FINANCE

Bed Bath & Beyond made another move to boost its online offerings by acquiring a home furnishings and home décor flash-sales site.

Draw Another Circle, the parent company of Texas-based Hastings Entertainment, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with hopes of finding a buyer for its Hastings superstores.    

The combination of a cool spring and the continued pullback in luxury apparel spending took a toll on Neiman Marcus Group in the company’s third quarter.    The department store retailer’s profit plunged 80% in the period ended April 30, down to $3.8 million from $19.8 million in the year-ago period.    Total revenue for the quarter fell 4.2% to $1.17 billion, down from $1.22 billion a year ago.   Same-stores sales fell 5%.   

Solid. That’s how many industry analysts described retail sales in May.   Driven partly by rising gasoline prices, sales increased 0.5% in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, above the 0.3% gain economists expected. Excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, retail sales rose 0.2% unadjusted over April, according to the National Retail Federation.   

Aéropostale has received final approval for $160 million in debtor in-possession financing provided by Crystal Financial LLC.

Consumers are being choosy about where they are spending extra money that is becoming available with the end of the recession.
 
According to a new study from Mintel, more than two in five (44%) Americans describe their financial situations as "healthy" in 2016, compared to 37% in 2015 and 33% in 2013, indicating that improvements in the economy are being felt at a household level. However, different retail categories are receiving the benefit more than others.
 

Specialty home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (RH) had what could be termed a messy start to the fiscal year.
 
RH swung to a net loss of $13.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, compared to net earnings of $7.2 million the prior year period, falling short of Wall Street expectations. Revenue grew 8% to $455.5 million from $422.4 million, but also missed projections. Increases in cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative (S,G&A) expenses helped push the retailer into the red despite improving sales.

Specialty apparel retailer Christopher & Banks Corp. is not out of the red, but headed in the right direction during the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
The company reported net loss of $0.2 million, down from a net loss of $1.4 million the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Improved gross margin helped shrink the loss. Net sales totaled $100 million, an increase of 9%, compared to $91.6 million.