Strategy

Chelmsford, Mass. -- British fashion retailer New Look has selected workforce management solutions from Kronos Inc. to maximize labor productivity and increase sales conversion rates in its 670 stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and Belgium. Kronos will optimize the scheduling and manage the time and attendance of 16,000 full- and part-time staff and align labor to demand in each store.

By Robert Gordman, president, The Gordman Group

(Editor’s  Note: Retail consultant Bob Gordman offers some interesting insights into what he calls “two of the most dramatically opposite” retail case studies in recent years: lululemon athletica and J.C. Penney Co.)

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced that its tender offer for the outstanding shares of common stock of Cost Plus was successful.

The company said Friday that about 20.8 million shares representing about 92% of Cost Plus' outstanding stock were tendered. The company currently has approximately 22.5 million outstanding shares, according to FactSet.

Cost Plus will become a Bed Bath & Beyond subsidiary and will stop trading on the Nasdaq the first business day after the deal closes.

New York -- U.K. retailing giant Tesco PLC could give up its American supermarket venture, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, if the chain continues to disappoint and not make a profit, RetailWeek and other British news organizations reported.

In remarks at the company’s annual meeting on Friday, Tesco CEO Philip Clarke said: “If we see there is no chance of success, we’ll do as we’ve just done in Japan,” referring to Tesco’s deal this month to exit that market.

Goodwill Industries of Arkansas received a $350,000 grant this week thanks to the Walmart Foundation and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

Goodwill is the primary charitable beneficiary of this year’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, which got underway this week amid triple digit temperatures at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark. The funds the organization received will be used to support a program called Providing Opportunities for Women through Education and Resources (POWER).

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Heineken USA has promoted Paul Smailes to the position of digital manager Heineken Global. In his new role, Smailes will report to Cyril Charzat, global Heineken brand director, and will be responsible for developing Heineken's digital strategy and enhancing the brand's global competitive market advantage.

Family Dollar’s third quarter results were not as good as expected, but only marginally so, and the company’s growth strategy and potential to steal traffic from Walmart remain intact.

NEW YORK — New York & Company, a specialty apparel chain with 541 retail stores in operation as of May 17, has named Laura Weil as EVP, COO, effective immediately. Weil, an executive consultant of New York & Company since Feb. 1, will continue to report to Greg Scott, CEO, and lead the company’s planning and allocation, sourcing, product life management, real estate, and information technology areas.

Walmart’s Bodega Aurrera stores in Mexico and Lider stores in Chile are among the most valuable Brands in Latin American, according to an extensive new report by global communications giant WPP.

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Nike reported that fourth quarter revenues rose 12%t, or 14% on a currency neutral basis, to $6.5 billion, the largest revenue quarter in the company's history. This was a result of higher revenues across every Nke brand geography, key category and product type.