News

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters reported Monday that net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 dipped slightly to $75 million, compared with $77 million in the year-ago period.

For the full year, profit rose to $273 million from $220 million a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter net sales rose 14% to $668 million. Same-store sales for the quarter increased 4%. By brand, same-store sales rose 1% at Anthropologie, 28% at Free People and 5% for Urban Outfitters.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 11% in March, as compared with the same month last year.

Paris -- A report released Monday by Reuters said that French luxury group LVMH will acquire Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari for $5.2 billion.

The offer, according to the report, is a 60% premium to Bulgari’s average share price, and indicates that the bounce-back of the luxury market could occur at a faster rate than Wall Street anticipated.

Rival bidders included the Richemont group and PPR, according to Reuters.

Dedham, Mass. -- Workforce management solution-provider Reflexis Systems said Monday that Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela’s has implemented Reflexis Task Manager and StoreWalk to increase efficiency and improve the store-level execution of its retail strategy.
 
The Reflexis cloud computing solutions, according to the company, enable retailers to streamline corporate-to-store communication, ensure consistent execution of in-store merchandising and promotional plans, and improve compliance with safety and operational policies.
 

New York City -- The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index, released Monday, increased in February for the fifth consecutive month.

According to the Conference Board, the index now stands at 101.7, up from January’s revised figure of 100.1. The index is up over 8% from a year ago.