Corporate Governance

A curated selection of Sony entertainment products and technologies — some of which are still in the prototype stage — are on display at the new Sony Square NYC.    Located in the company's New York City headquarters on Madison Avenue, the 2,400-sq.-ft. store also will host consumer events, including photography classes, exclusive movie screenings and invitation-only performances by Sony Music artists.  

Bankrupt Aeropostale Inc. may not be going out of business after all.   The teen apparel chain has resolved a dispute with lenders that threatened to sink a potential bid from a unit of Versa Capital Management to buy the chain out of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported.   Versa would keep about 500 Aeropostale stores open, according to the report. 

Hhgregg announced several key executive appointments. The news comes on the heels of the appointment of interim CEO Robert Riesbeck as permanent chief of the consumer electronics and appliance retailer.    The moves include the promotion of former VP of marketing and nine-year company veteran Chris Sutton to senior VP of marketing, with oversight for all marketing initiatives as well as Hhgregg’s growing e-commerce channel. Sutton previously worked in advertising and brand marketing for The Walt Disney Company.  

Meijer is kicking off the fall campaign of its signature hunger relief program, Simply Give, across its six-state footprint in an effort to help local food pantry partners restock their shelves.

Coles Supermarkets, one of Australia’s largest supermarket retailers, is deploying a new solution to improve customer checkout experiences and operational efficiency.   The retailer is adding NCR’s RealPOS XR8 as its future POS terminals. Coles also plans to upgrade more than 4,000 POS units in the next financial year.  

Uniqlo is in the final stages of an extensive makeover of its first-ever store in New York City.      Located in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood, the 10-year-old, 36,000-sq.-ft. store is being redone to the theme of "a new Tokyo in Soho." Scheduled to unveil its new look on Sept. 2, the store was the chain’s first global flagship. Hiroshi Taki, Uniqlo U.S.A. CEO, described it as “an important milestone in the company's plans to expand internationally.”  

Just as Amazon transformed e-commerce through its convenience, assortment and ease of use, look for the pairing of Jet.com and Walmart to introduce additional completion in the online shopping space that will give more options to consumers. Both companies stand to gain exposure to more and different customers as well as benefits in terms of service, delivery, and technological enhancements.   

Gap Inc. unveiled preliminary results for the second quarter that were not very promising as Banana Republic continues to bleed. The retailer said revenue and same-store sales slipped for the month of July, and for the second quarter, which ended July 30. Gap’s net sales for the quarter were $3.85 billion, compared with $3.90 billion for the second quarter last year.