Companywide sales at office supplies cataloger/retailer Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) increased 5%, to $2.3 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 4. Net income fell 5%, though, to $40.4 million. Framingham, MA-based Staples’ delivery businesses–Quill catalog business, Staples Direct, Staples Contract, and their e-commerce counterparts—enjoyed a 14 % boost in sales. And revenue for the Websites alone rose 144%, to $234 million. Staples.com achieved profitability, with net income of $5 million for the quarter.
At least one apparel marketer is doing well despite the economy. Hingham, MA-based cataloger/retailer The Talbots (NYSE: TLB) increased net income 18%, to $17.8 million for the quarter ended Aug. 4. Total net sales rose 6%, to $384.3 million. Catalog sales were flat with last year’s at $49.8 million.
New York—Cataloger/retailer Venator Group (NYSE: Z), the parent company of the Foot Locker retail chain, the Eastbay catalog, and cataloger/retailer San Francisco Music Box Co., posted sales of 1.0 billion for the three months ended Aug. 4, up 8% from the comparable period of 2000. Adjusted operating profit for the second quarter increased 55%, to $65 million from $42 million last year. In its statement, the New York-based marketer said that plans to sell San Francisco Music Box are continuing, as it divests itself of noncore properties to focus on selling athletic footwear.