Strategy

Columbia, Md. – A lone 19-year-old gunman killed two employees of a Zumiez store at The Mall of Columbia in Columbia, Md., on the morning of Jan. 26. Media reports indicate that local authorities began receiving 911 calls about the incident at the suburban Baltimore mall at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Washington, D.C. — A day after he gives his State of the Union speech, President Obama will follow up Wednesday with visits to a Costco store in Maryland and a steel plant in Pennsylvania, USA Today reported.

During his stop at the Costco in Lanham, which is located about 15 miles from the White House, Obama is expected to deliver remarks on the economy, the report said.

Dollar General chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling was elected chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to fill a position held the past two years by Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Dreiling’s appointment was announced at RILA’s semi-annual board of directors meeting held Sunday in Naples, Fla. Steinhafel will continue to serve as a member of organization’s executive committee.

Toronto -- Hudson's Bay Company will sell its flagship in downtown Toronto and neighboring office tower for C$650 million ($587.09 million) to an affiliate of commercial real estate developer Cadillac Fairview Corp., and open a full-line, 150,000-sq.-ft. Saks store in the leased-back space.

Hingham, Mass. -- Building #19, the New England closeout retailer which shut its doors after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2013, has returned as The Rug Dept. The company opened its first Rug Dept. store in the town of Norwood, Mass. on Jan. 26.

Michaels may have been the victim of an attack on its data, but it wasn’t going to wait to find out the way Target and Neiman Marcus did before warning customers.

In a statement laced with the word, “may,” Michaels said it recently learned of possible fraudulent activity on some U.S. payment cards that had been used at its stores, which it said suggested the company may have experienced a data security attack.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores is eliminating the positions of about 2,300 Sam’s Club employees.  The job cuts represent 2% of Sam’s total workforce. Employees whose jobs are eliminated that cannot find another job with Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club will be eligible for severance.

Cary, N.C. – The Pantry has confirmed that JCP Investment Management, LLC, and Lone Star Value Management, LLC (“the dissident group”) submitted a notice of intent to nominate director candidates to stand for election to The Pantry’s board of directors at the company's 2014 annual meeting of stockholders.