Corporate Governance

The CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods said strong back-to-school sales couldn't help his company recover from a slowdown in consumer spending in the third quarter.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Dick's reported a 0.7% increase in same-store sales. Earnings were $47.2 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $49.2 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 7.6% to $1.64 billion.

The off-price wars are heating up in New York City.

Saks Fifth Avenue will open its first Saks Off 5th outlet in New York City, in a 32-story office tower at 125 East 57th Street, in March 2016. The store will feature a lobby entrance at street level, which will access two lower level floors.

“The addition of a new Saks Off 5th store at this strategic location will be a dramatic game changer for 57th Street retail east of Park Avenue,” said Charles S. Cohen, president and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., which owns the property.

A law firm obtained a $1.35 million verdict for a victim after showing that Chipotle Mexican Grille was negligent in failing to repair a roof leak which, the firm said, ultimately lead to the victim's injuries.

Here is the story, according to a release by the West Palm Beach, Florida-based Steinger, Iscoe & Greene:

The store manager noticed the water pooling in the customer queuing area. He mopped and then verified the area was dry.

(The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.)

Scott McClelland seems an unlikely candidate for his picture to appear under a "Why Is This Man Smiling?" headline. As spokesperson and president of the Houston food/drug division of Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B, McClelland has plenty of reasons to be worried.

When it comes to workforce management, retailers are focusing on optimizing scheduling.

The need for automated and even employee-driven scheduling was a coherent theme in presentations and interviews given by several retailers during the KronosWorks 2015 conference in Las Vegas. In an address during the opening keynote session, Mike Zorn, senior VP of associate and labor relations at Macy’s Inc., discussed the importance of scheduling to employee morale.

Kohl’s has named Walgreens' former digital and chief marketing officer to the newly created role of chief operating officer and indicated she could eventually replace Kevin Mansell as CEO.

Kohl’s named Sona Chawla to the newly created position of COO, which might as well stand for chief omnichannel officer given her range of responsibilities and most recent experience at Walgreens. She will report directly to Kohl’s chairman, president and CEO Kevin Mansell.

Despite weak overall sales growth and an expected decline in third quarter profits, Walmart’s third quarter results offered reasons for the company to be optimistic and for competitors to be concerned.

TJX shows no signs of losing its popular appeal with shoppers as the company reported stronger than expected traffic and same-store sales in the third quarter.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, same store sales at TJX Companies rose 5.3%. The company said net income fell to $587.3 million, from $595 million a year earlier. On a per share basis, net income rose to 86 cents per share from 85 cents, as the company had fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose to $7.75 billion from $7.37 billion.