Strategy

Occupancy costs are among the largest expenses for any retailer. Total lease obligations can exceed long term debt in many companies, reducing profitability and hindering growth. It doesn’t have to be that way though if operators follow four simple rules of retail real estate.

Executives from retail and restaurant chains grabbed some of the top spots in an annual ranking of the nation’s top CEOs.

Rite Aid chairman and CEO John Standley was rated the number one executive on ExecRank’s 2015 Top Mid Cap CEOs list. Taking the number two spot: Sally J. Smith, CEO and president of Buffalo Wild Wings. Gary Friedman, chairman and CEO of Restoration Hardware Holdings, took the third spot.

Walmart has recalled marketing executive Tony Rogers from his post in China to lead the retailer’s domestic marketing efforts.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation is out with its annual Giving Report which puts a monetary value on all the ways the retailer and its charitable arm sought to make a difference during the 2015 fiscal year.

From a big picture standpoint, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation donated more than $1.4 billion in cash and in kind donations, primarily food, and Walmart’s 2.2 million employees also contributed more than 1.5 million hours of their time outside of work to volunteer causes.

Move over millennials, there are two demographics ready to shake up the consumer landscape and impact retail sales.

On the heels of naming a new CEO, Tuesday Morning Corp. has appointed a new finance chief as well.

The company named Stacie Shirley as executive VP, CFO and treasurer, effective January 18, 2016. Most recently, she served as senior VP - finance and treasurer of the Neiman Marcus Group. She started at Neiman Marcus in 2001.

Prior to Neiman Marcus, Shirley served in various positions with CompUSA.

Tuesday Morning recently names a former board member, Steve Becker, as its new CEO.

The emphasis is on fresh foods and convenience at bfresh, a new, urban-scale supermarket concept from Ahold’s Fresh Formats division.

Designed by Scandinavian design agency Blink, bfresh is part neighborhood grocery store, part food hall and part restaurant. The stores, which average about 9,000 sq. ft., have a modern look and a streamlined, simple layout. Digital price tags enhance the contemporary feel.

Dov Charney, the founder and ousted CEO of American Apparel, continues with his efforts to regain control of the company. But with the chain slated to emerge from bankruptyc in mid-January, time is running out, Bloomberg reported.

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