Mass Merchant

Although Amazon's sales advanced by a respectable 23% over the quarter (do link to our story yesterday), the pace of growth at the online behemoth remains much slower than it was over most of the prior fiscal year. Some of this is the result of a less favorable exchange rate diluting contributions from the international business. However, some is also down to a more challenging demand environment in North America which has limited spending uplifts on products within Amazon's core territory.  

Amazon on Thursday posted its eight straight quarter of net profitability, fueled by growth in e-commerce sales and its lucrative cloud service platform, Amazon Web Services.   Amazon easily topped earning expectations for its first quarter, ended March 31, reporting $1.48 per share, above the $1.12 Wall Street expected. Net income rose to $724 million from $513 million in the year-ago period.  

E-commerce driven Bonobos continues to expand its physical presence.   The upscale menswear retailer added three new stores (which it calls “guideshops”), with locations at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles; the Summit in Lexington, Ky.; and Chicago’s Southport neighborhood, reported wwd.com. Another outpost is due to in Denver next week.  

Target Corp. is extending its progress to renewable energy and making progress on its goal to have 500 buildings with rooftop solar panels by 2020.   

In an action that reflects its strong performance, Costco Wholesale Corp. is about to return some $3.1 billion to investors.    The retailer announced a special cash dividend on Costco common stock of $7.00 per share, payable May 26, 2017, to shareholders. The dividend is in addition to a 5 cent increase of the company’s quarterly cash dividend to 50 cents a share.  

Williams Company Southeast has announced plans to break ground on what it claims will be the biggest to be built in Central Florida for years.   Vineland Point, a 447,500-sq.-ft. project developed by O’Connor Capital Partners on I-4 and Daryl Carter Parkway in Orlando exceeds the size of The Crosslands, another O’Connor project constructed by Williams that opened in Kissimmee in 2015.  

Fresh Market will open its second location in South Carolina’s capital region in the growing upscale suburb of Lexington.  

Amazon has landed its first apparel brand for its ever-expanding Dash button platform.    Calvin Klein skivvies are now only the push-of-a-button away. The company is one of 40 new brands that Amazon recently added to its Dash button platform, and is the first apparel company to join the ranks.