eCommerce

Seattle – Sales growth outpaced that of expenses during second quarter 2015, leading to a rare report of positive net income at Amazon.com Inc. Amazon reported net income of $92 million, compared to net loss of $126 million the same quarter the prior fiscal year.  

Sidney, Neb. – Specialty outdoor retailer Cabela’s Inc. missed the target Wall Street set for profit and revenue during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Cabela’s reported net income of $40.5 million, down 8% from $43.5 million the same quarter the prior year.   Growing cost of revenue helped drive down profit. Total revenue grew 10% to $836.28 million, from $761.2 million. Consolidated same-store sales dropped 0.9% due to Canadian currency fluctuations, although same-store sales in the U.S. increased 0.8%.

Baltimore – Even a reduction in income taxes couldn’t fully offset the impact of rising expenses on profit at Under Armour during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income decreased 17% to $15 million, compared with $18 million in the prior year's period.   The decline in net income came even as net revenues increased 29% to $784 million, compared with $610 million. Direct-to-consumer net revenues, which represented 32% of total net revenues for the second quarter, grew 33% year-over-year.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is decking the dorm with a new application aimed at students preparing to go back to college this fall. Target’s Made for U College Styler is an interactive tool that assesses a college student’s personal style and creates tailored room designs they can shop and customize via phone, tablet or desktop.  

Smart & Final says it's focused on growth and expansion of its new Extra! format as the retailer posts another quarter of impressive same store sales.

For the second quarter ended June 14, Smart & Final said net sales increased 9.3% to $905.1 million. Same store sales incraesed 3.5%. The company had net income of $11.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. And adjusted EBITDA increased 6.7% to $50.7 million. 

Houston – Specialty retailer Charming Charlie is setting its sights beyond its North American store base. Charming Charlie opened the brand’s first locations outside of North America with two new retail stores in Dubai.   The stores, located at City Centre Mirdif and Ibn Battuta Mall, are operated by Apparel Group, Charming Charlie’s first international licensing partner, which has further growth planned for the brand in Qatar this year.   

New York – The changes continue at eBay. Jeff Wong, who ran eBay’s Business Incubation Group, has joined professional services firm Ernst & Young as chief innovation officer.    Wong will lead Ernst & Young’s newly formed Global Innovation Team. The team will identify emerging concepts and solutions and also work to develop new technologies, strategies and solutions.  

Brooklyn, N.Y. – If you’re wondering whether you should become an Etsy seller, being young, female, and a parent may be factors in your favor. According to a new survey of 4,000 U.S. Etsy sellers conducted by the online handmade crafts marketplace, 86% of Etsy sellers are women.   In addition, Etsy sellers are twice as likely to be under the age of 35 and many are parents with children at home.