Finance & Capital Management

New York -- The National Retail Federation announced that The Container Store chairman and CEO Kip Tindell has been elected chairman of the NRF board of directors and chairman of its executive committee, succeeding Stephen I. Sadove, retired chairman and CEO of Saks, Inc.  

Tindell was elected at the Board of Directors meeting held Sunday during NRF’s 104th Annual Convention and EXPO, Retail’s BIG Show.

New York -- Embattled apparel retailer Body Central has gone out of business and closed its entire remaining store base, effective Sunday evening, according to attorney for the company Gardner Davis.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, the 265-store Body Central Corp. had said earlier this week that it was "experiencing significant liquidity challenges" and was working with advisers to evaluate its options. With the closure announcement, about 2,500 employees lost their jobs.

New York -- Former Coach Inc. chief Lew Frankfort has joined Sycamore Partners as an Executive in Residence, which will allow the private equity firm to tap into Frankfort’s retail knowledge, managerial expertise and network of industry relationships. Sycamore’s portfolio of retail investments includes Aeropostale, Coldwater Creek, Hot Topic, Jones New York, Nine West Holdings, Stuart Weitzman and Talbots.

Denver -- Sandwich quick-serve chain Quizno’s has named Doug Pendergast as its new president and CEO, succeeding Stuart Mathis, who resigned the company.

Pendergast joins Quizno’s from The Krystal Co., where he was president and CEO; he also has held senior executive positions with Craftworks, Church’s Chicken and AFC Enterprises.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express is lifting its fourth-quarter and full-year profit forecasts, citing a better-than-expected performance at the end of December and beginning of January.

CEO Michael Weiss said that Express Inc. experienced slowing sales during the first three weeks of December, but that its performance has bounced back since.
 
Fourth-quarter same-store sales are now predicted to fall 3%-4%; Express previously forecast a mid to high single-digit decline in the figure.
 

New York -- Tiffany's holiday sales dipped 1% and the luxury jewelry retailer cut its full-year profit outlook. CEO Michael Kowalski said that sales in the Americas fell slightly during November and December, while sales in Japan remained soft. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe climbed.

Oklahoma City -- Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt announced the appointment of Geoff Goodman as its new president. Goodman most recently served as VP of brand excellence for Dallas-based CiCi's Pizza.

In his new position, Goodman will oversee operations, product development, brand management and franchise development. Reese Travis will remain CEO and focus on the company's strategic growth.

New York -- Sports retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has implemented Oracle Retail solutions to support growth by streamlining merchandising and inventory operations.

The 185-store chain has targeted sales growth in-store and online and, according to Oracle, as retailers manage an increasingly more complex array of customer segments and channels, success hinges on simplifying and optimizing mission-critical operations such as pricing, inventory management and allocation.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar is urging its shareholders to support a buyout offer from rival discounter Dollar Tree with less than two weeks remaining before a vote on the pending deal.  Family Dollar shareholders are scheduled to vote Jan. 22. on whether to accept the Dollar Tree offer.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced that in 2014 its U.S. franchisees opened a total of 422 net new Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.