Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Evansville, Ind. -- Shoe Carnival reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended July 30 dropped to $2.7 million from $4.1 million in the year-ago period. Sales edged up 0.8% to $166.7 million, and same-store sales dipped 1.1%.

The shoe retailer said it expects to open 17 new stores and close four stores in fiscal 2011.
 

Johannesburg -- Massmart Holdings Ltd., the South African retailer controlled by Wal-Mart Stores, announced Thursday it will up its store counts in fiscal 2012 by 8.6% to 340 stores. The company will open 27 new stores during the period, mostly in South Africa and two in Nigeria.CEO Grant Pattison said the accelerated pace is to keep the company in front of its competitors.

Also on Thursday, Massmart reported an 11.6% rise in total sales for the year ended June 26 to $7.29 billion, and upped its forecast for the remainder of 2011.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express reported Wednesday that profit for the second quarter fell 43% to $12.6 million, compared with $22.1 million in the year-ago period. Results still topped Wall Street expectations, and the company has upped it s forecast for the third quarter and full year.

Revenue rose nearly 10% to $446 million from $407.3 million, beating analysts' average forecast for $439.6 million in revenue. Same-store sales rose 6%.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Books-A-Million on Tuesday reported a second-quarter loss of $2.9 million, compared with a net income of $1.9 million in the year-ago period. The chain faulted lower sales as consumers move away from traditional books and pressure from the liquidation sales Borders Group is conducting.

Revenue fell 11.4% to $106.4 million from $120 million last year. Same-store sales fell 12.9%.

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch showed that department stores, clothing stores and websites are expected to attract most of the last-minute back-to-school purchases.

According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School survey, the average family has completed 43% of shopping for K-12 students, similar to last year’s 43.2%. College students and their parents have completed 44.3% f their shopping, up slightly from last year’s 43.1%.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Monday that it swung to a loss of $1.4 million in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $1.3 million in the year-ago period.
 
Revenue fell 3% to $194.8 million, from $200.8 million last year. Same-store sales declined 4.5%.
 
For the year, net income fell 11% to $9.6 million. Revenue dipped nearly 1% to $821.2 million.
 

New York City -- Ann Inc., formerly known as Ann Taylor Stores Corp., reported that its second -quarter earnings rose 33% $24.8 million, helped by strong online sales and a jump in revenue at the company's Loft stores. The company raised its full-year sales guidance, saying it is confident despite the challenging consumer environment.

It was the company’s eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth

If you’re peeking at the news between slats in your fingers, scared to see where the S&P 500 sits or what’s happening with the NASDAQ, the Dow and the price of oil, you’re quite obviously not alone. Each day is a frightening new one, and no one – not even economists – are quite sure what’s going to happen next.

New York City -- Aeropostale reported Wednesday that net income for its second quarter plummeted 93% to $2.94 million, from $43.6 million in the year-ago period.

Sales declined 5% to $468.2 million and same-store sales dropped 14%.

The company revised its third quarter forecast downward.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Hibbett Sports reported Friday that profit for the quarter ended July 30 surged 48% to $5.9 million, compared with $4 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose more than 9% to $153.1 million, beating Wall Street’s projected $151.9 million in revenue.