Finance & Capital Management

Brisbane, Calif. – Bebe Stores Inc. will exit its 2b business by July 5, which is the end of the company’s fiscal 2014. The retailer says this will allow it to increase its focus on the core Bebe brand’s retail and outlet stores, e-commerce and international licensing business.

Betamax. Zune. Google Plus. These are just a few consumer technology applications that hit the market with a lot of hype and all failed to catch on for the same basic reason. It seems clear that the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader tablet can now be considered part of this list, although Barnes & Noble has not yet accepted it.

Online retailer Gilt has added Adrianne Shapira to the company's board of directors.

Shapira has served as the CFO of David Yurman, a fine jewelry luxury brand, since 2012. She is a member of the executive committee that looks to build upon David Yurman's successes by capitalizing on future channel, category and geographic growth.  

TreeHouse Foods plans to acquire Flagstone Foods, a leading provider of private-label healthy snacks, one of the fastest growing on-trend categories in the food industry.

TreeHouse has agreed to pay Gryphon Investors and other shareholders $860 million in cash for the business, subject to an adjustment for working capital.

Richard Sharp, 67, the long-time CEO of Circuit City who founded used car retailer CarMax has died of Alzheimer’s disease at his home near Richmond, Virginia.

Sharp joined Circuit City in 1982 and served as CEO of the company from 1986 to 2000. Under his leadership, Circuit City enjoyed meteoric growth with sales that increased from $175 million in 1986 to more than $10 billion by 2000. Eight years after he had left the company, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and the following year was liquidated.

Bob McDonald ran the world’s largest CPG company as CEO of Procter & Gamble and now he is returning to public service as head of the embattled Veteran’s Administration.

New York -- The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Wal-Mart violated Quebec labor law by closing its store in Jonquiere, Quebec, in 2005.
 
In a 5-2 decision announced on Friday, the court ruled that the 190 employees who were terminated when the store was closed are entitled to compensation, according to CBC Montreal.  
 

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line’s first-quarter profit more than doubled as the retailer expanded its presence online and in Macy's stores nationwide. Its results topped Wall Street estimates.
 
The retailer reported a profit of $12.4 million, compared to $5.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 16% to $406.5 million. Same-store sales increased 5%.
 

Arlington, Va. – With the deadline to resolve the union contract negotiations at West Coast closing in, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) on Friday said that undertaking essential measures to avoid work stoppage and preserve reliable channels for retail supply chains should be the top priority.

RILA issued the following statement, which it attributed to Kelly Kolb, VP government affairs:

Los Angeles -- Drybar, the leading blowdry-only salon concept, has received a $20 million investment led by SPK Capital and existing investor, Castanea Partners.