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Schaumburg, Ill. - Nearly one in five Americans will shop on Black Friday, and more than half (61%) plan to spend $100 to $500, according to a new survey by The Nielsen Company.  Among the likely Black Friday winners are department stores, with 76% of consumers planing to shop the channel, and supercenters/mass merchandisers, where 55% will shop.

New York City -- Foot Locker on Thursday reported a profit for its third quarter on stronger margins for the retailer.

The company said it earned $52 million for the quarter that ended Oct. 30. That compares with a loss of $6 million during the same period year earlier, when the company also had $22 million in impairment charges.

Revenue rose 5% o $1.28 billion. Same-store sales were up 8.1%.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Hibbett Sports said Friday its third-quarter profit jumped 43% as it posted another quarter of double-digit growth in same-store sales revenue. It also boosted its forecast for the year.

The company reported net income of $12.6 million in the three months that ended Oct. 30, up from $8.8 million a year ago.

Revenue rose nearly 15% to $167.4 million, from $145.9 million a year ago. Same-store sales rose 12.5%.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity said its fourth-quarter net income tripled as cost-cutting measures paid off, even as sales in some categories fell.

The company earned almost $4.3 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, up from $1.4 million during the same period last year. Revenue rose slightly to $124.3 million, from $123.8 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 2.3%.

By Julius C. Dorsey Jr., [email protected] and Roy T. Bergold Jr.[email protected]

Aside from maybe the eccentric billionaire who on a whim decides to open a shop to sell hand-whittled tumbleweed sculptures, probably not many. For the rest of the owners and managers in the real world, sales and profits are the only reasons they’re in business.