Business Analytics

Kohl’s Corp. beat analysts’ expectations for the second quarter even as its sales continued to show weakness.     The retailer posted a profit of $140 million, or 77 cents a share for the quarter ended July 30, compared with $130 million, or 66 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, earnings rose to $1.22 a share from $1.07 a year ago.   Revenue fell 2% to a better-than-expected $4.18 billion. Same-store sales fell 1.8%.  

Ralph Lauren Corp. swung to a loss in its first quarter as costs related to efforts to turn around its business cut into first quarter earnings. But it still managed to beat Wall Street expectations.   The company lost $22 million, or 27 cents per share, versus net income of $64 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-ago period.     Revenue in the quarter was down 4% to a better-than-expected $1.55 billion.     

The momentum at Coach Inc. continued in the fourth quarter, as the company reported healthy same-store sales growth at its North American stores and better-than-expected earnings.   

Gap Inc. unveiled preliminary results for the second quarter that were not very promising as Banana Republic continues to bleed.   The retailer said revenue and same-store sales slipped for the month of July, and for the second quarter, which ended July 30.   Gap’s net sales for the quarter were $3.85 billion, compared with $3.90 billion for the second quarter last year.  

Dollar Tree will eliminate some 370 positions as part of a corporate restructuring related to its acquisition of Family Dollar last year.   The cuts, which include 100 vacant positions at its Family Dollar store support center in Matthews, North Carolina, are part of the chain’s ongoing efforts to integrate its support functions through a shared services model.  

HSN’s CFO and COO is taking a new job, but she won’t have to travel far.   Judy Schmeling has assumed the helm of the Cornerstone Brands division of HSN, which consists of home and apparel banners such as Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and TravelSmith.    Schmeling, who will continue to report to HSN CEO Mindy Grossman, will maintain her COO position at HSN, and she will remain CFO until a successor is appointed.  

The Cato Corp. reported sales of $61.2 million for the four weeks ended July 30, down 8% from the same period a year ago.     Same-store sales for the month were down 10% from the prior year.   On a quarterly basis, Cato sales for the second quarter fell 5% to $236.7 million, compared to $249.2 million a year ago. Second quarter same-store sales were down 6% from the prior year.  

Fred's Inc. saw July sales drop 7% to $154 million, compared to $165.6 million in the same period last year.    Comparable store sales for the month declined 4.6%, compared with an increase of 0.7% in the year-earlier period.   Fred's total sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 decreased 3.4% to $527.7 million, from $546.1 million for the same period last year. On a comparable store basis, second quarter sales decreased 2% versus an increase of 0.9% for the year-earlier period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $37.2 million, which topped Wall Street expectations.    The natural and organic food retailer posted revenue of $1.03 billion in the period, narrowly missing Street forecasts of $1.04 billion, but topping last year’s sales by 14%.   Same-store sales grew 4.1% in the period.

Costco's comparable sales for the month of July declined 2%, with a 3% decrease in U.S. a 3% rise in Canada and other decreases internationally.