International Business

Pittsburgh -- GNC Holdings Inc. on Monday opens its first freestanding store in China. The store, located in the Raffles City complex in Shanghai, is the first of about 25 standalone stores GNC plans to open in China during the next 12 months.

New York -- Starwood Capital Group LLC, the investment firm headed by real estate developer Barry Sternlicht, has joined the bidding for Saks Inc., according to a report by the New York Post. Starwood Capital invests in retail, office and residential real estate.

The bid by Starwood is worth about $2.5 billion, or $17-$18 per share, according to the report. The amount is roughly equal to a previously existing bid from Canadian retail conglomerate Hudson’s Bay, which also owns the Lord & Taylor department store chain.

Warren, Mich. — Michigan-based Art Van Furniture opened its first out-of-state retail store in Orland Park, Ill., last week with a Motown-themed grand opening celebration.

The new 47,000-sq.-ft. location heralds the opening of five more Art Van stores in the Chicago region in coming months. Locations include Ford City-Chicago, Batavia, Elston Avenue-Chicago and Merrillville-Hobart, Indiana. The new stores will add 600 new jobs to the region.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro reported net revenues of $766.3 million for the second quarter ended June 30, a 6% decline compared to $811.5 million in 2012. Despite seeing growth across its girls, games and preschool categories, it was not enough to offset a decline in the company’s boys category. 

STOCKHOLM — With the U.S. housing market continuing to improve, it's no surprise that Electrolux CEO Keith McLoughlin expects the company's North American division to maintain the strong sales and earnings growth achieved in the second quarter throughout the rest of the year.

Because of the rising appliance consumption in North America, the company anticipates that demand for appliances in the U.S. will increase by 5-7% in 2013.

Los Angeles -- Guess? has appointed Sandeep Reddy as CFO, effective Aug. 1. He replaces interim CFO Nigel Kershaw.

Reddy has led the Guess Europe Finance Team as CFO since September 2010. He previously held senior financial roles for Mattel Inc. in Europe and the U.S.

Cleveland – The Sherwin-Williams Company reported increases in net sales, diluted income per share and same-store sales during second quarter fiscal 2013. Consolidated net sales increased 5.5% to a record $2.71 billion in the quarter, up from roughly $2.6 billion the previous year. The company credited acquisitions, with some offsetting negative impact from unfavorable currency translation rates, for the net sales boost.

Pleasanton, Calif. – Safeway reported a substantial decline in net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 as well as a drop in sales. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $8.4 million, compared to $122.7 million in the same quarter a year earlier. However, after adjusting for various legal expenses and loss from discontinued operations, net income for the quarter would have been $125.1 million.

Cleveland – The Federal Competition Commission of Mexico has voted not to authorize Sherwin Williams’ November 2012 acquisition of Mexico City-based home improvement retailer and paint producer Consorcio Comex, S.A. de C.V. Sherwin-Williams is reviewing the rationale for the commission's decision and says it expects to respond to the Commission's concerns in the near future.

ATLANTA — Red Book Connect, a global, cloud-based software solutions company serving the broader retail and restaurant industries, has appointed Arnab Sur as SVP of global sales, a previously unfilled position since the formation of the company in January 2013.