Finance & Capital Management

ARLINGTON, Va. — Texas joins eight other states in taking legislative action requiring online-only retailers, notably Amazon.com, to collect sales tax. Online retailers will have to collect sales tax in Texas beginning July 1.

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson has reached an agreement to acquire ITW's (ITW) global Space Bag brand and related assets.

"We're thrilled to add Space Bag to our family of long-respected, leading household brands," said Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "It will enable us to strengthen our home storage offerings and it's a natural complement to our Ziploc Brand business."

Arlington, Va. --Texas joins eight other states in taking legislative action requiring online-only retailers, notably Amazon.com, to collect sales tax. Online retailers will have to collect sales tax in Texas beginning July 1.

New York -- Brookshire Brothers has launched a facility-wide lighting update, including in-store, parking lot, exterior signage and refrigerated case fixtures.

Using a combination of new linear fluorescent lighting and LED technologies -- from GE Lighting, East Cleveland, Ohio -- Brookshire will, once all of its stores have been completed, reduce its annual operating costs more than $235,000.

New York -- New York & Co. has named former Ann Taylor executive Laura Weil as its new COO.

Weil, who has served as a consultant at the company since February, was Ann Taylor COO from 2008 to 2011.
 

New York -- The Finish Line Inc. said Friday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 25% as higher costs offset sales growth.

For the quarter ended June 2, the company earned $12.3 million, just beating Wall Street expectations, down from $16.4 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose 6.5% to $319 million, from $299.5 million. Same-store sales were up 8%.

The company's cost of sales rose 9.3% to $214.4 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 11% to $84.8 million.

SEATTLE — William Meissner has resigned as CEO and board member of Jones Soda. Richard Eiswirth has also resigned as chairman of the board. Both resignations are effective Jne 30. Jennifer Cue will become the company's CEO. Mick Fleming, long-standing board member, will assume the role of chairman of the board.

The company also announced the elimination of the CFO position effective June 30. Carrie Traner, VP finance and principal financial officer will assume . Stapleton's duties.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Dollar stores continue to thrive in this consumer-conscious economy, and Family Dollar is no exception.

The dollar store chain reported a total sales increase of 9.6% to $2.36 billion for the third quarter, compared with $2.15 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales rose 5%, helped by increased customer traffic and strong performances in the seasonal, electronics and consumables categories.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has given the government permission to tax people for not having health insurance, essentially approving the individual mandate in President Obama's healthcare law.

“The Affordable Care Act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness,” the court said in the ruling.

The nation’s convenience stores continued to grow last year creating a peculiar blend of competitive challenges and sales opportunities for Sam’s Club.