesota.

The property’s is currently 94% occupied.

New York - L.L. Bean provided a level of customer service across all channels in July that was among the best in the U.S. For the third month in 2014, L.L. Bean has topped the overall customer service rankings in Stella Benchmarks.

As the holiday season approaches, many retailers will ramp up their staff to accommodate the increase in customers and other operational demands. However, in today’s era of widespread employment litigation, employers must be even more conscientious of the legal liabilities and practical consequences they face during this time of year.

Despite the fast-paced nature of the holiday rush, companies should still conduct their due diligence when screening new employees, whether they are long-term or seasonal.