Corporate Governance

Columbus, Ohio – Big Lots Inc. beat Wall Street predictions for profit and revenue with a solid performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Improved gross margin helped Big Lots increase net income by a factor of roughly 10, to $32.21 million from $3.35 million the same period a year earlier.

Net sales slipped 0.1%, staying at roughly $1.28 billion. A reduction in stores offset same-store sales growth of 1.6%.

Toys“R”Us is launching an innovative social media campaign to raise money for one of the retailer’s most popular causes.

The retailer is hosting its fifth consecutive fundraising campaign to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer.

Seattle – Amazon.com reportedly plans to launch a line of private label grocery products. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon will add items such as milk, cereal, baby food and household cleaners to its Elements private label brand.

Currently, Amazon Prime members can purchase Elements baby wipes, and the retailer previously sold Elements diapers, as well. Amazon has recently applied for trademark protection for about two dozen Elements-branded products including coffee, soup, pasta, water, vitamins, dog food and razors.

Outdoor specialty retailer Gander Mountain remains on a path for national expansion with its recently opened store in El Paso giving the operator of 160 units its westernmost presence.

Most of St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain’s stores are concentrated in the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic state, but recent years have seen a steady incursion into new markets in the south and West. Prior to the opening of the 61,000-sq.-ft. El Paso location on May 26, Gander Mountain’s westernmost market was Denver where it operates two stores.

Boston -- Online home furnishings and décor retailer Wayfair announced that Jeremy Delinsky has joined the company’s leadership team as chief technology officer.

Delinsky joins Wayfair with more than a decade of leadership experience, formerly serving as CTO and, most recently, chief product officer at athenahealth. Delinsky will report directly to Steve Conine, Wayfair’s co-founder and co-chairman.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Dollar Tree on Friday announced it had reached an agreement to sell private equity firm Sycamore Partners a divestiture package of 330 Family Dollar Stores locations, with the deal contingent on the completion of Dollar Tree’s pending acquisition of Family Dollar.  Sycamore Partners intends to operate the 330 stores, which represent approximately $45.5 million of operating income for Family Dollar, under the Dollar Express banner.

Hot home furnishings retailer Wayfair has outgrown its chief technology officer, who also happens to be one of the company's co-founders.

So the retailer has hired Jeremy Delinsky to be the company’s new chief technology officer.

Delinsky joins Wayfair with more than a decade of leadership experience, formerly serving as CTO and, most recently, chief product officer (CPO) at athenahealth. Delinsky will report directly to Steve Conine, Wayfair’s co-founder and co-chairman. 

Richmond, Va. - InvenTrust Properties Corp. has acquired Westpark Shopping Center, a 176,935-sq.-ft., 95% leased shopping center located in Glen Allen, Virginia, for $33.75 million.