Strategy

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores across the U.S. by October 1, 2014. CVS/pharmacy will be the first national pharmacy chain to take this step.

Fremont, Calif. - Customers in the U.S. and around the world can now shop on the Men’s Wearhouse e-commerce site and ship directly to themselves or friends and family in more than 100 countries. Men's Wearhouse says it introduced international shipping in response to customer requests to do so.  

Xoom, a leading digital money transfer provider, has acquired BlueKite, LTD, a cutting edge technology company that develops applications to improve the way people around the world pay their bills, for approximately $15 million in cash and equity.

Guatemala City-based BlueKite, which currently has 30 employees, caught Xoom’s eye because of its technology platform for cross-border bill payments and mobile phone top-ups. This acquisition will allow Xoom to offer adjacent services to its money transfer offerings.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — Dick’s Sporting Goods is moving across the street from the periphery of the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pa., into the mall, according to CBL & Associates Properties, the mall’s owner. The existing Dick’s Sporting Goods will remain open until the new store completes construction. Plans call for a grand opening this summer.

Mark Panzer, president and CEO Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, will be leaving the company to pursue an opportunity at Sears Holding.

Panzer will be in charge of pharmacy operations at Sears Holding and will direct the health and wellness initiatives across K-Mart pharmacy as SVP and president pharmacy.

Dave Maher, a longtime Pharmaca board member and fellow chain drug veteran, will be serving as interim CEO as Pharmaca searches for a new candidate. Maher's experience includes time as president of American Stores Company and CEO Osco Drug.  

Philadelphia -- Five Below will enter the state of Tennessee, with plans to open up to five new stores in the market by spring of this year. With this new market, Five Below will operate stores in 20 states.

J.C. Penney scored its first positive quarterly sales result since 2011, reporting a same-store sales increase of 2% in the fourth quarter, which included the holiday season.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced that Norman Miller will join the company as senior VP and president, Automotive. Miller, who most recently served as president and COO of Dollar Financial Corp., will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of the company's automotive business, including Sears Auto Centers.