Corporate Governance

Already under the gun to improve business operations, Whole Foods Markets’ founder and CEO finds himself in a new struggle.  

Sports Direct, the largest sporting goods retailer in the United Kingdom, has expanded its presence in the United States.   The company announced that it has completed its acquisition of Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports. It will initially operate a total of some 50 stores in the Northeast and five EMS outdoor adventure schools, along with e-commerce sites for both brands.   

J. Crew's troubles showed no sign of easing in the first quarter as the retailer posted its 11th consecutive quarter of same-store sales declines.    Total sales fell 6.3% to $532 million in the quarter, ended April 29. Total same-store sales fell 9%.   By brand, J. Crew sales decreased 11% to $428.5 million; same-store sales fell 12%. Madewell sales increased 17% to $84.7 million; same-store sales increased 10%.   

Walmart’s e-commerce arm is shaking up its private label offerings.   Jet.com will increasingly phase out its assortment of Kirkland Signature branded merchandise — Costco’s private label brand. The move is said to help augment efforts among Walmart’s Sam’s Club chain, which is focused on boosting sales among its own store brand, Member’s Mark, according to Bloomberg.

The clear signal sent by these first quarter numbers is that J. Crew is a company in trouble. As much as the business is used to decline, the accelerated pace of deterioration, as evidenced by the 6.3% drop in overall sales and the 12% fall in J. Crew comparables, is worrying. That this weakness comes off the back of negative prior year numbers suggests that the company has not yet reached rock bottom.  

Sears Holdings is reducing headcount as part of its ongoing effort to deliver $1.25 billion in annualized cost reductions. It's also losing a key online executive.   Sears is eliminating some 400 full-time jobs at its corporate offices, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and from its support functions. In addition, certain positions at the chain's field operations will be impacted. The eliminated jobs represent less than half a percent of the 140,000 full-time and part-time employees Sears had as of the end of January.  

Neiman Marcus Group is going it alone — at least, for now.

Eager to strengthen operations across its enterprise, Supervalu is moving to the cloud.   Through a strategic relationship with Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), the grocery company is replacing its mainframe technology infrastructure with a new mainframe platform that will offer cloud, back-up, and other solutions and services. The new configuration is designed to improve operations across the independent retailers it supports.   

Sears Canada isn't sure about its ability to remain a going concern.   The struggling retailer on Tuesday said it doesn't have enough cash flow over the next 12 months to meet its its obligations, and warned that it may have to restructure or be sold.  The company cited a "very challenging environment," and noted it has had recurring operating losses and negative cash flows from operating activities in the last five fiscal years, with net losses beginning in 2014.    

Amazon is giving shoppers another reason to sign up for Prime—and a reason not to use credit cards.   The online giant is launching a new program, called Amazon Prime Reload, that allows Prime members to earn 2% bonus every time they reload their Amazon gift card balance with cash from their checking account and debit card. The bonus is given in the form of rewards that can be used to make purchases on Amazon.