Corporate Governance

Specialty apparel retailer New York & Company plans to convert even more of its nearly 500 stores to an outlet format following a strong finish to the year.

Gordmans Stores plans to open a new store next month in its hometown of Omaha in April, the first of five new units the apparel and home décor retailer has planned for the year.

Meeting Walmart’s product information requirements is not always easy for its suppliers, but the retailer is providing a new option that may make things a little simpler.

Walmart is integrating with product content technology provider Shotfarm. Walmart suppliers can now use the Shotfarm Switch Marketplace platform to directly connect with the retailer. This means suppliers can work with requirement such as the Walmart Spec program, which details the required, recommended, and optional data attributes suppliers must provide for their products.

Gordmans Stores plans to open a new store next month in its hometown of Omaha in April, the first of five new units apparel and home décor retailer has planned for the year.

PizzaRev, a fast-casual pizza concept backed by Buffalo Wild Wings, announced its first locations in New York.

New York is one of five new states that PizzaRev will enter this year, including Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee. The company will also make its international debut in Mexico shortly after opening in New York. There are currently more than 150 additional PizzaRev restaurants in various stages of development across the United States and Mexico.

Cato Corp., just delivered its highest earnings in company history and sales topped $1 billion, but chairman, president and CEO John Cato said the road ahead could be rocky.

Cato, operator of 1,372 stores in 32 states, said its fourth quarter sales increased 4% to $247.3 million and same-store sales increased 1%. Full year sales increased 2.4% to slightly exceed $1 billion, but the addition of 31 new stores was the primary driver of full year growth as same-store sales were flat.

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store North El Centro, California on March 5. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.

The 26,000- sq.-ft. store is located at Centro Commons, 11 miles north of the California-Mexico border, at the intersection of Imperial Avenue and Cruickshank Drive. With this location, Ross operates 277 stores in California, its largest state.

Storytelling is an intrinsic part of our daily lives. Movies, books, music, news, religion and art are all imbued with the stories we tell each other–and the stories we tell ourselves.

Even the spaces and places that we work, shop, eat and play are “speaking” to us – and through us – defining our dreams and desires, informing our values, and even shaping the contours of our hidden prejudices and deepest fears.