Chain Store Age Executive Fax articles from March 2004

Chain Store Age Executive Fax archives from March 2004

New stores, new markets.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Tractor Supply Co. will open in Temple, Pa., later this month, its first store in Berks County.... Dillard's will take over a former Montgomery Ward site at SouthPark Mall in Moline, Ill.... Costco is said to be eyeing a site at Tanger Outlet...

At GapMaternity, more 'deliveries'.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Gap, Inc. will expand its GapMaternity concept into 10 more babyGap stores in 2004, beginning this month. The concept, first launched on line in March 2000, currently operates in 33 babyGap stores. GapMaternity will open in four babyGap stores...

Fiscal 2004 begins with a bang, February comps increase 6.7%.(Illustration)
March 5, 2004... In the strongest sales showing since April 2000, retailers industrywide reported a 6.7% increase in comparale-store sales in February. The gain bested the 6% sales surge recorded one month prior, according to the International Council of...

Galyan's Trading Co.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Robert Mang has resigned as chairman and CEO of Galyan's Trading Co. The retailer named Edwin Holman, who currently serves as COO and president, to assume the role of CEO. It has yet to name a new chairman....

Saks, Inc.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Saks, Inc. gave its vice chairman, Steve Sadove, the added title of COO....

Burger King.(People In The News)(Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Winn-Dixie named former Burger King executive Paul Novak as its chief development officer....

Nash Finch Co.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Jerry Nelson has resigned as president and COO of Nash Finch Co....

Carl Rubin was appointed executive VP, chief merchandising officer of Office Depot.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Carl Rubin was appointed executive VP, chief merchandising officer of Office Depot. He most recently served as a partner with Accenture, which had been consulting the retailer....

Ann Taylor Stores Corp.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Barry Erdos resigned as COO and a director of Ann Taylor Stores Corp. His duties will be assumed by other executives.

At Gymboree Corp., more than onesies.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... You may still see baby strollers at Gymboree's latest new format, Janeville, but the merchandise is now being geared to the mother, not the child. Targeted to women in their mid-30s, the first three Janeville stores will open next month at...

At long last, grocer strike resolved.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... The resolution of the Southern California grocery strike and lockout this week couldn't have come at a better time. Days before Wal-Mart debuted its supercenter format this week in the Golden State, union members and some 60,000 workers...

Spending outlook improves in March.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... More middle-income households are expected to increase their spending this month, as spring approaches and tax refunds begin to make their way into shoppers' mailboxes. According to Columbus, Ohio-based consulting and market research firm...

Tru sells 'Kids' stores to Office Depot.(Toys "R" Us)(Kids "R" Us)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Months after stating it would close down its freestanding Kids "R" Us format, it appears that most of the 146 children's clothing stores won't be staying dark for too long. Toys "R" Us is selling 124 of the stores to Office Depot for $197...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2004... Electronic Express will open its first store outside of Tennessee this year. The chain also is moving away from mall-based locations, according to an article in Nashville Business Journal.... Footstar filed for Chapter 11, citing costs related...

New stores, new markets.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Best Buy and Old Navy are slated to open this summer in Paducah, Ky., at Kentucky Oaks Mall.... Burlington Coat Factory opens this weekend in a former Kmart location in Omaha, Neb. The company also opened in Hampton, Va., at Coliseum Mall and...

Chains are trimming retail fat; Footstar for sure, maybe target.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... It came as no surprise that Footstar decided this week to close down its 88-store Just For Feet concept, which has been unprofitable since 2000. More of a surprise was Target's announcement that it was mulling the sale of its department store...

Kash n' Karry's new format: Sweetbay.(Kash N'Karry Food Stores Inc.)(Sweetbay Supermarket)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Seeking to quench Floridians' desire "for knowledge and inspiration about inventive food choices," Kash n' Karry said it will launch a new grocer format this fall. Titled Sweetbay Supermarket, the first of the new stores will open in Seminole,...

S&P lowers rating on Toys "R" Us--again.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Standard & Poor's (S&P) lowered its corporate credit, bank loan and senior unsecured debt ratings on Toys "R" Us, Inc. to "BB" from "BB+," based on the significant drop in profitability at its U.S. toy division in 2003 and its inability to...

Winn-Dixie hires another 'whopper'.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... For the second time in three weeks, Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. has hired a former Burger King executive to lead its turnaround. Bennett Nussbaum was named senior VP, CFO, succeeding Richard McCook, who resigned after 20 years of employment....

Casual Male Retail Group.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Boxing legend George Foreman was elected a director of Casual Male Retail Group, which will begin selling an exclusive line of clothing under his name this month. Foreman, who also is the company's spokesman, fills a vacancy left by Stephen...

Kmart hired former Home Shopping Network executive Paul Guyardo as senior VP.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Kmart hired former Home Shopping Network executive Paul Guyardo as senior VP, chief marketing officer.

Zales.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... ... Zales chairman Robert DiNicola will resign on July 31, the close of its fiscal year. Richard Marcus, who has served as a director since 1993 and is currently chairman of Zale's compensation committee, will replace him.

Charter One to open in Wal-Mart.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Charter One Financial, Inc. will open banking centers in 67 Wal-Mart stores in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York. The first center opens this May in Martinsville, Ind.

Circuit City has "a long way to go".(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Playing catch-up to Best Buy is no easy task, and no one knows that more than W. Alan McCollough, chairman, president and CEO of Circuit City. In a recent memo to company employees, obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, McCollough wrote,...

Strike bled red at Kroger, Albertson's.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... The five-month-long grocery strike and lockout in Southern California took its toll on Kroger and Albertson's bottom line. For Kroger, the strike and a work stoppage in West Virginia reduced earnings by $156.4 million in the fourth quarter...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2004... Saks will open a Younkers in Des Moines, Iowa, and a McRae's store in Birmingham, Ala., this fall that will reflect a new prototype that includes new departments and products and an improved layout for shopping.... Grocery Outlet, Inc. will...

New stores, new markets.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Golfsmith recently cut the ribbon on a store in Oxnard, Calif.... Hecht's has opened in Wilmington, N.C., at Mayfaire Town Center, which will officially open in May.... Big Lots will take over part of the former Builder's Square location at...

Brand names take a back seat: teens are now value-conscious.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... It's taken a while, but it appears teenagers finally have realized that money actually doesn't grow on trees. Teens are now looking for deals at retail stores and are spending much of their money at value-based stores such as Wal-Mart and...

Ralphs to close 15 stores in California.(Ralphs Grocery Co.)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Following its annual operations review, Ralphs Grocery Co. says it will close 15 underperforming supermarkets in Southern California within the next 60 days. The retailer says the closures are not related to the recently resolved Southern...

New Tower Records looks for a buyer.(MTS Inc. Tower Records)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Tower Records emerged from bankruptcy after only 35 days and is now looking to be sold. As a result of the restructuring, the 93-store chain has trimmed $80 million of debt, but its creditors own 85% of the company. Founder Russ Solomon, and...

KB Toys.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... KB Toys promoted Pete Lungo to VP of sales. He most recently served the dual role of director of store operations and training....

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. named Sue Oliver senior VP of people for its name-brand U.S. division, effective April 5. She most recently served as senior VP of human resources for American Airlines. Oliver replaces Charlyn Jarrells Porter, who was...

Payless ShoeSource.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Payless ShoeSource elected Michael George to its board of directors. He currently serves as chief marketing officer, general manager of U.S. consumer business at Dell....

Dollar General.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... James Hagan will resign as CFO of Dollar General after a short transition period. He joined the retailer in 2001....

Retail Industry Leaders Association's Supply Chain Security Committee.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Rosa Hakala, VP of international supply chain for Home Depot, and Kelby Woodard, director of supply chain assets protection of Target Corp., were named chairman and vice chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association's Supply Chain...

Boise Office will close two centers.(Boise Office Solutions)(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Boise Office Solutions will close two of its eight distribution/customer-service centers by the end of May, affecting 3,090 workers. The centers, located in Fort Worth, Texas, and Ottawa, Ill., are shutting down as a result of the integration...

Consumers will use taxes to pay debt.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Retailers hoping to see an uptick in sales in April may be in for a letdown. According to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), paying down debt is the No. 1 thing Americans plan to do with their refund checks. Consumers say they...

Mervyn's debuts dollar-store format.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Hoping to capitalize on one of the fastest-growing retail formats, Mervyn's debuted a "$1 to $5 Shop" inside all of its department stores. The news comes one week after parent company Target Corp. said that it might sell its two department...

Sales decline, but Kmart posts profit.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Despite a 13.5% decline in same-store sales, Kmart recorded its first quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy. The retailer posted earnings of $276 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $1.1 billion in the prior-year...

Union calls for boycott in Chicago.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... Just weeks after the Southern California grocery strike was resolved, another has erupted, this time in the Windy City. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 has asked customers to boycott Treasure...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Brief Article)
March 19, 2004... BJ's Wholesale Club said a "small fraction" of its 8 million members were affected by consumer credit-card information theft. The chain ruled out the likelihood of a centralized security compromise.... Sawgrass Mills, located in the Fort...

New stores, new markets.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Barnes & Noble has added shops in Clay, N.Y., and in West Dundee, Ill., at Spring Hill Mall. In April, the book chain will open in Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach, Va.... Wild Oats opens this May at Village Pointe shopping center in Omaha,...

Lacy: expect a new Sears in 2004, 'grand' stores lead the change.(Sears, Roebuck and Co.)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... The steady stream of same-store sales declines has come to an end at Sears. Following gains of 4.6% in January and 1.1% in February, Alan Lacy, chairman and CEO of Sears, said that he expects to record gains in the low- to mid-single digits in...

San Francisco seeks to ban stores.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... One of the most liberal cities in the nation wants to make it harder for chain stores to increase their store base in certain neighborhoods. The Board of Supervisors in San Francisco voted 8-3 this week to limit "formula retail" stores, which...

Lowes foods shows interest in BI-LO.(Lowe's Food Stores Inc.)(BI-LO Grocery Stores L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Lowes Foods is one of the names that has been mentioned as a potential buyer of BI-LO, which is being sold by Ahold USA, according to The News & Observer. If Lowes Foods was to acquire BI-LO, it would significantly enhance its portfolio in the...

S&K Famous Brands.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... S&K Famous Brands elected Dr. Karen Newman, dean of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond (Va.), to its board of directors.

Gottschalks.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... ... Gottschalks elected Dale Achabal to its board of directors. A professor at Santa Clara University, he is the director of the Retail Management Institute and the Retail Workbench Research & Education Center, which is sponsored by a...

Factory 2-U Stores.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Norman Dowling was named executive VP and CFO of Factory 2-U Stores. He most recently served with Petco as executive VP of finance.

Virgin Entertainment Group.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... At Virgin Entertainment Group: Dave Alder was promoted to senior VP of marketing and strategic development, and Steven Winningham, former senior VP of IT and operations, was named executive VP of IT, operations and product.

Office depot sells 20 'Kids' to Petco.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Looking to boost its store base in states such as Florida and Ohio, Petco is spending roughly $45 million to acquire 20 former Kids "R" Us stores from Office Depot. Earlier this month, Office Depot agreed to purchase 124 Kids "R" Us stores from...

Footstar to focus solely on Meldisco.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Weeks after stating that it would close down 163 underperforming locations, including its 88-store Just For Feet chain, Footstar said this week it has accelerated plans to sell its entire athletic footwear operations. The company will now focus...

Easter spending expected to rise in 2004.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Easter spending will increase to an average of $107.17 per person this year, up from $102.76 last year. In all, consumers are expected to spend $10.47 billion on Easter this year, according to a recent survey conducted by BIGresearch on behalf...

7-Eleven to vendors: put it on the web.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... As part of an effort to streamline its application and selection process for suppliers, convenience store retailer 7-Eleven is telling its vendors to put their new product ideas on the Internet. Potential vendors will submit information about...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Brief Article)
March 26, 2004... Farmer Jack, a division of A&P, will debut its Food Basics concept in Detroit next week in 10 of its former locations.... Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc. spent $57 million to acquire Anaheim (Calif.) Plaza, a grocery-anchored community...