News

Specialty apparel retailer Express Inc. did not reach Wall Street expectations with declining profit and flat sales in a generally sluggish first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
Net income slipped 1% to $12.9 million from $13.1 million in the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Outlet- and IT-related expense growth helped drive down profit.

Net sales stayed essentially flat at $502.9 million, compared to $502.4 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 3%, including a 1% dip in e-commerce sales.
 

After months of anticipation, the 365 by Whole Foods Market discount store format has made its debut in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
 

Amazon.com Inc. is supporting continued growth in California with fulfillment centers launching in the cities of Tracy and Eastvale.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has named Gary Cammack, owner of Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center, South Dakota, as the 2016 America’s Retail Champion of the Year.

The award was presented Tuesday, May 24, at NRF’s annual Retail Advocates Summit as small retailers from across the country were honored for their advocacy on behalf of the industry while in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress on a variety of public policy issues.

Increases in cost of sales, operating expenses and depreciation resulted in net income dropping at Kirkland’s Inc. during a generally disappointing first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
The specialty home décor chain’s net income totaled $916 million, down 64% from $2.53 billion in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. Net sales rose 10% to $129.91 million from $118.31 million, below expectations. Same-store sales edged up 0.5%.
 

Retailers will be excited by the prospect of employees that are never late and don’t need to take breaks or even be paid, but will customers accept them?
 

Amazon.com has been encroaching on Barnes & Noble Education’s collegiate bookstore business with a rapidly expanding network of campus pickup locations, but Barnes & Noble is striking back.
 
Fourteen colleges and universities have selected Barnes & Noble College as their partner of choice to operate their campus bookstores. The 14 new contracts represent 23 new campus and virtual bookstores. The schools represent a projected additional 140,000 students and their faculty.
 

Men’s Wearhouse may not have seen the last of original co-founder George Zimmer.

In an interview with Inc., Zimmer discusses conversations he has had about a possible acquisition attempt with private equity firms.
 
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