News

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop reported Thursday a profit of $0.9 million for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $1.4 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose 3.1% to $95.4 million, and same-store sales increased 1.1%.

“We remain optimistic about our business and expect the ongoing implementation of our strategies to enable us to continue our positive performance,” said Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop’s chairman and chief executive bear. International revenue surged 14%.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday that same-store sales increased 2.9% in October, boosted by a 3.6% surge in pharmacy same-store sales. Front-end same-store sales edged up 1.3%.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 2.8% to $1.96 billion compared to $1.91 billion for the same period last year.

Austin, Texas -- Golfsmith International Holdings reported Thursday a profit of $1.3 million for the quarter ended Oct. 1, compared with a loss of $1.1 million a year earlier.

Net revenues increased 8.3 % to $101 million, from $93.3 million. Same-store sales rose 3.4%.
 

Toano, Va. -- Flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators reported Thursday that net income in the third quarter rose 57.2% to $6.7 million, compared with $4.3 million in the year-ago period.

Sales surged 16.8% to $172 million in the quarter, and same-store sales increased 3%.

The retailer has opened 33 new store locations in 2011, including six opened during the third quarter. It plans to open seven to nine new stores in the fourth quarter.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 24 rose to $21.5 million, compared with $20 million in the year-ago period.

Sales dipped 2.1% to $1.77 billion from $1.81 billion, barely meeting Wall Street’s expected $1.807 billion. Same-store sales dropped 4.3%.

“We remain focused on driving operational efficiencies as we position the company for long-term growth," said Ravi Saligram, president and CEO, OfficeMax.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack's transition from offering T-Mobile products and services to offering those of Verizon Wireless took a toll on the company's third quarter profits, though overall sales managed to increase.

SEATTLE — The popularity of Amazon.com's Kindle e-readers continues to help boost Amazon.com's sales. However, net income for the third quarter was disappointing.

Amazon.com reported that net sales for the third quarter increased 44% to $10.88 billion in the third quarter, compared with $7.56 billion in third quarter 2010. Net income decreased 73% to $63 million in the third quarter, or 14 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $231 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, in third quarter 2010.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys“R”Us announced that it has established business operations in Poland and plans to open its first store in the country at the end of November. The first Toys“R”Us store in Poland will open in the country’s capital city of Warsaw just in time for the holiday shopping season, with several additional locations slated to open in major cities throughout the country in 2012, the company reported.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that it is customizing the shopping experience even more for its customers by providing them with  new digital local ads available on searslocalad.com and kmartlocalad.com.  

NEW YORK — Macy’s is positioning itself as a leader in fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle news and trends with launch of mBLOG at macys.com/mblog. According to the company, the website will include tips from Macy's staff as well as experts from such sites as Fashionista.com and FoodRepublic.com.