eCommerce

MINNEAPOLIS — Target is planning a rollout in Canada that will be bigger than any single year's worth of its store openings in the United States ever, executives of the company said Wednesday morning in a call with Wall Street analysts to discuss the mass merchandise retailer's fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results.

NEW YORK — Reuben Hendell, chief strategy officer of GSI Commerce  and chief executive officer of its global agency services business, will be the keynote speaker at ACG New York’s Third Annual Digital Media & Technology M&A Conference in New York on Thursday, March 21, 2013, ACG New York announced.

The conference will focus on current M&A trends, deal structures, valuation strategies, hot-company and hot-technology identification, and traditional media survival strategies.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. reported that net sales for the fourth quarter were $4.73 billion, compared with $4.28 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales were up 5% for the quarter, compared with a 4% decrease during the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter was $351 million, or 73 cents per share on a diluted basis. This compares with net income of $218 million, or 44 cents per share on a diluted basis, for the same period last year.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. offered further proof that its turnaround has taken hold, reporting a 61% increase in fourth quarter profit amid strong same-store sales growth across its banners. The results end a strong year for the chain, which also said it was increasing its dividend by 20%.

The Cellular Connection, the largest Verizon wireless retailer in the U.S., has unveiled a new design in its store in Indianapolis that will be incorporated into all its new stores moving forward. The design  is focused on providing a hands-on shopping experience and help customers understand how to fully integrate their technology purchases into their lifestyles.

New York -- Barnes & Noble reported on Thursday a loss in the fiscal third quarter, hurt by a 26% decline in revenue for its Nook e-book readers.
 
The company posted a loss of $6.1 million quarter through Jan. 26, compared to a profit of $52 million in the year-ago period. The retailer blamed the loss partially on charges stemming from weaker-than-expected sales of Nook e-readers during the holiday shopping season.
   
Revenue fell 9% to $2.22 billion. Analysts had predicted sales of $2.4 billion.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holding Corp. reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit for the fourth quarter before special items, boosted by lower costs.

The company said its net loss for the quarter ended on Feb. 2 narrowed to $489 million from $2.4 billion a year earlier. Total costs dropped 2.2% to $12.88 billion in the fourth quarter.

Sales declined about 1.8% to $12.26 billion, but beat analysts' average estimate of $11.77 billion.

Fort Meyers, Fla. -- Chico's FAS’ fiscal fourth quarter net income rose 26%, helped by new store openings and the same of more items at full price. The quarter also had an extra week of sales.

Chico’s earned $31.5 million for the 14 weeks ended Feb. 2, compared with $25.1 million in the 13-week period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 15% to $651.9 million, from $569.2 million. Wall Street analysts had expected higher revenue of $666.1 million.

Same-store sales rose 3.7%.  

MINNEAPOLIS — Start-up expenses and other costs related to its Canadian entry reduced Target's earnings per share for the fourth quarter by approximately 18 cents.

The company reported fourth quarter net earnings of $961 million, or $1.47 per share, compared with $1.45 per share for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share, a measure the company believes is useful in providing period-to-period comparisons of the results of its U.S. operations, were $1.65 in fourth quarter 2012, up 10.1% from $1.49 in 2011.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree reported that consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter were $2.25 billion, a 15.4% increase compared with $1.95 billion reported for the quarter ended Jan. 28, 2012. Comparable-store sales increased 2.4%, on top of a 7.3% increase for the fourth quarter 2011.

Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter were $1.01, an increase of 26.3% compared with the 80 cents earnings per diluted share reported for the fourth quarter 2011.