Finance & Capital Management

The National Retail Federation has hired Mary Heitman as VP of retail programs.

Heitman previously served as director of events and deputy director of development for the Trust for the National Mall, where managed corporate sponsorships and events designed to increase donor engagement, identified and cultivated prospects and leveraged relationships in the government affairs and corporate community. Prior to the Trust for the National Mall, she owned and operated a private marketing and fundraising firm and served as finance director for the Republican National Committee.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp. on Thursday reported earnings of $251.3 million for the second quarter, in line with expectations, even as its sales decelerated. The company also said it still wants to buy Family Dollar Stores, even though the rival discounter rejected Dollar General’s bid of its $8.95 billion offer last week.

Gordmans Stores new CEO Andy Hall is looking to execute a turnaround at the off price department store chain where weak sales trends and losses indicate he is in for a big challenge.
 

Hamilton, Bermuda – Sixty-five days of performance from its new Zale division cut net income at Signet Jewelers Ltd. but boosted sales at Signet Jewelers Ltd. in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Expenses related to the Zale acquisition helped reduced net income 13% to $58 million, from $67.4 million a year earlier.

New Albany, Ohio – Challenged by fast-fashion competitors and teens more interested in technology than clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch reported on Thursday that its revenue decreased 5.8% to $890.6 million in the second quarter, missing Wall Street projections. Its income, however, beat estimates, and rose 13% to $12.9 million, from $11.4 million a year earlier. The company cited an ongoing profit improvement initiative as driving its net income growth.

Chicago -- JLL has bolstered its tenant representation practice with the addition of Jason Press as VP in the firm’s Chicago office, working on the team lead by executive VP Lew Kornberg.

Press joins JLL with more than 15 years of real estate experience facilitating hundreds of transactions valued in excess of $500 million. Prior to JLL, he co-founded North Park Properties to acquire investment properties in the Chicagoland area.

Digital talent is a hot topic among retail CEOs today — primarily, where to find enough talent to develop the organization’s “digital DNA” at every level and in every area of the business. With digital talent within retail in short supply, we now have to proactively go further afield — whether in travel, finance, the tech industry or elsewhere — to identify and woo the digital experts our companies need to grow.

St. Louis – Brown Shoe Company increased net income 17% to $18.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $15.4 million in the same period the prior year. Net sales rose 2% to $635.9 million from $621.7 million, while same-store sales at its primary Famous Footwear brand climbed 1.6%.

Brown Shoe credited back-to-school sales at Famous Footwear, supported by a strong omnichannel customer experience, as helping to drive second quarter results. Brown expects positive same-store sales growth at Famous Footwear in the third quarter.