FINANCE

Nordstrom Inc. on Thursday reported second quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates, and also lifted its full-year earnings outlook.   The upscale department store profit’s fell to $117 million, or $0.67 per share, from $211 million or $0.1.09 per share in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.56 per share.   

Macy’s Inc. announced that it will close 100 full-line namesake stores as part of a wider effort to improve its business and succeed in an omnichannel environment. The move comes after six straight quarters of declining same-store sales.      The department store giant said it plans to concentrate its resources on the best-performing locations, and to invest in those stores by adding new vendor shops, increasing the size and quality of staff and new technology.  

Macy’s Inc. on Thursday posted second quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations. But with a steep drop in profit and sales still on the decline, the department giant said it will close 100 stores. It also gave an update on its real estate strategy.   

Supervalu is moving closer to spinning off its Save-A-Lot discount grocery banner.   The latest SEC filing by Supervalu is its most thoroughly documented to date, and details a 60/40 stock split of Save-A-Lot once it goes public, Twin Cities Business reported.   

Ralph Lauren Corp. swung to a loss in its first quarter as costs related to efforts to turn around its business cut into first quarter earnings. But it still managed to beat Wall Street expectations.   The company lost $22 million, or 27 cents per share, versus net income of $64 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-ago period.     Revenue in the quarter was down 4% to a better-than-expected $1.55 billion.     

The momentum at Coach Inc. continued in the fourth quarter, as the company reported healthy same-store sales growth at its North American stores and better-than-expected earnings.   

The off-price retailer sector will continue to build momentum and outperform the apparel retail segment during the next five years.   That’s according to a new report, "Off-Price Retailers Continue to Build Momentum on Value Appeal,” by Moody's Investors Service. Off-price retailers are anticipated to experience apparel revenue growth of 6% - 8%, outperforming the broader apparel segment by a collective 4% in the timeframe.  

Bankrupt Aeropostale Inc. may not be going out of business after all.   The teen apparel chain has resolved a dispute with lenders that threatened to sink a potential bid from a unit of Versa Capital Management to buy the chain out of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported.   Versa would keep about 500 Aeropostale stores open, according to the report.