Finance & Capital Management

The Woodlands, Texas – Conn’s Inc. named a new CEO as part of a planned succession, and also announced it beat Wall Street expectations for profit in the second quarter.

Following a year-long repositioning initiative, Conn’s has appointed Norman Miller to serve as CEO and president.

Miller brings more than 30 years of business leadership experience, most recently serving as president of Sears Automotive, and as president and COO of DFC Global Corp.

Indianapolis – With retailers like Amazon.com entering the online services market, online services network Angie’s List is tapping a veteran retail e-commerce executive to run the company.

Scott Durchslag, who served as president of e-commerce and global marketing at Best Buy from 2012-2014, has joined Angie’s List as president and CEO.

Niwot, Colo. -- Footwear marketer Crocs is on the hunt for a new CFO.

The company announced that Jeff Lasher, senior VP and CFO, is leaving the company to join boating supplies and accessories retailer West Marine Inc.

Lasher, who joined Crocs in 2009, will remain with the company through early November. He plans to join West Marine as CFO in November.

Mike Smith, Crocs senior VP for finance, has been named interim CFO effective Oct. 1 and will work closely with Lasher during a transition period.

New Jersey-based women's shoe company Aerosoles has named a retail and footwear industry veteran as its next CEO.

Philadelphia – Five Below is opening its largest location to date, in its home city of Philadelphia.
 
The extreme-value retailer, which targets tweens and teens with goods priced at $5 or less, will open a two-story, 13,000-sq.-ft. store next to its headquarters on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association issued a strenuous objection to what it called the Department of Labor’s “flawed” overtime proposal.

In the name of optimizing its omnichannel approach, Macy's said it plans to close between 35 and 40 department stores at undisclosed locations in early 2016 while moving ahead with expansion of its off price format.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holding Corp. is protecting the assets of its pension fund following the creation of its Seritage Growth Properties real estate investment trust (REIT).

The company has entered into a five-year agreement with Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) to guarantee that it will continue to make required contributions to the fund.