Finance & Capital Management

The growth of gift cards has been nothing less than phenomenal. But while gift cards have come to provide a critical source of earnings, they also face an intensifying regulatory environment, including tax and financial reporting for gift cards, that has become increasingly complex.


New York City -- J.C. Penney Co. on Monday detailed the timeline of its upcoming change in executive management with the news that current CEO and chairman Myron “Mike” Ullman will leave the company and the board in February 2012 after a three-month transition period during which he will hand over the reins in full to his successor, Apple retail guru Ron Johnson.

Repeated assurances by Walmart’s most senior executives that their top priority is growing U.S. same-store sales may be reassuring news to investors, but the company’s ability to do so by the end of the year now is a firmly established expectation. This is especially true, given the recent performance of once of the company top grocery competitors.

It had been awful quiet on the organized labor front for a while, so news this week of the creation of a new union-backed anti-Walmart group serves as a reminder that unions are the equivalent of a bad case of herpes to Walmart. The discomfort and visible symptoms associated with their organizing activities occasionally subside, but there is no cure and eventually the company experiences another outbreak.

Sam’s is enjoying some solid momentum these days, but a potential buyout of BJ’s Wholesale Club announced Friday morning could create some competitive issues in market where the companies operations overlap.

Of course, that assumes the private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners, the companies who have joined forces to take BJ’s private, are interested in growing the business and investing in operations as opposed to simply squeezing the 190 unit retailer for cash.

AZUSA, Calif. — Physicians Formula confirmed that its newly developed skin care line will be carried exclusively in about 2,500 Walmart stores this summer.

TCP, the Aurora, Ohio-based manufacturer of energy efficient lighting products, has announced that industry veteran Jorge Fernandez will be joining the company in the position of SVP business development. Fernandez comes to TCP from Home Depot, where he led the company’s energy efficient lighting category.