eCommerce

New York City -- Nordstrom announced Monday that its new Treasure&Bond concept will open in SoHo on Friday, according to a report by the New York Times. The boutique-style store, which represents a new market entry for Nordstrom, will be a fraction of the size of a typical Nordstrom department store and all profits will be donated to charity. Merchandise is funkier, but is not discount like its Nordstrom Rack sister. 

Pittsburgh -- Dick's Sporting Goods reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended July 30 rose 43% to $73.8 million, compared with $51.5 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 7% to $1.31 billion from $1.23 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.5%.
 

Atlanta -- Home Depot reported Tuesday that its second-quarter net income soared 14% to $1.36 billion, compared with $1.19 billion in the year-ago period. The home-improvement retailer cited an uptick in storm-related repairs and lawn supplies for the improved performance.

Revenue rose 4% to $20.23 billion, topping Wall Street’s expected $19.97 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.3% globally and 3.5% in the United States.

Framingham, Mass. -- TJX Cos. reported Tuesday that net income for the second quarter rose 14% to $348 million, compared with $305 million in the year-ago period.

The parent of TJ Maxx and other discount concepts saw revenue climb 8% in the quarter, to $5.47 billion, topping analysts' estimated $5.44 billion.
 

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters reported Monday that profit for the quarter ended July 31 dropped 21% to $56.7 million, from $71.7 million a year earlier. The company blamed increased expenses related to investments in e-commerce, retail catalogs and technology for the performance slip.

The operator of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People and Terrain clothing stores saw revenue rise 10% to $609.2 million, beating analysts’ expected $604.1 million.

Same-store sales slipped 2%.

 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores reported Tuesday that profit for the quarter ended July 31 rose to $3.8 billion, up from $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. Overall revenue, up 5.4% to $109.37 billion, topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Yet, the world’s largest retailer is feeling the pinch from a tight economy that is slow to loosen. Wal-Mart U.S., the company's biggest unit, posted a 0.9% drop in same-store sales, the ninth consecutive quarterly drop and beneath analysts' estimates for a 0.6% fall.

Target has a lot of things going right for it right now with some decent sales momentum and a mix of current and long term initiatives to drive growth. Even so, Target is in the same boat as other retailers who are posting solid profits, but doing so in an uncertain economic climate where fragile consumer confidence makes it hard to get to aggressive when it comes to forecasting future performance.

By Mac Nadel, [email protected]

Bentonville, Ark. -- According to reports by Reuters and Bloomberg on Friday, Wal-Mart Stores is transferring management of its e-commerce business to store-level leadership in developed countries and said that two online executives are leaving the company.

According to the reports, e-commerce leaders in markets such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, will now report directly to the heads of stores in those countries instead of global e-commerce executive Eduardo Castro-Wright.

SEATTLE — In another sign that the U.S. economy is affecting lower-income families more than those in higher earning brackets, luxury retailer Nordstrom reported a same-store sales increase of 7.3% for its second quarter and net sales of $2.72 billion, an increase of 12.4% compared with net sales of $2.42 billion for the same period last year.