Sales & Marketing

Oak Brook, Ill. – Increased retail operating expenses, primarily related to store acquisitions and advertising, helped reduce profit at Ace Hardware Corp. during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income totaled $57.5 million, a 13% drop from $66.5 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Consolidated revenues fared better, rising 6% to $86.2 billion from $84.8 billion.

King of Prussia, Pa. - Magento, the e-commerce platform provider that is a division of eBay Enterprise, is partnering with New Relic Inc., is releasing an extension for the New Relic Software Analytics Cloud. The extension is designed to provide customers with a deeper understanding of their applications’ performance and customer engagement activities.

Lumber Liquidators has hired a new executive to help it fight off an avalanche of legal troubles that has hammered the flooring retailer.

Pittsburgh – American Eagle Outfitters Inc. flew high in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, surpassing Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue. AEO reported net income of $33.26 million, an almost six-fold increase from $5.81 million in the prior year period.

The growth pace of cost of sales and expenses was slower than that of sales, helping AEO report such a dramatic rise in profit. Operating income also significantly improved. Total net revenue increased 12% to $797 million from $711 million, aided by an 11% jump in same-store sales.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. is partnering with two top brands to open specialty stores-within-a-store at select Dick’s locations. In a conference call with investors, Dick’s CEO Ed Stack said the retailer will pilot stores-within-a-store from Nike Air Jordan and Polo Sport later this year and next year.

Jericho, N.Y. - Online shoppers in the U.S. and Canada are willing to sacrifice delivery speed for a lower shipping cost. According to a survey of U.S. and Canadian shoppers conducted by Purolator International, the cost of shipping was identified most often as the single most important concern in terms of the delivery of their purchases.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart saw respectable U.S. sales growth in the second quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome expense pressures and a weak dollar. These negative factors caused the company to turn in one of its worst quarterly profit performances in recent memory.

Kroger is thinking big in Texas with a three year, $1.2 billion investment plan and just created a new senior leadership structure to execute the growth strategy.

Kroger’s growth aspirations in Texas will be overseen by two key executives tasked with leading newly created divisions. The retailer created a new Dallas division and a Houston division. The stores in both areas were previously part of the company’s 214 unit Southwest division.