Direct To Consumer (DTC)

New York — Ann Taylor Stores Corp. On Friday posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit on improved sales. The company, which said it will change its corporate name to Ann Inc. to better reflect its multichannel focus, also forecast strong first-quarter sales.

In the Feb. 24 edition of SiteTalk, we asked you about Borders'just-announced Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closures, and to what retailers you thought some of that prime real estate would go. Here is what two of our readers had to say:

"[I think they will go to] regional furniture chains [Value City] and regional electronics such as Hhgregg."
-- Joe Deckop
Columbus Consulting
Columbus, Ohio

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores, in a presentation at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference on Thursday, announced that it would open “hundreds” of smaller-format stores over the next three years.

According to Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart U.S., the ramped-up development could be augmented by some acquisition activity, although he didn’t elaborate on specifics.

New York City -- Aeropostale's fourth-quarter profit slid 13% amid weaker gross margins and falling same-store sales. For the quarter ended Jan. 29, the chain posted a profit of $83.8 million, down from $96.6 million a year earlier.

Revenue increased 5% to $839.3 million, from $801.2 million in the year-ago period. Same-store sales decreased 3%.

For the full year, net sales increased 8% to $2.4 billion, from $2.23 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales inched up 1%.

London -- Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC said Thursday that it has acquired a 10% stake in U.S. online grocer FreshDirect, based in New York City.

According to Morrison, the U.K. fourth-largest supermarket chain, the acquisition marks its debut in the online food market.

Morrison has also announced plans to test a c-store format and to expand its grocery store counts in order to increase its presence in the U.K grocery market.

Everett, Wash. -- Zumiez reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Jan. 29 almost doubled to $15 million, compared with net income of $8.8 million in the year-ago period.

Sales increased 17.9% to $156.2 million, from $132.4 million. Same-store sales increased 13 %.

For the full year, sales rose 17.5% to $478.8 million, from $407.6 million. Profit rose to $24.2 million, from $9.1 million in fiscal 2009.

Same-store sales increased 11.9% in fiscal 2010.

Toronto — The Hudson's Bay Co. announced it has earned exclusive Canadian franchise rights for the United Kingdom’s Topshop and its male counterpart, Topman. The agreement includes the rights for both freestanding locations and in-store shops, expected to launch in The Bay in fall 2011.