Marketing

Toronto -- Sears Canada Inc. said on Friday it is shutting down three downtown stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. The move follows an announcement last month by Sears Holdings, the majority owner of Sears Canada, that it will raise about $770 million by spinning off parts of its business and selling prime real estate.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Genesco has appointed Thurgood Marshall, Jr. to its board of directors. Marshall is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bingham McCutchen LLP. He also serves on the boards of Corrections Corporation of America, Ethics Resource Center, and the Ford Foundation and as chairman of the board of governors of the United States Postal Service.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — General merchandise retailers Shopko Stores and Pamida has completed their merger that will create a $3 billion company that serves largely rural communities in 22 states.

The combined entity will retain the Shopko name. Shopko will be headquartered in Green Bay and Pamida’s corporate headquarters in Omaha, Neb., will be consolidated into the Green Bay office over the next several months.

New York City -- Foot Locker Inc. said that its fourth-quarter profit increased 42% amid higher sales and cost cuts.

The company earned a better-than-expected $81 million in the three months that ended Jan. 28, up from $57 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 8% to $1.5 billion, from $1.39 billion. Same-store sales were up 7.5% in quarter.

Garden City, N.J. -- A Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal said that Neiman Marcus has moved on from its earlier plans to open a department store in the Mall at Oyster Bay, located in Syosset, N.Y., and owned by Taubman, and has instead decided to open a new 100,000-sq.-ft. anchor store at Simon Property Group’s Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.

The new store, slated for 2015 completion, will be part of a $200-million redevelopment of Roosevelt Field.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports is about about its first-quarter prospects after reporting surges in both comps and revenue.

The company said that its total revenue for the fourth quarter, ended Feb. 25, increased a better-than-expected 11.8% to $477 million. Same-store sales rose 10.3%.

The chain said total revenue for the fiscal year ended Feb. 25 climbed 9.8% to $1.53 billion.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon has the coolest job in the world, and he explained why during a luncheon presentation Thursday at the Cross Church in Rogers Ark. where he touched on his military career, being exceptional and overcoming evil.

The Center for Retail Excellence at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business is scheduled to hold its second annual SHOP conference on May 1 with Walmart’s head of global consumer insights recently confirmed as a guest speaker.