Marketing

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma Inc. said its second-quarter net income rose 10%, fueled by double-digit sales growth at its Pottery Barn and West Elm stores. The results beat analysts’ expectations and the company also raised its profit and sales predictions for the full year.

For the quarter ended July 29, Williams-Sonoma earned $43.4 million, up from $39.3 million in the same period last year.

ROANOKE, Va. — Advance Auto Parts has announced the promotions of Kurt Schumacher to SVP, national field operations and Joe Gonzalez to area SVP.

Schumacher will lead the company's  nearly 3,500 Advance Auto Parts stores and asset protection. Mr. Schumacher will report to Darren Jackson, president and CEO. Gonzalez will lead store operations in Florida, the Southeast, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. He will report to Schumacher.

PALATINE, Ill. — Weber-Stephen Products has released its first digital book: "Weber's Time to Grill: Get In. Get Out. Get Grilling," available for download on the iBookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Written by New York Times best-selling cookbook author and James Beard Award nominee Jamie Purviance, "Time to Grill," released in a soft-cover format in 2011, has sold more than 260,000 copies to date.

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble saw increased sales and a narrower loss for its first quarter thanks in large part to the steamy series, "Fifty Shades of Grey."
 
“During the first quarter, we continued to see improvement in both our rapidly growing Nook business, which saw digital content sales increase 46% during the quarter, and at our bookstores, which continue to benefit from market consolidation and strong sales of the 'Fifty Shades' series,” said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble.

The Philadelphia chocolate-and-peanut bar that started as a World War I ration is back — even though it didn't really go anywhere. Candy company Just Born announced that it has overhauled its Peanut Chews' brand image to better reflect its roots.

CHICAGO — SymphonyIRI Group Inc., a provider of innovative solutions and services for consumer, retail and healthcare companies, has named Beverly Grant as president of retail solutions. She will report to Mark Parise, president of IRI, SymphonyIRI.

DALLAS — Karen Katz, president and CEO of The Neiman Marcus Group, announced that Joseph Weber will be joining the company Sept. 4, as SVP, chief human resources officer.  Weber will be responsible for all areas of human resources and loss prevention including associate relations, learning and development, recruitment, compensation, internal communications and benefits.

STERLING, Va. — Former Walmart executive David Hoodis has joined the corporate advisory board of Natural Insight, a private retail technology company engaged in workforce management.

“We feel privileged to have access to David’s respected experience in workforce innovation. His success with numerous leading retailers brings us an added perspective that enables us to stay even further ahead of market need,” stated Stefan Midford, president and CEO of Natural Insight in making the announcement.

Topeka, Kan. -- Collective Brands stockholders voted at a special meeting on Tuesday to approve the sale of the company for about $1.32 billion.

Collective, which owns the Payless and Stride Rite shoe store banners, had announced in May that it accepted a purchase offer from a group that includes Wolverine Worldwide Inc., Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital.

New York -- The Jones Group said Tuesday that its Nine West banner has launched a new YouTube network called Channel 9 that will feature premium programming and user-generated content.

"What we are creating goes far beyond providing branded content," said Richard Dickson, Jones Group president and CEO. "Channel 9 is a new and innovative first-to-market portal for the footwear and fashion obsessed that will bring brand adjacent content and entertainment to viewers.”