Finance & Capital Management

New York -- Disney Store was honored as Innovator of the Year at the 2012 Oracle Retail Excellence Awards. The awards were announced at the annual Oracle Retail CrossTalk event, held June 26-28, at Swissôtel, Chicago.

Other Oracle award recipients included Urban Outfitters, in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Customer Experience,” and Abercrombie & Fitch, in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Business Performance.”

DALLAS — Steven Becker and Richard Willis are the newest members of the Tuesday Morning board of directors with two more directors expected to be named in the coming months.

By Robert Gordman, president, The Gordman Group

(Editor’s  Note: Retail consultant Bob Gordman offers some interesting insights into what he calls “two of the most dramatically opposite” retail case studies in recent years: lululemon athletica and J.C. Penney Co.)

CARLISLE, Pa. — Giant Food has commenced its conversion of 15 former Genuardi's stores.

The announcement follows Giant Food, an Ahold subsidiary, getting the green light from the Federal Trade Commission for its plan to acquire 15 Genuardi's stores, located in the greater Philadelphia area, from Safeway.

During the conversion process, five stores at a time will temporarily close for about a week. The three-phase staggered approach is expected to be completed on July 22.

By Christine Rivers

NEW YORK — New York & Company, a specialty apparel chain with 541 retail stores in operation as of May 17, has named Laura Weil as EVP, COO, effective immediately. Weil, an executive consultant of New York & Company since Feb. 1, will continue to report to Greg Scott, CEO, and lead the company’s planning and allocation, sourcing, product life management, real estate, and information technology areas.

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.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Finish Line reported first quarter net sales of $319 million, an increase of 6.5% from the same period last year. Comparable-store sales were up 8% on top of a 6.5% increase last year.

The company reported earnings of 24 cents per diluted share.