Retail

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic Inc. reported Wednesday that profit rose to $3.1 million in the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared with $400,000 in the year-ago period. Prior-year results were weighed down by charges from its ShockHound website, which folded.

Revenue fell 4% to $175.8 million from $183.2 million in the quarter, missing Wall Street’s expected $177.8 million in revenue.

Same-store sales dipped 1.6% at Hot Topic and Torrid stores, attributed to disappointing Halloween sales.
 

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Thursday added scannable coupons to its mobile applications, with exclusive discounts to its smartphone customers, beginning on Black Friday.

Coupons will range in value from 50 cents to $5 and will be good toward a variety of products, including beauty items, gifts, consumables and everyday essentials, such as diapers. Scannable coupons provide optimal convenience with no clipping or printing required. Cashiers simply scan a coupon straight from a user’s smartphone.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Stein Mart Inc. reported Thursday that it moved to a loss in the quarter ended Oct. 29, recording a loss of $1.8 million compared with a profit of $4.3 million a year earlier.

Gross profit margin fell to 23.8% from 25.4%, due mainly to increased markdowns and higher buying costs.
 
Revenue dropped 4% to $258.5 million from $267.9 million, a consistent trend since 2007. Same-store sales fell 2.9%.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the third quarter rose 22% on higher sales at its Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works chains.

Net income rose to $94.3 million from $61.3 million a year earlier. As reported previously, revenue rose 10% to $2.17 billion.

The company has raised its outlook for the fourth quarter.
 

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The economy may be keeping some families from purchasing new clothes for their children, but that didn't stop The Children's Place from delivering earnings that beat estimates.

The company reported income from continuing operations of $33.7 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, compared with $31.2 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2010. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.27 per diluted share.

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the third quarter rose 19% to $43.4 million, from $36.5 million in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 6% to $867.2 million, compared with $815.5 million last year and solidly beating Wall Street’s expected $855.7 million in revenue.

Same-store sales overall rose 7.3%, comprised of a 7% rise in the company’s Pottery Barn stores, a 5.2% rise at Pottery Barn Kids and a 27% surge at West Elm. Same-store sales at namesake stores were up a slight 0.1%.

Cleveland -- CenterMark Development said it has signed a lease with Deal$, a division of Dollar Tree, to occupy an 11,000‐sq.-ft., former Easttown Eagle Market building in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland.

CenterMark purchased the long‐vacant building in October and said it expects to complete the rehabilitation by the spring of 2012. A grand opening is expected during the second quarter following interior improvements by Deal$.
 

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced it has hired Kyle Stonis as a senior VP in the Atlanta office.

Stonis will focus on strengthening the investment sales platform for SRS in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast.

Previous to SRS, Stonis worked for Bull Realty in Atlanta as a retail investment broker and senior VP.