Retail

Hingham, Mass. – Fast-casual burger chain Wahlburgers has signed a three-restaurant franchise agreement in Las Vegas with Vegas American Hospitality Inc. Wahlburgers will debut in Las Vegas in early 2015 with the opening of its first restaurant at a location soon to be disclosed.  

Kroger is a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Million Dollar Club for the second consecutive year. The company was inducted in the $250 to $500 million annual expenditure category.

Union, N.J. – Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. reported net earnings of $223.95 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 10% from $249.3 million but still ahead of Wall Street projections. Increases in both interest expense and selling, general and administrative expense helped reduce net earnings.

New York - PayItSimple, a new service that lets consumers charge any purchase on their existing credit cards and pay it back in monthly, interest-free installments, has launched in the U.S. PayItSimple supports an omnichannel shopping experience and is available for e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, mobile and all other payment platforms.

Sequential Brands Group has selected actress Paula Patton as the new face and brand ambassador for Ellen Tracy.

Patton's role as brand ambassador begins this November when she will spearhead a global initiative to commemorate women's contributions during the last 65 years. The partnership coincides with seasonal collections and campaigns and extends throughout 2015.

Coppell, Texas – An increase in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses driven by growing costs of advertising, new stores and store support helped Alco Stores Inc. swing to a net loss of $7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 from net earnings of $800,000 a year earlier.

Net sales dropped 6% to $110.7 million, from $117.7 million. Same-store sales declined 8.9%.

Following fourth quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations, Ascena Retail is looking ahead to fiscal 2015, which CEO David Jaffe said will see the continuation of a critical, multi-year investment to build the company’s omnichannel platform.

The company reported net earnings of $15.7 million, compared with $29.8 million in the year-ago period.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has reportedly so far been unsuccessful in its efforts to convince an unidentified ‘major vendor’ to modify a commercial agreement in a way that could benefit a financial restructuring. According to the Wall Street Journal, RadioShack still has not identified the vendor or exactly what terms it wants to restructure, but has been negotiating with wireless carriers including AT&T and Sprint to ease the terms under which the retailer is allowed to resell equipment.