Store Systems

New York City -- Saks Inc. fourth-quarter net income climbed 48% amid strong sales of handbags, fine jewelry and men's and women's apparel. The earnings topped expectations.

For the period ended Jan. 28, Saks earned $37 million, compared with $25 million last year. Quarterly revenue rose 7% to $925.1 million from $866.3 million, beating Wall Street's $918.9 million estimate.

Same-store sales were up 7.7%.

NEW YORK — Saks Inc. fourth-quarter net income climbed 48% amid strong sales of handbags, fine jewelry and men's and women's apparel. The earnings topped expectations.

For the period ended Jan. 28, Saks earned $37 million, compared with $25 million last year. Quarterly revenue rose 7% to $925.1 million from $866.3 million, beating Wall Street's $918.9 million estimate.

Same-store sales were up 7.7%.

Saks Direct has an increase of about 21%. Saks said revenue at Off 5th stores open at least a year was weaker than expected.

Is it any wonder that online giants Google and Amazon are both reportedly planning to test the waters with physical stores? Certainly not when you look at some of the retail stats from Apple’s amazing first quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2011). The company had record revenues of $46.3 billion, and its stores continue to astound.

Consider:

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. reported a steep decline in fourth quarter profit this morning. Its results, however, were in line with its January warning to investors.

The chain posted a profit of $11.9 million, compared to a profit of $57 million in the prior year. Total fourth-quarter sales rose 5.9% to $1.39 billion. Same-store sales fell 1.4%. 
 

New York City -- Belk plans to remodel almost 30 stores this year as the department store company focuses on upgrading its existing space, the Charlotteobserver.com reported.

Last year, Belk spent about $70 million on store remodels and renovations. In 2012, the chain plans to increase that slightly, to $75 million, and then spend up to $130 million a year in 2013 and 2014, according to the report.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack reported a fourth-quarter sales increase, thanks to the rollout of Target Mobile centers, but profits were down.

Total net sales and operating revenues from continuing operations for the 2011 fourth quarter increased 5.9% to $1.39 billion, compared with $1.31 billion for the 2010 fourth quarter. Net income for the 2011 fourth quarter was $11.9 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $57 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010.

San Bernardino, Calif. -- Stater Bros. will open a new, eco-friendly supermarket in Lake Elsinore, Calif., on Feb. 22.

At 43,279 sq. ft., the new Stater Bros. is over 76% larger than a smaller Stater Bros. location it is replacing. The store features refrigerated display cases with LED lighting, ECM motors, and glass doors using 60% less energy. It also has lighting system that use dimming ballasts, energy efficient lamps, and occupancy sensors.

Other environmental features include:

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported a loss of $9 million for the fourth quarter, down from a profit of $8.3 million in the year-ago period. Total revenue dropped 5% to $119 million. The company said its profit and revenue took a hit when two movies it important product tie-ins with underperformed.