Finance & Capital Management

The ranks of female retail CEOs is losing one of its highest-profile members.   Rosalind G. Brewer, 54, has told Walmart she plans to retire as executive VP, president and CEO of Sam’s Club, effective Feb. 1, 2017. She will be succeeded by company veteran John Furner, 42, who joined Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, effective Feb. 1. The news was announced in a filing by the chain.  

Gap Inc. turned in a positive holiday performance, reversing a string of declines, fueled by strong results from its Old Navy division and improvements by its namesake unit. The apparel giant also boosted its guidance for the year.    Gap’s net sales for the November and December holiday season edged up 1% compared to the year-ago period. Total same-store sales rose 2%.  

Going undercover isn’t easy. But it can definitely be worth the effort. Just ask Sharon Price John, president and CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop.   

Dollar Tree has appointed Duncan Mac Naughton as president and COO of its Family Dollar subsidiary.   Mac Naughton, 54, most recently served as CEO of Mills Fleet Farm. He has held numerous leadership roles at Wal-Mart Stores, including chief merchandising and marketing officer of Wal-Mart U.S. from 2011 to 2014, executive VP of consumables health and wellness and Walmart.com from 2010 to 2011, and chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada from 2009 to 2010.  

A six-month battle between Walmart Canada and Visa has come to an end.   The retailer, which threatened to ban the card processor from all of its stores nationwide due to “unacceptably high” credit-card transaction fees, has ended its feud, and will resume accepting Visa cards at its more than 400 stores starting Friday, Jan. 6.  

Sprouts Family Market is expanding its footprint.     The Phoenix-based grocer plans to open 35 stores in 2017, with 11 of the locations opening in the second quarter of the year.     The 11 stores opening in the second quarter include three in California, two in Georgia, two in Florida locations, two in Texas locations and two in Colorado, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.  

Apparel retailer The Limited is out of the brick-and-mortar retail business.   The ailing chain, which has quietly been closing stores around the country for the past couple of weeks, announced the news with a short statement on its website on Friday, Jan. 6. The move was not unexpected. Limited has struggled amid increased competition from fast-fashion upstarts, both offline and online.   

LED options now exist for nearly every lighting application

When it comes to retail operating costs, energy is one of the top three expenses. Lighting is, of course, a component of this, accounting for 50% of energy costs for non-food retailers. The typical retail store spends roughly 71 cents per square foot per year — a cost that quickly adds up at the store and chain level.