StORES Magazine - August 2007 - (Page S12)

HOT1OO RED TO BLACK Everyone likes a success story, particularly those in which overcoming adversity is a major plot element. There are 18 Hot 100 Retailers that fall into that category — reporting profits in the most recently completed fiscal year after sustaining losses the year before. Big Lots, the Ohio-based closeout specialist, experienced the biggest rebound after closing a number of stores and eliminating furniture from its merchandise mix. Brookstone, the self-styled multi-channel “product development company and 25 specialty lifestyle retailer,” cut loose its Gardeners Eden brand and strengthened its balance sheet with a disciplined approach to borrowing money. Factory Card & Party Outlet, the country’s largest publiclyCOMPANY 2006 EARNINGS (000) 2005 EARNINGS (000) Big Lots Toys “R” Us Winn-Dixie OfficeMax J.Crew Travel Centers of America FTD Inc. Carrols Corp. PriceSmart Mothers Work Sport Chalet Delia’s Jennifer Convertibles Finlay Enterprises Restoration Hardware Factory Card & Party Brookstone All dollar figures in thousands $124,045 109,000 99,000 91,700 71,641 31,033 25,543 13,424 11,858 9,102 7,099 5,754 5,220 4,408 3,252 2,283 1,631 ($10,088) (384,000) (381,000) (73,762) (9,662) (2,095) (22,600) (4,350) (63,632) (175) (87) (10,312) (3,870) (55,736) (29,307) (1,003) (3,567) traded retail party chain, returned to profitability by growing sales, increasing margins and controlling expenses. Finlay Enterprises is a major operator of leased jewelry departments in department stores, but also owns the 34unit Carlyle jewelry chain and the five-store Congress group in Florida. Two years ago, when the department store industry was precipitously contracting, a large number of doors were closed to Finlay and the company was swimming in red ink. Last year, under the guidance of Arthur E. Reiner, the company returned to profitability as it expanded its presence in the specialty jewelry store sector as a way of diversifying its revenue stream. FTD Group, which was taken public two years ago by Los Angeles private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, attributes its earnings turnaround to an increase in order volume, particularly in the e-commerce channel. Toys “R” Us was bought two years ago by a consortium that included Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital and Vornado Realty, which streamlined and revamped the company by closing 75 stores, upgrading training of store-level associates, cleaning up stores and adding more exclusive merchandise. After a long and difficult struggle, Winn-Dixie returned to profitability, but how long that lasts after bankruptcy settlement benefits expire remains to be seen. 91 S12 STORES / AUGUST 2007 merchandise for personal computers. GameStop opened its 1,000th international store in June, and the momentum continues, thanks in part to the sustained popularity of game machines such as Nintendo’s Wii, Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox: sales were up 23 percent — and earnings were in the triple digits, including a tax credit — for the first fiscal quarter. GameStop chairman and CEO Richard Fontaine says results have been “driven by the strong growth of next-generation hardware” and that business “is benefiting from unmatched platform expansion. “Not only was this unprecedented, but there is every inWWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of StORES Magazine - August 2007

Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Upfront NRF News Retail People Concept2Watch Supermarkets Cover Story Online Marketing In-Store Marketing RFID Data Management Payment Systems Software Loss Prevention E-Commerce Risk Management Communications Loyalty Marketing Human Resources Mobile Commerce Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View Advertising Index Retail Industry Calendar

StORES Magazine - August 2007

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