Labor & Employment

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. has named Dr. Leonard Schlesinger to its board of directors. He will also serve as the chairman of the board’s compensation committee.

Schlesinger has held executive leadership positions at various retail and consumer brands, including vice chairman and COO of Limited Brands from 1999 to 2007, and has served for more than 20 years as a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and previously served as the president of Babson College.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. - The Wet Seal Inc. will begin winding down its Arden B brand. Arden B currently operates 54 mall-based stores and an e-commerce website.

Jacksonville, Fla. – The board of directors of Stein Mart Inc. has created the office of the president and have appointed D. Hunt Hawkins and Brian R. Morrow to share that office. Both will continue to report to Jay Stein, CEO.

Restoration Hardware Holdings has appointed Dr. Leonard Schlesinger to its board of directors. He will also serve as the chairman of the board’s compensation committee.

Dr. Schlesinger has held executive leadership positions at various retail and consumer brands, including vice chairman and COO of Limited Brands from 1999 to 2007, and is an esteemed leader in academia having served for more than 20 years as a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and as the president of Babson College.

The challenges for a small/medium CPG company today, competing against the multibillion dollar conglomerates, are greater than ever before. With the skyrocketing cost of freight, manufacturing, raw materials, sales and marketing, the small/medium CPG company does not enjoy any of the economies of scale that the established multi nationals do. Competing in the low margin highly competitive beverage category, as we do at Celsius, only accentuates the challenge.

Dallas - DGSE Companies Inc. has closed all locations in its Southern Bullion Coin and Jewelry division. As previously disclosed, six Southern Bullion locations were closed in February, and subsequently, four additional locations were closed in early April, and the final 13 locations were closed on or about April 21, 2014.

Indianapolis - The Finish Line Inc. Gart Capital Partners (GCP) have agreed to Finish Line increasing its ownership in Running Specialty Group (RSG). GCP will retain an ownership position in RSG, maintain two positions on the RSG board of directors and will continue to provide leadership in ongoing business development opportunities.

The Wet Seal is winding down its Arden B brand. Arden B currently operates 54 mall-based stores and an e-commerce site. In the fiscal year ended Feb. 1, the brand generated net sales of $60.4 million and represented 11% of consolidated net sales.

“This was a difficult decision that followed a comprehensive review of the business and market dynamics. We would like to thank all of our Arden B team members for their hard work and dedication to the brand, and also extend our gratitude to our loyal customers,” said CEO John D. Goodman.