Seattle — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced plans to hire an additional 100,000 full- and part-time employees throughout the United States and Canada. This plan is in addition to the 33,000 new corporate and technology jobs announced last week. The roles offer a starting wage of at least $15 per hour, and in select cities, Amazon is offering sign-on bonuses up to $1,000 to new hires. The new employees will staff the 100 new operations buildings that Amazon is opening this month across its fulfillment centers, delivery stations and other …
Louisville, Ky. — Papa John’s International (NASDAQ: PZZA) has signed a store development agreement that will allow the Louisville-based pizza chain to open 49 new stores in the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey areas between 2021 and 2028. Franchisee HB Restaurant Group, which currently owns and operates 43 Papa John’s locations in the mid-Atlantic, will also own and operate the new stores.
New York City — Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON), a provider of subscription-based home exercise equipment and routines, reported a 172 percent increase in total revenue during the fourth quarter relative to that period in 2019. With many commercial gyms still operating at reduced capacities and numerous fitness centers at office and apartment buildings still closed, Peloton saw its connected fitness subscriptions and paid digital subscriptions grow by 113 and 210 percent, respectively. The New York City-based company now has a total membership base of more than 3.1 million people. …
Cincinnati — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has reported that its digital sales surged 127 percent in the second quarter, which ended Aug. 15. Consumers have been buying more groceries online as a result of the coronavirus. “Investments made to expand the company’s digital ecosystem are resonating well with customers,” says Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO. In addition, the Cincinnati-based grocer’s operating profit of $820 million was up 43 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Total company sales were $30.5 billion in the second quarter, compared with …
Vancouver — lululemon Athletica Inc. (Nasdaq: LULU) has reported online sales jumped 157 percent in the second quarter compared to Q2 2019. The Vancouver-based retailer closed stores in its North American, European and Asian Pacific portfolio in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic. lululemon began reopening stores in the second quarter. As of Aug. 2, 492 of 506 company-operated stores were open. The clothing store reported in-store sales were up 3 percent year-over-year. “We’re pleased with our overall business results for the second quarter, as lululemon increasingly lives up …
New Jersey — AMC Theatres (NYSE: AMC) will open all 27 of its theaters in New Jersey over the course of the next week, which began with the reopening of AMC Jersey Gardens 20 and AMC Wayne 14 on Friday, Sept. 4. An additional seven locations opened Monday, Sept. 7, with all remaining theaters then opening Thursday, Sept. 10. New Jersey is AMC Theatres’ sixth-largest market by screen count.
New York City — Rick Strauss has been hired at Odyssey Retail Advisors as a principal managing partner of landlord advisory business, the New York City-based firm announced. Strauss spent more than 20 years as a group vice president at The Taubman Co. and executive vice president at Westfield Corp. With Odyssey, Strauss will focus on landlord advisory and consulting, including project visioning, merchandising, marketing, proformas and execution of deals. “My passion is to make shopping environments highly competitive in today’s marketplace by broadening appeal through merchandising and creating engaging …
New York City — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reported approximately $3.56 billion in net sales across its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands during its fiscal second quarter ending Aug. 1, a 34.7 percent decline from that period in 2019. However, the New York City-based retailer said its second-quarter performance exceeded expectations, thanks largely to a 53 percent spike in year-over-year sales across its digital platforms. Digital sales represented 54 percent of Macy’s total revenue figure for the quarter. Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette also said that the successful reopening of a …
San Francisco — Driven by a 95 percent surge in online sales, San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported a 13 percent increase in its comparable sales for the fiscal second quarter, which ended Aug. 1. Gap’s decision to make face masks early on in the COVID-19 pandemic paid off, bringing in $130 million in sales, according to the company. Gap has produced face masks for individuals as well as the city of New York, the state of California and Kaiser Permanente. Net sales were down 18 percent year over …
Columbus, Ohio — Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) has reported net sales of $1.6 billion in its fiscal second quarter, which ended Aug. 1. This figure is 31.3 percent higher than the second quarter of 2019, which totaled $1.2 billion. Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of the Columbus-based retailer, says the “record-breaking results” were driven by both in-store and online activity. Big Lots also reported net income of $452 million, which includes $341.9 million in earnings due to the sale-leasebacks of several distribution centers. Big Lots, which sells toys, furniture, …