Family Dollar Reports Record First Quarter Sales and Earnings

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. reported that net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 ended November 27, 2010, increased 9.5% to $1.997 billion compared to $1.823 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.  Net income for the quarter increased 9.9% to $74.3 million compared with net income of $67.6 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

PR Newswire

Liquidation World Announces Fiscal 2010 Results

Liquidation World Inc. announced the results of the 2010 fiscal year, representing the 52-week period ended October 3, 2010.  Revenue decreased 2.8% to $153.4 million from $157.8 million in the prior year. Same store sales in fiscal 2010 decreased 2.3% as compared to fiscal 2009. In 2010, the Company recorded a net loss of $12.3 million ($0.67 per share) compared to a net loss of $17.6 million ($1.32 per share) in the prior year.

Market Wire

BJ's to Close 5 Stores

Natick-based retailer BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. will close five stores by the end of the month.  Three of the stores are in the Atlanta area and the others are in Charlotte, N.C., and Sunrise, Fla.  The closures will cost BJ's about $45 million: $43 million in lease terminations and $2 million in severance packages. The company will take $5 million of the charges in the current quarter, which ends at the end of the month. 

WB Journal

CVS in $1.25bn Deal to Buy Universal's Medicare Unit

CVS Caremark, No. 2 US drugstore chain, has agreed to buy Universal American's Medicare prescription drug business for about $1.25bn to expand in a growing segment of the pharmacy benefit market. The deal will more than double the size of CVS Caremark's business that provides prescription drug coverage under the Medicare Part D program.

Kam City

Wegmans Starts Hiring for 1st New England Store

Wegmans Food Markets has begun recruitment for full-time positions for its Northborough, Mass. Store -- the company's first New England location - which is slated to open its doors in October.   The Northborough store will employ about 600 people, 550 of whom Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans intends to hire from the surrounding community.

Progressive Grocer

Shaw's to Close 5 Stores, 2 in Rhode Island

Shaw's Supermarkets announced that it plans to close five stores: three in Massachusetts and two in Rhode Island located in Warwick and Johnston.  The supermarket chain currently has 12 stores statewide.  Shaw's said in its news release that it employs approximately 25,000 people at its 174 New England store locations, resulting in an average of 144 people per store.

Providence Business News

UK Retailer Waitrose's Sales Up, Plans New Stores

British supermarket chain Waitrose will open 39 new stores this year, it said, after posting strong sales figures in the build-up to the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations.  The retailer said 3,000 new jobs will be created this year in management and non-management roles as it plans to open new shops including 12 full-sized supermarkets and convenience stores.

Reuters

Tesco Enters Cash-For-Gold Market

Tesco hopes to mine new ground with the launch of a service allowing customers to swap unwanted gold jewellery for cash. The retailer began trialling its Gold Exchange online and in about 15 stores in November.  Tesco said it developed the service in the wake of the strong price of gold. Under the fledgling scheme, those over 18 can apply for a gold pack and send off their unwanted or damaged gold jewellery in a prepaid Royal Mail special delivery bag via their local Post Office or in participating Tesco Extra stores.

Kam City

Metro Aims to Be Profitable in Asia

Metro AG aims to make its Asian operations profitable by 2013 by adding more stores.  The retailer, which posted a loss of 45 million euros ($60 million) in the Asia/Africa region in 2009, plans to add five wholesale outlets in India and will open its 50th Cash & Carry store in China in the first quarter.  Metro plans to spend as much as 800 million euros opening more than 40 wholesale stores this year.

Bloomsberg

Walmart Invests in China's 360buy.com

Walmart invested in Chinese e-retailer 360buy.com, in a further indication of its interest in the developing nation's expanding online consumer base.  The US retail giant -- the world's largest, by sales -- was joined by five other companies taking a stake in China's biggest purveyor of web-based consumer electronics, which raised $500 million in the funding round.

Fox Business