Strategy

Mike Duke presented at the Barclay’s conference Tuesday, and, as we predicted in last week’s WNN, he did not speak about first-quarter sales, which the company will report on May 17. Instead Duke focused on such broad goals as growth, leverage, but offered little detail on how the company plans to achieve them.

New York City -- SuperValu plans to increase the footprint of its value division Save-A-Lot by 160 new stores this year, GlobeSt.com reported.

“This past year we added 92 net Save-A-Lot stores, and this fiscal year we’re looking to add another 160 net stores,” a spokesman said in the report.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax said Thursday that its net income dropped 53% in the first quarter.

Net income fell to $11.9 million from $25.4 million. Revenue fell 2.8% to $1.86 billion, though it beat analysts' estimates

The company blamed bad weather, store discounts and "an unfavorable product sales mix shift" in the technology department. Revenue from direct sales to business customers fell more steeply than revenue in stores.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Taxes related to Safeway's effort to pay down debt reduced its first-quarter net income, but the company's adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations as its revenue rose, the Associated Press reported.

The company earned $25.1 million for the quarter, compared with $96 million a year earlier. This includes a tax charge related to a plan to pay down its U.S. debt with part of a $1.1 billion dividend in cash and debt from its Canadian operations.

Deerfield, Ill.  -- Walgreen Co. has agreed to buy 10 Carle RxExpress pharmacies in east central Illinois.

The chain did not disclose terms of the deal. It expects the sale to close by July. Walgreen said it will continue to run six of the pharmacies and will consolidate a seventh into the others. It will close three other locations and transfer prescription files and inventory to nearby Walgreen locations.

The stores are currently owned by The Carle Foundation, a not-for-profit company based in Urbana, Ill.

Brentwood, Texas -- Tractor Supply Co. said Thursday it approved a $600 million stock buyback program, increases its existing share buyback program to $1 billion. The program was established in February 2007, and is extended through April 30, 2015.

The chain said it will also increase its quarterly cash dividend to 12 cents per share.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. has added another exclusive label to its lineup with Rock & Republic Apparel. The company signed a long-term licensing agreement with R&R Apparel Co. LLC and its parent company, VF Corp.

Rock & Republic will launch in men’s and women’s apparel and footwear in spring 2012. It may expand into children’s accessories and home goods over time. Nearly half of Kohl’s sales in 2010 came from exclusive brands.

Phoenix -- JDA Software Group and Gladson announced a strategic alliance to provide combined services to their joint customers in the consumer packaged goods industry.

J.C. Penney has taken the wraps off its new retail concept, The Foundry Big & Tall Supply Co., opening the first location in Dallas. With the  first 10 stores due to open in the Dallas and Kansas City, Mo., markets by the end of May, J.C. Penney plans to expand concept nationwide to 100 stores by 2013, reaching a total of 300 stores over the next five years.

Averaging 5,000-sq.-ft., The Foundry offers a hip, unpretentious environment with flat-screen TVs tuned to sports, an oversized poker table and comfortable seating.

Seattle -- Starbucks on Wednesday reported that its second-quarter profit rose 20% as more customers visited its stores, and it raised its earnings forecast for the year.

The company said it earned $261.6 million for the quarter ended April 3, up from $217.3 million a year earlier. Revenue rose nearly 10% to $2.79 billion.