Finance & Capital Management

ST. LOUIS — Post Holdings has entered into a deal to acquire the branded and private label cereal, granola and snacks business of Hearthside Food Solutions, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners.

New York -- TJX Cos., The Buckle and Zumiez all reported better-than-expected same-store sales for April, even as concerns about the job market bit into other retailers’ results.
   
TJX Cos. said that same-store sales in April were up 8% on strong customer traffic, better than 6.8% increase that analysts had expected. For the four weeks ended May 4, total revenue rose 9% to $2 billion.
   

New York -- TJX Cos. has joined the growing ranks of retailers who no longer report monthly same-store sales. On Thursday, the retailer announced that it will report results on a quarterly basis going forward. Also, as previously announced, Ross Stores will no longer be reporting same-store sales after the April results.

That will leave 11 U.S. retail chains reporting monthly sales, down from a peak of 68 in 2006, according to Reuters.

Normal.dotm 0 0 1 606 3456 LF 28 6 4244 12.0

Davenport, Iowa -- Some retailers just keep growing, despite economic headwinds, fickle customers and competitive pressures. The family-operated, 140-year-old Von Maur department store company, based in Davenport, Iowa, is one of those retailers. In an exclusive video interview, Chain Store Age senior editor Katherine Boccaccio spoke with Jim von Maur, president, about the chain’s strategy and how it keeps growing in an uncertain economy.

CHICAGO — The Hillshire Brands Company has appointed David W. Stahl as its new CIO. Stahl will oversee all IT strategy and planning activities and will provide executive leadership and direction for IT. He will report to Maria Henry, CFO.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Revenue at stores open at least one year climbed 8% last month for discount retailer Stein Mart. According to Stein Mart, strong sales of linens and ladies’ casual and career sportswear helped drive revenue growth and offset weaker sales in dresses, ladies’ accessories and men’s sportswear.
 
For the quarter to date, revenue at stores open at least a year increased 1.2% and total revenue climbed 3.8% to $321.4 million.

New York -- Ikea has officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its store in Stoughton, Mass. The 118,000-sq.-ft. array consists of a 590.8-kW (DC) system, built with 4,220 laminated panels. It will produce approximately 695,000 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 479 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 94 cars or powering 60 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents).