eCommerce

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma Inc. said its second-quarter net income rose 10%, fueled by double-digit sales growth at its Pottery Barn and West Elm stores. The results beat analysts’ expectations and the company also raised its profit and sales predictions for the full year.

For the quarter ended July 29, Williams-Sonoma earned $43.4 million, up from $39.3 million in the same period last year.

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy reported dismal second quarter results Tuesday morning, missing analysts’ estimates by a wide margin one day after the company raised eyebrows by selecting a CEO with no retail experience to engineer a turnaround.

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble saw increased sales and a narrower loss for its first quarter thanks in large part to the steamy series, "Fifty Shades of Grey."
 
“During the first quarter, we continued to see improvement in both our rapidly growing Nook business, which saw digital content sales increase 46% during the quarter, and at our bookstores, which continue to benefit from market consolidation and strong sales of the 'Fifty Shades' series,” said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble.

New York -- Reebok has opened its first Reebok Fit Hub in the United States, on Fifth Avenue at 37th Street in Manhattan.

The 2,500-sq.-ft. store is located on the top of a Reebok CrossFit Box gym, which is on the street level. It sells a wide range of fitness apparel and footwear for men and women. Customers can also get fitness advice from in-store experts.

Designed by Reebok’s global environmental design division and Ziba, Portland, Ore., Fit Hut has a raw, industrial look, with an exposed ceiling.

St. Louis -- Forty-five percent of customers shopping in-store at bricks-and mortar-locations will walk out and complete their purchase online for a discount as low as 2.5%, according to new showrooming research from GroupM Next.

This number jumps to 60% of shoppers who will leave and purchase a product online for a savings of 5%. When discovering an online discount of 20%, a small percentage of shoppers (13%) stay and complete their purchase in store.

Chicago -- Chicago high-end fashion retailer Mark Shale said Tuesday it has filed for reorganization bankruptcy.

The 83-year-old company is seeking strategic alternatives, including a partner to fortify the business, according to president Rich Myers.

The three existing stores – all in Chicago – will continue to operate during the reorganization process.

New York -- Cost Plus World Market has launched a new website as a part of the brand’s strategy to elevate its e-commerce business and provide expanded opportunities for customers to discover more at Worldmarket.com. This is the largest redesign of the site since its launch in November 2005.

New York -- McDonald’s Corp. is testing a mobile payments service with PayPal in 30 McDonald’s locations in France.

Using the service, McDonald's customers can order food on smartphones through a McDonald's application, or online, and then pay for their food with PayPal via either the McDonald’s mobile app or a web browser. There is a separate line in the test locations to pick up the meals, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. reported Tuesday that adjusted net income for the quarter ended July 28 dipped to $30.1 million, from $33.7 million last year. Revenue rose 7.5% to $512.2 million, beating the $510.9 million expected by Wall Street.

Same-store sales increased 4.2% in the quarter, compared with a 12.3% increase in the same period last year.

CEO Mike MacDonald told analysts that performance thus far is on track with annual earnings targets and that DSW is on track to open another 27 new stores over the next six months.

New York -- Barnes & Noble reported Tuesday that it lost $41 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $56.6 million in the same period last year.

Results were bolstered by sales of e-books and other digital content, said CEO William Lynch.

Overall revenue rose 2% to $1.45 billion, and same-store sales climbed 4.6%. Sales in the retail segment also rose 2% -- to $1.1 billion.