Retail

Brentwood, Texas -- Tractor Supply Co., announced plans to open a regional distribution center in Franklin, Ky.

The new 840,000-sq.-ft. distribution center, expected to be in operation by the end of 2011, will serve stores in the mid-eastern United States.

 

New York City -- Foot Locker on Thursday reported a profit for its third quarter on stronger margins for the retailer.

The company said it earned $52 million for the quarter that ended Oct. 30. That compares with a loss of $6 million during the same period year earlier, when the company also had $22 million in impairment charges.

Revenue rose 5% o $1.28 billion. Same-store sales were up 8.1%.

Hicksville, L.I. -- National Business Solutions (NBS) recently introduced its Product Protection System (PPS), a loss-prevention shelving solution that can be customized to fit any product application and planogram.

The new shelving unit helps thwart professional thieves and shoplifting groups by preventing the sweeping of product at store level, thereby eliminating the potential for a thief to dump an entire shelf of merchandise into a bag at once.

San Francisco -- Gap will open its first Italian flagship on  Saturday in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele shopping district of Milan.

The company said that it also plans to open an additional Gap store in Rome next year and a Banana Republic store adjacent to its Milan location "in the near future." The Milan Gap store spans three floors and 25,500 sq. ft. and will offer all Gap clothing collections.
 

Miami -- Haagen Dazs and Gelosia are slated to open at The Palms at Town & Country, in Miami, in mid-November. Haagen Dazs will open a 960-sq.-ft. ice cream store, and Gelosia will open a 1,040-sq.-ft. location.

The Palms at Town & Country, owned by TIAA-CREF, being redeveloped by Flagler Development Group and managed by Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, is home to retailers such as Nordstrom Rack, Loehmann's, New York & Co., Marshall's, Men's Wearhouse, Publix and Shaq's 24 Hour Fitness.

New York City -- AnnTaylor Stores Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter profit rose, aided by better-than-expected sales growth. Net income surged to $24.2 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 30, compared with $2.1 million a year earlier.

Total sales rose 9.3% to $505.3 million, above analysts' expectations of $492.8 million.

Same-store sales increased 11.7% overall, with a 21.9% rise at the Ann Taylor brand and a 4.5% less expensive Loft chain.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity said its fourth-quarter net income tripled as cost-cutting measures paid off, even as sales in some categories fell.

The company earned almost $4.3 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, up from $1.4 million during the same period last year. Revenue rose slightly to $124.3 million, from $123.8 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 2.3%.