Strategy

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced Wednesday it has named Greg Beidler as senior VP store operations for the chain.

Beidler was previously regional operations director for Sam’s Club/Wal-Mart Corp., and has served in management roles for GameStop, Brown Shoe, Circuit City and Athlete’s Foot.

Sam’s Club is temporarily suspending is membership fee this weekend to engage in Texas’ tax-free holiday and promote new member sign ups.

The tax-free holiday for back-to-school product runs Aug. 17 to 19 in Texas, home to 74 of Sam’s 613 U.S. clubs. During the same three day period Sam’s will allow non-members to shop its clubs.

Phoenix -- PetSmart reported Wednesday that net income for the second quarter surged 31% to $79 million, from $61 million in the year-ago period.

Sales advanced 9% to $1.6 billion, and same-store sales grew 7.0%.

“Our performance in the second quarter was due to strength across all three merchandising categories, as well as across services,” said Bob Moran, chairman and CEO.
 

New York -- A Wednesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that big retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, Target Corp. and 7-Eleven are planning to develop a mobile payment network much like the Starbucks Square initiative that was announced last week.

RICHARDSON, Texas — Fossil has named John White as EVP and COO effective Sept. 4. White will be responsible for the company's supply chain, distribution and warehousing, legal and information technology operations, with a focus on long-term strategy. He will report directly to Kosta Kartsotis, CEO.

"We are very excited to have John join our executive team. His track record of driving strategic improvements and operational excellence across large organizations will be invaluable to us as we continue our global expansion," said Kartsotis.

Rock Hill Galleria has unveiled plans for a number of large-scale developments slated for the 470,000-sq.-ft. regional mall. 

Entertainment destination Revolutions will open a 66,640-sq.-ft. location at Rock Hill Galleria, featuring 30 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, a lazer maze and arena, bumper cars, arcade, restaurant and bar, sports theatre, plus live music and dancing. Opening is anticipated for winter 2012.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target’s second-quarter sales increased 3.5% to $16.5 billion and the company’s profits grew 2.9% to $1.06 per share, five cents better than analysts expected.

Peoria, Ill. -- Cullinan Properties announced that Kellie Schmidt has been named corporate marketing manager for the company, charged with overseeing Cullinan’s brand presence, in addition to creating and executing marketing and communication strategies.