Department Store

Indianapolis -- One-in-five consumers is now "showrooming," according to new research by Aprimo, a Teradata in collaboration with Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. Of those consumers already showrooming, 33% say they ultimately used the information to buy elsewhere. The trend is only expected to continue growing, too, as 96% say they plan to use their smart phone to research prices the same way or more in the future.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Thursday net income of $637 million for the third quarter, compared with $555 million in the prior-year period and beating Wall Street expectations.
 
The retailer previously reported that sales rose 3.4% to $16.60 billion in the quarter, and same-store sales climbed 2.9%.

Target is forecasting a fourth-quarter earnings range that at the high-end tops estimates.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Sean John Corporate has named Jeff Tweedy as the fashion brand’s new president, effective immediately. Tweedy will report directly to Sean John chairman and founder Sean "Diddy" Combs, and will be responsible for all aspects of the company's operations, including strategic brand development, design and all the Sean John licensing and retail partners.

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Oct. 27 dropped to $73.4 million from $94.3 million in the same quarter last year. Results still managed to beat Wall Street expectations.

Limited, which also owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, saw sales slip 5.7% to $2.05 billion from $2.17 billion, but results matched analysts’ forecasts. Same-store sales climbed 5%.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. raised its outlook for the year after reporting better-than-expected net income for the third quarter on growing sales. It was the latest sign that the long beleaguered chain may be finally entering a turnaround.

For the three months ended Oct. 27, the company said it earned $308 million, compared with $193 million in the year

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the third quarter jumped 38% to $4.3 million, from $3.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue edged up 2% to $179.4 million from $175.8 million, missing Wall Street’s expected $182.9 million in revenue.

Same-store sales rose a slight 0.2%.

A 2.9% third quarter same store sales increase and the sale of its credit card business pushed Target’s third quarter profit up 17.6% to 96 cents a share.

Total sales increased 3.4% to $16.6 billion in third quarter due to the 2.9% comp increase and the benefit of a net increase of 18 stores compared to the prior year. Target ended the period with 1,781 stores and was up against a challenging prior year comparison when comps advanced 4.3%.

Hoffman Estates,Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp.'s third-quarter loss widened amid declining sales and higher tax expenses.

For the quarter ended Oct. 27, Sears reported a loss of $498 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $421 million.

Revenue slipped 5.8%, to $8.86 billion, primarily due to the effect of having fewer Kmart and Sears stores in operation and lower domestic comparable store sales for the quarter.