Tarrant Business

North Richland Hills shopping center sold, owners plan to redevelop

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — The Crossing at the northwest corner of Precinct Line Road and Grapevine Highway has been sold to Centennial Real Estate Co., which said it plans to revamp the shopping center.

The 247,720-square-foot center, anchored by Kohl’s department store and a Kroger Signature grocery store, was developed and opened in 2000 by Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. It sold the center in 2003 to Boston-based Heritage Property Trust.

Kroger opened in 2001 in a former Minyard grocery store space.

This is the third property Centennial has bought in northeast Tarrant County in recent months. In late 2011, it bought the Village Park at Colleyville, at Colleyville Boulevard and Texas 26. The deal included 133,771 square feet of retail space.

Centennial, with offices in Dallas and Los Angeles, said it owns more than 2 million square feet of shopping centers, lifestyle centers and malls in the southwest and western sections of the U.S., including a mall in Pueblo, Colo., and a mall in Chico, Calif.

"We saw an opportunity with The Crossing to enhance an important asset to both the community and existing retailers," said Steve Levin, Centennial’s president, in a statement. "We plan to improve the center’s overall appearance and work to fill unmet needs of the community by introducing an exciting line-up of new retailers and other complementary tenants over time."

Centennial bought the property under the name A C Crossing Partners and financed the deal with a $10.6 million note with Inwood Bank, according to deed records. It was sold by Gateway Grant Inc. in New York, which bought the property in 2007.

- Sandra Baker

Forbes compares Facebook to GameStop: "Will you invest with your head or your heart?"

Forbes isn't giving much love to Facebook or GameStop right now. On the eve of Facebook's monumental IPO, the mag is out with a column comparing the two companies and asking the question, "Will you invest with your head or your heart?" GameStop shares got beat up on Wall Street today, after the company came out with a weak second-quarter forecast.

- Scott Nishimura

GameStop shares taking a hit

GameStop’s shares were being shelled today, after the company said its second-quarter sales and profits would fall short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Paul Raines, the Grapevine video game retailer’s chief executive, said results are harder to forecast in the late stages of video game console "cycles." Raines said GameStop expects its pre-owned, mobile, and digital businesses to "fill the profitability gap" as the company awaits the launch of the new Nintendo Wii U later this year.

Raines said GameStop continues to do better than its rival in new game sales. The company improved its gross profit margin – sales minus costs of those sales, as a percentage – and the pre-owned, mobile, and digital businesses contributed "positive profit contributions," Raines said.

"We expect those segments to fill the profitability gap as we transition to the new console cycle," he told securities analysts and reporters during a conference call.

GameStop said Thursday it expects second-quarter earnings of 10 to 18 cents per share of common stock. Wall Street was looking for 25.4 cents per share.

The company also said it expected comparable store sales – those in stores open at least a year, an industy benchmark – to be down 5 to 11 percent.

GameStop maintained its guidance for fiscal year earnings of $3.10 to $3.30 per share. Wall Street ‘s consensus estimate is $3.19.

GameStop shares were down $2.09 to $18.78 shortly before the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Rob Lloyd, GameStop’s chief financial officer, told analysts and reporters on the call that the company was "widening the range" on its profit guidance "to reflect the uncertainty" at the end of the console cycle.

GameStop, confirming an earlier announcement May 10, said it made a $72.5 million net profit for the first quarter, which ended April 30, compared to an $80.4 million net profit for the same period the prior year. Earnings per share were 54 cents in the latest quarter, compared to 56 cents for the same period the prior year.

Sales in comparable stores – those open at least a year, an industry benchmark – were down 12.5 percent for the quarter, as GameStop also disclosed May 10.

Raines said GameStop’s fast-growing PowerUp Rewards affinity program hit 18 million members during the quarter, and members accounted for 72 percent of sales. PowerUp customers are spending $358 on average annually, and account for 35-40 of all video game consumption in the United States, Raines said.

Raines also said GameStop’s rivals in the pre-owned game business continue to contract, giving the company "confidence in our pre-owned model."

He also estimated that, at $75 per used console, gamers have $1.8 billion worth of trade currency available, should they elect to buy a new Wii U or other new consoles on the drawing board.

- Scott Nishimura

Grapevine's GameStop says second-quarter earnings will be below Wall Street expectations

GameStop said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings will come in under Wall Street’s projections, but the company maintained its earnings expectations for the full year.

The Grapevine-based videogame retailer reported a $72.5 million net profit for the first quarter, which ended April 30, compared to $80.4 million for the same period the prior year. Earnings per share were 54 cents in the latest quarter, compared to 56 cents the prior year. Sales in comparable stores – those open at least a year, an industry benchmark – were down 12.5 percent for the quarter, in line with what GameStop disclosed on May 10.

The company's shares sank on the news in early morning trading, falling nearly 7 percent, or $1.42 a share, to $19.42.

GameStop said it expects second-quarter earnings of 10 to 18 cents per share. Wall Street is looking for 25.4 cents per share.

GameStop also said it continues to expect full-year earnings of $3.10 to $3.30 per share. Wall Street is looking for $3.19.

GameStop said May 10 that its first-quarter sales reflected “light demand for ‘AAA’ game launches and slower than expected traffic.”

“GameStop continues to outperform the market in new game sales through the late stages of this console cycle,” Paul Raines, GameStop’s chief executive, said in a release Thursday.

“Despite slower traffic during the quarter, we achieved our earnings target due primarily to gross margin expansion and positive profit contributions from our pre-owned, mobile and digital businesses. We expect those segments to fill the profitability gap as we transition to the new console cycle.”

- Scott Nishimura

GameStop re-iterates first-quarter earnings guidance, says same-store sales off 12.5%

Update: Retail Metrics estimated GameStop's same-store sales would be off 2.9 percent, according to Bloomberg News. Analysts' consensus estimate for GameStop's quarterly earnings is 53 cents per share, and it's $3.21 for the full year, according to Bloomberg data.

GameStop, the Grapevine video game retailer, said late Thursday it was confirming its 2012 first-quarter and full-year earnings guidance.

The company said its first-quarter earnings would be 54 cents per share of common stock, and its same-store sales - those open at least a year, an industry benchmark - would be off 12.5 percent.

The company re-iterated its full-year earnings guidance of $3.10 to $3.30 per share.

"The company is outperforming the market in new video game product sales," GameStop said. "However, first quarter same store sales results reflect light demand for AAA game launches and slower than expected store traffic during the quarter."

GameStop is scheduled to release its quarterly results May 17.

- Scott Nishimura

H&M opening at Grapevine Mills

H&M, the popular worldwide fashion retailer that entered Texas recently with stores at NorthPark Center and the Galleria in Dallas, is opening a 24,000-square-foot store at Grapevine Mills, the mall and company said Tuesday afternoon.

The store will take the closed Books-A-Million space near Entry No. 2, next to the Last Call by Neiman Marcus and Rainforest Cafe, Simon Property Group, owner of Grapevine Mills, said.

The store will open in the fall, Robyn Hankerson, a spokeswoman for Grapevine Mills, said.

"The date right now is not confirmed," she siad.

H&M has 2,500 stores and 94,000 employees worldwide.

It wasn’t clear whether the Grapevine Mills store will be different in format, presentation and merchandise than the ones in Dallas. Hankerson deferred to H&M, which could not be reached late Tuesday.

Grapevine Mills, which touts itself as the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in North Texas, has more than 180 stores. Hankerson said Grapevine Mills wasn’t disclosing current figures on the mall’s occupancy.

H&M sells apparel for women, men, teens and children, including graphic T-shirts, men’s suits, accessories and outerwear.

- Scott Nishimura

GameStop quarterly profit falls on charges, but beats Wall Street estimates

GameStop’s profit fell in the fourth quarter as it took several one-time charges, but, excluding those items, earnings were in line with the company’s projections.

Net profit for the Grapevine-based video games retailer fell to $174.7 million compared to $237.8 million. Excluding the writedowns and restructuring charges, profit was $1.73 per share of common stock, 10 percent over a year earlier, GameStop said.

For the new fiscal year, which began Jan. 29, GameStop said its sales growth would be driven primarily by its digital business, used video games, and mobile initiatives. It said it expects 8-15 percent in earnings per share growth over 2011.

GameStop forecasted sales in comparable stores would fall off in the first quarter of the new year, but accelerate through the year. It said it expected first-quarter sales in comparable stores – those open at least a year, an industry benchmark - would fall 7.5-9 percent. For the year, it expects comparable store sales to be in the range between down 1.5 percent to up 2 percent.

GameStop said it expected to open 100 new stores and close 150, and it continues to focus on its digital business.

Rob Lloyd, GameStop’s chief financial officer, said in an interview that GameStop expects its fast-growing digital business to grow 50 percent above the 57 percent growth in 2011. Digital sales finished 2011 at $453 million, he said, compared to the total $9.5 billion in sales for the company.

Digital sales, which the company has said its future growth will come from, should grow into “the high $600 million range for 2012,” Lloyd said in the interview.

As for the expected tough first quarter in comparable store sales, Lloyd noted GameStop is up against a strong period from a year earlier, after Nintendo launched its 3DS game unit.

Through the remainder of the year for the stores, GameStop expects a boost from its software lineup and growing buy-sell-trade program for Apple “i” devices such as iPhones and iPads.

Nintendo is also preparing to launch its new Wii U device later in the year, and “that is always a (comparable store sales) driver, when we have a hardware launch,” Lloyd said.

GameStop expects its net retail square footage to be down 1 percent for the year, primarily driven by shrinkage in the U.S. store base.

Lloyd said GameStop is using its rapidly growing PowerUp Rewards affinity program to help it make decisions on opening and closing stores.

In the case of closing a store, he said the company can use the PowerUp Rewards system to redirect customers to the nearest store. Typically, the company can redirect 40 percent of a closing store’s customers to another nearby store, Lloyd said.

Including subtraction of costs, the combination of two stores can increase the profit of those combined operaitons by 20 percent, he said. PowerUp now has more than 17 million participants, up from 15.9 million at the end of the fiscal year, Lloyd said. The company went national with the program in 2010, and thhe company estimates 59 percent of its sales come from PowerUp customers.

The company wants to get that number up above 70 percent by the end of 2014, Lloyd said.

“That’s been a home run for us,” he said. “Knowing what customers are spending, what their frequency is, incenting them, it’s been a great tool for us.”

- Scott Nishimura

GameStop celebrates 10 years on the NYSE

GameStop CEO Paul Raines and an entourage flew to New York and rang the Closing Bell on the NYSE Wednesday, celebrating 10 years on the exchange.

- Scott Nishimura

GameStop says holiday sales in comparable stores down 0.3 percent

GameStop said this morning its sales in comparable stores, those open at least a year, decreased 0.3 percent for the nine weeks that ended Dec. 31. That included a 0.3 percent U.S. increase and a 1.5 percent decrease in foreign stores.

Digital sales grew 60 percent, led by Call of Duty ELITE subscriptions for downloadable content.

Total copany sales of new video game software grew 9.9 percent, led by “strong” sales of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titles  Those included Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V. Skyrim, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.

New hardware sales declined 19.6 percent as “there were no new console products or low enough price points to stimulate consumer demand as in 2010.”

The pre-owned category increased 3.5 percent over last year’s holiday, and 7 percent year-to-date, “indicating that customers continue to respond positively to GameStop’s value proposition,” the company said.

GameStop’s “tablet and pre-owned mobile initiatives continue to resonate with consumers both online and in-store,” the company said.

During the holiday sales period, trades of mobile devices were 4 percent of total company trade volume.

GameStop said it now expects same-store sales for the fourth quarter and full year to range from down 1 to 2 percent.

GameStop said it is reiterating its previously announced fourth quarter and full year earnings per share guidance ranges of $1.66 to $1.76 and $2.82 to $2.92. That includes debt retirement costs; the company said it retired the last of its long-term debt in the most recent quarter.

“During the holiday, our solid sales performance of new high-def console software was offset by weak Wii software sales and hardware sales due to the lack of new hardware offerings versus the 2010 period,” Paul Raines, GameStop CEO, said. “We were pleased with the performance of our buy-sell-trade business, digital offerings and mobile initiatives. GameStop also retired the remainder of its long-term debt establishing a debt-free balance sheet as we go into 2012.”

- Scott Nishimura

Container Store launches hiring for new Arlington store

The Container Store is hiring for its Arlington store, set to open in March at the Arlington Highlands development. The company also has job listings at its Southlake store, and is taking applications at the South Hulen Street store in Fort Worth.

- Scott Nishimura