Strategy

Atlanta - Sales for first quarter 2015 at Havertys Inc. increased 5% to $191.3 million, compared to $181.7 million for first quarter 2014. Same-store sales rose 3.8%.

Havertys plans to open three new stores in 2015, including a store in Rogers, Arkansas that will open this week and a showroom in Waco, Texas slated to open in mid-May. This expansion into two new markets for Havertys will occur as Havertys strengthens its position in southeast Florida, with a new store in Fort Lauderdale slated for July,

New York -- Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy, has named Victoria Leavitt as CEO of consumer & retail brand experience in North America. She will be based in Cincinnati and report directly to Josh Feldmeth, CEO of Interbrand North America.

Mahwah, N.J. – For Ascena Retail Group, managing a portfolio of disparate brands that includes DressBarn, Maurices, Lane Bryant, Justice and Catherines is a complex undertaking. One area where Ascena needs to streamline operations for maximum efficiency is product lifecycle management (PLM).

Kroger is moving ahead with its strategic plan for 2015 by closing and rebranding some of its Harris Teeter stores in Tennessee, according to the Nashville Tennessean.

The four Harris Teeter stores owned and operated by the Kroger Co. in the Nashville, Tenn., area will be closing on or before June 15, the newspaper reports. Three of the stores will re-open, but under the Kroger banner. This is the first time the Kroger Co. has switched banners on a Harris Teeter store.

New York -- Rising rents and increased online competition have claimed one of downtown Manhattan’s most iconic retail stores, Pearl River Mart in SoHo. The Chinese department store, which opened its doors in 1971, will close at the end of its current lease in December.

A big jump in digital sales and the integration of Saks Fifth Avenue helped Hudson’s Bay Co. post a larger increase in profit in the fourth quarter.

Seattle – A seller of posters on Amazon.com has reportedly pled guilty to antitrust charges from the U.S. Justice Department. According to Reuters, David Topkins of San Francisco conspired to manipulate the price of posters on Amazon Marketplace between September 2013 and January 2014.

Seattle - Nordstrom has implemented new Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Management and Oracle Retail Store Inventory Management solutions to support its expansion in Canada. The retailer plans to roll out the latest releases of these Oracle Retail solutions companywide to support its Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores.