Strategy

Nashville, Tenn. -- The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) honored IHL president and Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) co-founder Greg Buzek with the first annual Paul Singer Award at the 13th Annual Angels in Adoption Congressional gala. RetailROI is a charitable foundation that was established to help the 400 million orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide.

The award was presented in a ceremony on Oct. 5, in Washington, D.C.

Tokyo -- Fast Retailing Co., parent to the Uniqlo chain of stores, reported Wednesday that profit for the full year fell 12% to $709.2 million. The company blamed the performance decline on bad weather, but said it will accelerate store openings overseas, which will compensate for the decline.

San Francisco -- Gap said Wednesday it will advance its expansion in Latin America with new store openings in Chile in October, and will introduce Gap and Banana Republic stores to Panama and Colombia in 2012.

“We believe substantial opportunity exists in Latin America and our first stores in Chile, Panama and Colombia will allow us to establish a foundation for further growth in this region,” said Stephen Sunnucks, president, International, Gap.

Dallas -- Zale Corp. said Wednesday that it has named Thomas A. Haubenstricker as senior VP and CFO, effective Oct. 17.

Haubenstricker joins Zale from Turnberry Advisors where he served as a managing director.

Houston -- Stage Stores said Wednesday it will launch a new off-price concept, called Steele’s, to be rolled out in small-town America.

The first three stores are slated to open on Nov. 1, in Beeville, Texas; Bastrop, La.; and Minden, La.; the company said it plans to open an additional 25 to 35 new Steele’s stores in 2012.

In past columns, I have talked about restaurant group think and the tendency of dining concepts to overfill a niche. I’m becoming concerned that athletic apparel is in danger of the same thing. We now have three big players in this space: Lululemon, Lucy, and, more recently, Gap’s new Athleta concept. It seems that each has successfully carved out a lucrative niche in the world of contemporary athletic apparel, but it feels to me like it may be the latest retail “trend-du-jour.”

Japanese retailer Uniqlo will officially open the doors to its Fifth Avenue global flagship on Friday, Oct. 14. But after a sneak peak of the store, all I can say is “Wow!” At 89,000 sq. ft., Uniqlo is massive — with 100 fitting rooms, 45 checkouts, 100 LCD screens, four glass elevators, and three floors of merchandise. It feels more like a high-tech department store than a specialty store.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot announced that Office Depot stores hold the top three spots for retail energy efficiency gains at the midpoint of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star National Building Competition.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday named Jeffrey Kang and Mike Ellis to its pharmacy, health and wellness division.

Kang will join Walgreens Oct. 31 as SVP health and wellness services and solutions, reporting to both president and CEO Greg Wasson and president of pharmacy, health and wellness Kermit Crawford.

In addition, Mike Ellis has joined Walgreens as VP specialty pharmacy and infusion, reporting to Crawford.

DALLAS — Continued softness in the home and housewares category is evident at Tuesday Morning, which said it expects the loss per share for the first quarter to be in the range of 12 cents to 13 cents.

Tuesday Morning reported that sales for its first quarter ended Sept. 30 were down 1.2% to $170.7 million from $172.8 million last year. The company said comparable-stores were down 4.1% comprised of a 5.2% decrease in traffic offset by a 1.1% increase in average ticket.