eCommerce

Online sales at regional department store operator Belk grew 43% during the second quarter, prompting the company to announce a major investment in its e-commerce and fulfillment capabilities.

Dollar General made the case for the superiority of its Family Dollar takeover bid with the release of second quarter results that revealed consistency as well some deceleration in sales and profit growth.

San Francisco – Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported that its third quarter income rose 4% to $50.7 million from $48.9 million in the year-ago period, in line with forecasts. But the retailer issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.

Second quarter net revenues grew 6% to $1.04 billion, from $982 million in the year-ago period.

Total same-store sales increased 5.7%. Direct-to-customer revenues grew 9.4%.

New Albany, Ohio – Challenged by fast-fashion competitors and teens more interested in technology than clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch reported on Thursday that its revenue decreased 5.8% to $890.6 million in the second quarter, missing Wall Street projections. Its income, however, beat estimates, and rose 13% to $12.9 million, from $11.4 million a year earlier. The company cited an ongoing profit improvement initiative as driving its net income growth.

Roseville, Minn. -- JLL Retail announced the firm has been retained to manage Rosedale Square, a 160,000-sq.-ft. upscale, grocery-anchored strip center in Roseville, Minnesota.

The property’s is currently 94% occupied.

Smyrna, Ga. -- A groundbreaking ceremony has officially launched construction on Belmont, a 48-acre mixed-use development that will feature restaurants, retail shops, single-family homes and luxury rental apartments on the site of the former Belmont Hills Shopping Center in Smyrna, Georgia.
 
The development will include a 153-home single-family residential subdivision by David Weekley Homes; a 274-unit luxury apartment community by Wood Partners; and a 47,593-sq.-ft. neighborhood retail center, which developer Halpern Enterprises will build.

Williams-Sonoma’s second quarter results may have met Wall Street expectations, but shares dropped nearly 12% as a result of the company’s weak guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 — which will include earnings from most of the back-to-school season.

For the quarter, the company posted net revenues of $1.04 billion, an almost 6% increase from $982 million a year ago. Total same-store sales increased 5.7%. Direct-to-customer revenues climbed 9.4%.

San Jacinto, Calif. -- Circle K Stores, Inc. has broken ground on its newest flagship prototype in Southern California, a 4,500-sq.-ft. convenience store offering fresh food, a gas station with eight fuel pumps, and a self-serve state-of-the-art carwash. The combo concept, located in the city of Jacinto, is expected to be open for business in late 2014.