BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)

RETAIL

Stride Rite Q1 profit rises 15.8%

The shoemaker earned 22 cents a share, a penny over views and 3 cents over the year-ago period, as sales rose 10.6% to $150.6 mil. Stride Rite's children's unit logged a 13% rise in sales, with Stride Rite Children's company-owned retail store sales up 22% and same-store sales up 7.8%. The firm's Sperry unit logged a 32% rise in sales, and its Keds sales were up 8%; Tommy Hilfiger Footwear sales fell 10%. Shares fell 1.5% to 13.25.

Royal Ahold profit expands 8-fold

The Dutch grocery store giant that operates 4,500 stores in Europe and the Americas earned $124 mil, up 700% from a year ago, due to …