Sales & Marketing

The CEO of Whole Foods says that despite the company's recent bad publicity and sales growth struggles, the retailer plans to stay the course of "conscious capitalism."

Nashville, Tenn. — Even as net sales climbed, Kirlkland’s Inc. missed Wall Street expectations with growing net loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Increases in operating expenses and depreciation helped more than double net loss to $2.3 million from $1.1 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Net sales rose 10% to $233.6 million from $211.7 million. Same-store sales, including e-commerce, rose 4.8%.

Sam’s Club is taking its efforts to woo small business customers to social media.

The retailer is launching #SmallBizHelp, an interactive social media campaign that offers expert advice on starting and running a business.

Seattle — Nordstrom Inc. is entering the haute couture space with the introduction of SPACE, a new shop curated by Olivia Kim, director of creative projects. SPACE will offer products from emerging and advanced designers.

Just in time for football season, Foot Locker has launched a new video campaign starring two of the best receivers for the New York Giants.

The New York-based specialty athletic retailer has unveiled "Thoughts," a new commercial starring New York Giants wide receivers Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham, Jr., highlighting the brand's back-to-school campaign.

Thanks to some financial engineering, Sears Holdings overcame a double digit decline in same store sales to produce a second quarter profit or a less severe loss depending on the arithmetic used.

Jacksonville, Fla. — Profit almost doubled at Stein Mart Inc. during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Stein Mart reported net income of $4.1 million, up 58% from $1.7 million the prior year quarter.

A slow pace of growth in cost of merchandise sold and essentially flat selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses helped drive strong profit growth. Net sales rose 4% to $311.58 million from $298.16 million.

Bentonville, Ark. — Sam’s Club is “socializing” with small business owners in a new social media marketing campaign. The warehouse club division of Wal-Mart is launching #SmallBizHelp, an interactive social campaign that offers expert advice on starting and running a business.