Chain Store Age Executive Fax articles from November 2004

Chain Store Age Executive Fax archives from November 2004

New stores, new markets.(Best Buy Company Inc., Oscar de la Renta Ltd., Walgreen Co.)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Walgreens will enter the Pittsburgh market next week with a store in Crafton, Pa. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, Kohl's is looking to build a store in State College at The Colonnade shopping center.... Barnes & Noble will open next October in...

Retail merger of the century: Kmart buys sears for $11 billion.(Sears, Roebuck and Co.)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Kmart and Sears were once rivals, but now they hope to make good business partners. The unexpected merger this week of the two retail titans was orchestrated chiefly by Edward Lampert, who serves as chairman of Kmart and is a shareholder in...

Castagna resigns from J.C. Penney.(Vanessa Castagna )(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Two weeks after being passed over as Allen Questrom's successor at J.C. Penney, Vanessa Castagna has decided to leave the retailer. It was widely speculated that she would resign after Myron Ullman was given the top job, as Castagna's...

Nordstrom.(People In The News)(Phyllis Campbell elected for Seattle Foundation)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Nordstrom has elected Phyllis Campbell, chief executive and president of The Seattle Foundation, to its board of directors. From 1993 until 2001, she was president of U.S. Bank of Washington. Campbell also serves on several corporate and...

Foot Locker, Inc.(People In The News)(Alan Feldman elected )(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Foot Locker, Inc. elected Alan Feldman to its board, effective Feb. 1, 2005. He currently serves as CEO and president of Midas. Feldman also held various senior management positions at McDonald's from 1994 through 2002.

Circuit City to build Leed store.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design )(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Circuit City has signed on as a tenant at the Abercorn Common retail redevelopment, to be located in Savannah, Ga. The store will be the retailer's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) location. It will replace its...

HSN division buys direct merchant.(HSN Improvements)(Alsto)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... HSN Improvements, a direct marketing subsidiary of TV and Web retailer HSN, will acquire direct merchant Alsto, a catalog and Web retailer. Alsto, owned by Dick Blick Holdings, sells outdoor decor and home furnishings.

Dress Barn buys Maurices, posts 1Q data.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Dress Barn, Inc. is now selling to consumers with an XY chromosome. The women's apparel retailer is spending $320 million to buy Maurices, which sells apparel and accessories to both women and men. Dress Barn says it will finance the...

Federated to sell credit-card division.(Federated Department Stores Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Following in the footsteps of Sears, The Home Depot, Saks and Circuit City in past years, Federated Department Stores, Inc. has hired an outsider to explore the possible sale of its credit-card portfolio, which it shares with GE Credit Corp....

Fortunoff acquired by equity firm.(Fortunoff Fine Jewelry and Silverware Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Jewelry and home-furnishings retailer Fortunoff will sell its business to private-equity firm Trimaran Capital Partners in a deal valued at $280 million, according to a report this week in The New York Times. The leading factor behind the...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Casual Male Retail Group Inc. to sell its Levi's/Dockers outlet stores )(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. agreed to sell its 32 remaining Levi's/Dockers outlet stores to an unnamed affiliate of a privately held U.S. retailer. It had been closing the outlet stores for the last two years under a liquidation plan.......

New stores, new markets.(Bombay Company Inc., Grocery Outlet Inc., Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Jos. A. Bank has opened at The Mall at Shelter Cove in Hilton Head, S.C., its fourth store in the state. The chain also recently added stores in Rolling Hills, Calif., and Winchester, Va.... Grocery Outlet will open three stores over the...

Gift cards are top holiday buy, will replace apparel as top pick.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Forget about stocking the shelves with apparel, books or music this holiday season. The top buy among most consumers will be gift cards. According to a recent study commissioned by Deloitte & Touche, gift cards are expected to replace apparel...

Jones Apparel buys Barneys New York.(Jones Apparel Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Jones Apparel Group, Inc. bought its way into the luxury market with the planned acquisition of Barneys New York, which operates roughly 20 stores cities. While the news of the sale is not altogether surprising, the name of Jones as the...

Target earnings soar on Mervyn's sale.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Target reported earnings of $537 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 30, an increase of 78% when compared with earnings of $302 million in the prior-year period. The results were boosted from the sale of its Mervyn's department store...

The Wet Seal, Inc.(People In The News)(Peter Whitford resigned)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Peter Whitford has resigned as chairman and CEO of The Wet Seal, Inc. Executive VP Joseph Deckop will serve as interim CEO.

Carol Meyrowitz is stepping down as president of TJX Cos.' Marmaxx group, which is comprised of its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls divisions, effective Jan. 21, 2005.(People In The News)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Carol Meyrowitz is stepping down as president of TJX Cos.' Marmaxx group, which is comprised of its T.J. Maxx and Marshalls divisions, effective Jan. 21, 2005. She will remain in an advisory role to assist with the management transition...

Men's Wearhouse.(People In The News)(Jayme Maxwell promoted )(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Men's Wearhouse promoted Jayme Maxwell to senior VP, chief advertising and creative officer, and Scott Waltz to senior VP, chief marketing officer.

Macy's East.(People In The News)(James Mansour appointed)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Macy's East named James Mansour as executive VP of visual merchandising. He is founder of Mansour Designs, a New York City-based retail design and brand development firm.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp.(People In The News)(Kay Krill promoted)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Ann Taylor Stores Corp. promoted Kay Krill to president, where she will oversee all three of its concepts. She has been with the women's apparel chain since 1994. Krill, who also was elected to the board of directors, has led the Ann Taylor...

Blockbuster has Hollywood in sight.(Blockbuster Entertainment Group)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... At a time when Blockbuster has been attempting to keep pace with Netflix and Wal-Mart, its core rivals in the Web-based movie-rental business, the specialty retailer is also looking to shore up its store-based operations. The company placed...

Bids are called off for Eddie Bauer.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Apparel retailer Eddie Bauer is reportedly no longer up for sale. The parent company, Spiegel, which is in bankruptcy, is said to have pulled Eddie Bauer off the auction block after a seven-month sale process failed to land an acceptable bid,...

Food Lion buys 10 Winn-Dixie stores.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Supermarket chain Food Lion is spending an undisclosed sum in cash to acquire 10 stores from Winn-Dixie in North Carolina and Virginia. The stores are located in Dunn, Elizabeth City, Elizabethtown and Havelock, N.C., and Clarksville,...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Rhodes Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection)(Royal Ahold will moves headquarters from Zaandam to Amsterdam)(Neiman Marcus Group has sold its Chef's Catalog direct-marketing business)(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... Furniture retailer Rhodes filed for bankruptcy protection. The company also will shutter 31 underperforming stores and other operations across the country.... Royal Ahold will move its headquarters from Zaandam to Amsterdam, probably in the...

New stores, new markets.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Olympia Sports and Dollar Tree will open soon in Derby, Vt.... Shoe Carnival opened in Greenwood Village, Colo.... Goody's Family Clothing added stores in Calhoun, Ga.; Ottumwa, Iowa; and Decatur, Ind. Goody's also will open in Durant,...

October sales show solid gain, teen market, footwear strong.
November 5, 2004... Sales results during the month of October are sometimes viewed as an anomaly, as they follow the official back-to-school season and are too early an indicator of how the holiday season will play out. This year was no different. Industrywide...

OfficeMax, Inc.(People In The News)(George Harad appointed)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... OfficeMax, Inc., formerly Boise Cascade Corp., elected George Harad as executive chairman. He previously was chairman and CEO of Boise Cascade. Also, Chris Milliken was named president, CEO and a director of OfficeMax. Milliken previously...

Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI).(People In The News)(Heywood Wilansky appointed)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Heywood Wilansky has taken over as CEO of Retail Ventures, Inc. (RVI). He most recently served as CEO and president of Filene's Basement, a subsidiary of RVI. Wilansky succeeds John Rossler, who left the company. Edwin Kozlowski, who served...

Albertson's.(People In The News)(Larry Wahlstrom appointed)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Albertson's named Larry Wahlstrom as president of its Jewel-Osco division. He succeeds Pete Van Helden, who was recently named president and CEO of Albertson's new California food division.

Barnes & Noble.(People In The News)(Larry Zilavy steps down)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Larry Zilavy will step down as executive VP of finance and strategic planning at Barnes & Noble to devote more time to his personal investments and philanthropic interests. Joseph Lombardi, the chain's CFO, will assume his duties.

Wilsons Leather.(People In The News)(Joel Waller resigns)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Joel Waller, chairman and CEO of Wilsons Leather, will resign on Jan. 31. He has been with the company for 27 years.

Men, women shop apparel differently.
November 5, 2004... Men are looking for a long-term relationship with their apparel, in a matter of speaking. According to a recent study by New York City-based WSL Strategic Retail, male consumers are looking to buy quality clothes that will last beyond one...

New owners for Minyard food stores.(Acquisition Vehicle Texas II LLC)(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... After 72 years as a family-owned business, Minyard Food Stores is now in the hands of a corporation. The 69-store chain was sold to an investment group, Acquisition Vehicle Texas II, for an undisclosed sum. Among the new owners of the...

Wal-Mart looks to expand in China.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Wal-Mart is expected to open at least 10 new stores in China in 2005, and may open as many as 18 locations, adding to the 43 stores the retailer currently operates in that country, according to a Reuters report this week. The retailer, which...

This week's retail news nuggets.(Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. acquires Rochester Big & Tall Clothing.)(Parisian Inc. closes two department stores)(Smart & Final Inc. plans to open smaller stores )(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. completed its $20 million purchase of 22-store chain Rochester Big & Tall Clothing. With the acquisition, Bob Sockolov, CEO and president of Rochester, joined Casual Male's board of directors.... Parisian will...