Corporate Governance

The second quarter of fiscal 2016 is not yet over for home furnishings retailer Havertys, but shareholders may have reason to be optimistic.   Havertys reported that sales for the quarter to date are up approximately 3.6% from the same period last year and comparable store sales are up 3.2%. Total written sales for the quarter to date are up approximately 7%, and written comparable store sales rose 6.7%.   

A Swedish retail giant that excels in fast-fashion is also a leader when it comes to breaking the glass ceiling. But a U.S. merchant is not that far behind.   

Amazon.com is reportedly going to make it easier for third-party sellers on its Marketplace platform to sell certain items.  

Customers who belong to a retailer’s loyalty program spend more — significantly more — than those who do not.   That’s according to a new study by Accenture Interactive, which found that members of retailers’ loyalty programs generate between 12% and 18% more revenue for retailers than those who do not belong. The report was based on a survey of U.S. retailers across specialty, big-box, department, drug and convenience stores.   

Walmart is trimming administrative positions in some 500 stores in the West.   According to multiple media reports, the discount giant will cut three backroom accounting and invoicing positions at each store, for a total of 1,500 jobs. Affected employees will not be laid off, but instead offered front-of-store roles such as pharmacy technician or assisting pickups of online orders. Invoicing tasks will be shifted to corporate headquarters in Arkansas, while accounting functions will be automated.  

Photo: Colin Calvert (Left) and Caroline Pham (Right)  

Target Corp. is donating $250,000 to the OneOrlando Fund in honor of the retailer's two associates and other victims killed in the nightclub massacre that occurred early Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida.   Target lost two employees, Mercedes Flores and Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, in the mass shootings. Flores was a Target employee for eight years, and Ocasio-Capo for two years. A third Target employee remains in critical condition.   

PizzaRev, the make-your-own pizza concept backed by Buffalo Wild Wings, will soon be on the march in South Florida.   The company has signed a franchise agreement with Surfside Coffee, one of the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchise networks in Florida, to develop 45 restaurants across greater Miami. The group’s first location is projected to open at the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables.  

Brookstone has retained New York-based RCS Real Estate Advisors to operate as the retailer’s outsourced real estate department.    Brookstone operates 218 stores across the United States and Puerto Rico in shopping malls, airports and other locations.   

Brookshire Grocery Co. is expanding with a new neighborhood format.    The Tyler, Texas-based supermarket operator will open 26 locations this summer under its new Spring Market banner. The stores will be on the sites of former Walmart Express stores that Brookshire is in the process of acquiring. (The acquisition is scheduled to close in July.) The locations range from southern Louisiana to west Texas.