Finance & Capital Management

Toronto -- Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC) swung to a profit in its first quarter, boosted by strong sales at Saks Inc., which it acquired last year. Hudson's Bay has announced plans to bring Saks to Canada, starting with two locations in Toronto in 2015.

The J. M. Smucker Company has elevated John Denman to VP of human resource operations, effective July 16, and has also elevated Jill Penrose to VP of human resources, effective July 1.

Denman currently serves as VP, controller and chief accounting officer, and has been with the company for more than 30 years in various leadership positions in accounting and finance.

As if having to deal with the rising threat of data breaches weren’t already enough for retailers, many continue to struggle to make sense of today’s rough patchwork of federal and state data breach laws.

Fortunately, while legislation that would establish a national data breach standard has yet to gain significant traction, the Obama Administration and Congress are ramping up joint efforts to establish a uniform, national law that would replace the current fabric of state requirements.  

SGK, formerly marketed as Schawk, a leading global brand development, activation and deployment company that drives brand performance, has appointed Andrew Flynn as SVP of brand strategy.

In this new role, Flynn will focus on identifying and developing strategic brand solutions for clients to help drive brand performance by leveraging the services offered by Brandimage and Anthem, part of SGK's brand development group, and Schawk, the company's brand deployment business.

Ascena Retail Group president and CEO David Jaffe said sales in the third quarter were challenging, and despite comparable sales declines at Justice and Dressbarn, new store growth at Justice and Maurices, along with higher comparable sales at Lane Bryant, Maurices and Catherines bolstered the company’s overall results.

The company’s third-quarter profit rose to $33.2 million, from $31.2 million in the year ago period. Revenue inched up 0.3% to $1.145 billion, compared to $1.142 billion a year earlier. Total same store sales rose 1%.

Five Below plans to open eight locations in and around Houston Friday, June 6, marking the specialty value retailer’s first foray into that city. The company already has 15 stores in the Dallas and Austin markets.

The store openings are part of the company’s aggressive growth strategy. Last year, the Philadelphia-based retailer opened 60 new stores, and it plans to match that number this year. With the Houston openings, there will be 338 Five Below stores in 20 states throughout the country.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corporation announced that Susan H. Davidson has joined the company as senior VP marketing. She succeeds Ross Manning in this capacity, who has left and is pursuing other professional opportunities.
 

New York -- Global brand agency CBX will help Friendly Express update the design and branding of its 42-store network of community-focused convenience stores in southeast Georgia.

Under the assignment, the firm will update the chain’s logo and redesign the interiors and exteriors of its convenience stores, which range in size from 2,000 sq. ft. to 3,500 sq. ft. Friendly Express stores, which also offer gasoline, are located in several different southeast Georgia communities, including Waycross, Jesup, Folkston, Brunswick, and St. Simons Island.

New York -- The Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously voted to raise the minimum wage in the city to $15 an hour, making it the highest municipal minimum wage in the country. The measure, which takes effect on April 1, 2015, will be phased in over the next three to seven years depending on the size of the business, with a slower process for small businesses.

Sweetwater, Fla. -- Ikea announced it had completed the installation of South Florida’s largest solar array, which will be plugged-in officially atop the future Miami-Dade Ikea store opening this summer in Sweetwater, Florida. Combined with rooftop arrays in Orlando, Tampa, and Sunrise, this fourth solar project will keep Ikea as the state’s largest non-utility solar owner.