News

The skincare needs of men differ greatly. Some guys get a seemingly effortless, smooth shave each and every time, while others are prone to ingrown hairs and irritation when shaving. Philips Norelco is partnering with grooming expert Craig the Barber to help smooth things out.

"Creating meaningful innovation to improve people's lives is at the core of what Philips does.”

Top executives from Starbucks, Walmart, Nordstrom and RadioShack, among others, are confirmed as participants at Texas A&M University’s Center for Retailing Studies annual fall conference.
 

Maybelline New York has teamed up with downtown creative hub, MADE, to act as the official makeup partner of MADE Fashion Week to be held Sept. 4 to 10 at Milk Studios.

Maybelline New York will provide creative direction, backstage artistry and its range of products for more than 10 MADE designers, including Public School, Cushnie Et Ochs, Ostwald Helgason, Olivier Saillard, Kitsune, Jonathan Simkhai, Maria Ke Fisherman, Peter Som, Chris Gelinas, Zana Bayne and Baja East.

Grapevine, Texas -- GameStop Corp. on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit of $24.6 million, up from $10.5 million in the year ago period.

Revenue rose 25% to a better-than-expected $1.73 billion, helped by new game releases as well as solid sales of gaming hardware.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales and raised its full-year profit forecast, helped by strong sales at Old Navy.

Net profit rose to $332 million in the second quarter ended Aug. 2, from $303 million a year ago.

New York -- UPS Stores, a subsidiary of United Parcel Service, said that a security breach may have led to the theft of customer credit and debit data at 51 UPS stores in the United States.

In a statement, the company said that customers who had used their debit or credit cards at affected locations (which are listed on the UPS site) from Jan. 20 to Aug. 11 may have been exposed to the malware. However, the company noted, exposure began after March 26 in most cases.

The malware was eliminated as of Aug. 11, UPS said.

New York -- A new Nielsen survey found that nearly 20% of consumers have already started their back-to-school shopping, and 75% plan to start within the next few weeks.

More parents are starting their shopping earlier than in the past, as 18% of survey respondents had already started their back to school shopping as compared to 7% at the same time last year. On the flip side, 15% are choosing to wait longer, while 50% do not plan to do any back to school shopping this year.

Houston -- Stage Stores, Inc. reported net income of $11.2 million for the second quarter, compared with $9.6 million last year.

Total sales were $377 million. Same-store sales decreased 4.2%.

“We found the second quarter to be challenging, but we were encouraged that our sales trend improved towards the end of the quarter,” said Michael Glazer, CEO. “We expect improved second half results given our sales driving initiatives.”

New York -- Shoppers reliance on mobile devices is reflected in a new back-to-school survey by Retale, a location-based shopping platform aggregating weekly circulars from top line retailers for mobile and digital devices.

Among parents that own a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet), 73% use them to shop for back-to-school items, with viewing deals (97%) and comparing prices (96%) being the most common mobile shopping activities.

Charlotte, N.C. -- The Cato Corporation reported that net income rose 6% to $15.7 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 2, from $14.8 million last year.

Sales increased 6% to $243.8 million, from $229.4 million last year. Same-store sales increased 3%.

"Second quarter same-store sales were in line with our year-to-date trend," said John Cato, CEO. "However, we continue to expect the second half earnings per diluted share will be within our original guidance range.”