Bottomline
NEW YORK:
Target, which is pushing through a costly period of transition, posted weaker-than-expected profits for the first quarter.
While traffic growth in stores reached levels not seen in a decade and comparable-store sales jumped a solid 3 percent, those bright spots were overshadowed by the profit numbers.
Shares tumbled 7 percent before the opening bell Wednesday.
Like other retailers, Target is reinventing itself, attempting to become more nimble in the age of Amazon. The Minneapolis discounter is re-investing more than $7 billion into the company through 2020, updating stores and opening smaller locations in urban markets.
With last year’s acquisition of sameday delivery service Shipt for $550 million, Target has rolled out same-day delivery to more than 700 stores. And Target announced earlier this month that it was expanding its next-day delivery service for household essentials nationwide and cutting the fee to $2.99, from $4.99 per order. It’s free for its loyalty card members.(AP)
MOORESVILLE:
Lowe’s, which named a new CEO this week, is reporting weak profit and revenue numbers for its first quarter in which harsh winter weather cut into the traditional spring sales season.
The Mooresville, North Carolina, company earned $988 million, or $1.19 per share, for the three months ended May 4. A year earlier the home improvement retailer earned $602 million, or 70 cents per share.
That’s 3 cents shy of Wall Street expectations, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue rose to $17.36 billion from $16.86 billion, but also missed the mark.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, edged up 0.6 percent. In the US, the figure climbed 0.5 percent. (AP)
NEW YORK:
Revamping the image of a 180-year-old company was never going to be easy, but new CEO Alessandro Bogliolo appears to be off to a good start.
Revamping the image of a 180-yearold company was never going to be easy, but new CEO Alessandro Bogliolo appears to be off to a good start.
Profits during the first quarter surged 53 percent, to $142.3 million. At $1.14 per share, the profit figures put up by the high-end Manhattan jeweler buried Wall Street projections for just 84 cents.
The company on Wednesday also said it would buy back up to $1 billion of its own stock, and shares soared by more than 16 percent in early trading to an all-time high. (AP)
FARMINGTON:
United Technologies plans to hire 35,000 people and invest more than $15 billion in the US over the next five years.
The company said Wednesday that the investment will go toward research and development and capital expenditures.
United Technologies Corp. has more than 200,000 employees in over 75 countries. It currently has 67,000 workers in the US
The 35,000 positions will mostly be from retirements and normal turnover, the company said, but it anticipates several thousand will be new jobs. While jobs are anticipated in all states, the greatest hiring needs are in Connecticut, Florida and Georgia. Half of the jobs are expected to be in production and maintenance, with the rest being professional and managerial positions. (AP)
ORLANDO:
The parents of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin say The Weinstein Company owes them at least $150,000 for optioning the rights to their book in order to make a yet unaired television series based on their son’s legacy.
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin filed court papers last week in the company’s case in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The television series has been filmed and they are owed fees for “executive producer services,” the parents said in the court filing.
If the television series airs, the parents will be owed further money, the court filing said. (AP)
DOVER:
CBS Corp is asking a judge to bless a move by its board to dilute the stock voting power of its controlling shareholder, the latest step in an ongoing legal battle for control of the mass media company.
In a court filing Wednesday, CBS asked a Delaware judge to rule a board vote last week that would reduce the voting stake of National Amusement Inc. was “effective and permissible.” The special dividend approved by the board would decrease NAI’s stake from 80 percent to 17 percent (AP)
NEW YORK:
Aye, aye, captain: the rights to The Krusty Krab, the greasy spoon featured in the popular children’s TV series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” belong to Viacom Inc and not to a Texas restaurateur hoping to open a seafood chain with that name.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 on Tuesday that Viacom deserves trademark protection for The Krusty Krab, and that IJR Capital Investments LLC and its owner Javier Ramos cannot use it for their restaurants.
Circuit Judge Priscilla Owen wrote that Viacom proved that diners would likely be confused if IJR used the name The Krusty Krab, the restaurant located in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom where SpongeBob works as a fry cook. (RTRS)
LONDON:
Clarks, the British shoemaker and retailer, will return to large-scale manufacturing in the UK for the first time in over a decade when a new factory in southwest England joins plants in Vietnam and India in making its iconic Desert Boot.
The 193-year-old firm, which operates in over 90 markets, said the new plant next to its headquarters in Street, Somerset, will have the capacity to make up to 300,000 pairs of Desert Boots a year and will give it shorter lead times. (RTRS)
ATHENS:
Hyatt Hotels Corp will open its first Grand Hyatt hotel in Greece and its third in Europe, the company said, underscoring the growth in tourism in the country.
The 310-room 5-star luxury hotel is expected to open in the third quarter, Hyatt said, in the premises of the former Ledra Marriott Hotel. The Ledra, with stunning Acropolis views, once hosted Hollywood stars and politicians but was forced to shut in 2016 by the economic crisis after more than three decades.
The project marks “a significant milestone in Southeast Europe, an important growth market for Hyatt,” said Takuya Aoyama, a Hyatt vice president for Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS. (RTRS)