Corporate Governance

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack is reportedly asking a bankruptcy court to approve a roughly $160 million bod from Standard General LP that would keep 1,743 stores of the retailer’s roughly 4,000 stores open. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Standard General bid also the backing of the official committee of RadioShack’s unsecured creditors.

Mahwah, N.J. - Brian Lynch, a 35-year fashion and retail industry veteran, has been named president and CEO of Ascena Retail Group’s Justice brand, which is targeted at tween girls. Lynch most recently served as president of Ann Taylor brand. Previously, he held executive positions with Ann Inc.; Gap Inc.; Learningsmit Inc.; and The Walt Disney Co.

Lynch replaces Michael Rayden, who retired in January. Rayden had announced his retirement in October, and Ascena subsequently launched a search for his replacement.

Forbes is reporting that Amazon.com is in the preliminary stages of a deal to buy luxury retailer Net-a-porter, which could be its biggest acquisition ever according to the magazine.

Seattle-based Amazon has been making moves to expand its presence in the world of upscale fashon retailing by increasing its luxury apparel offerings.

Swiss-owned Net-a-porter has been valued at $2 billion euro.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. credited strong holiday sales for helping to boost net income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 8% to $104.4 million from $96.3 million the same period a year earlier.

 Net sales rose 5% to $1.39 billion from $1.32 billion, driven by a 2.4% increase in same-store sales and 42% surge in online sales.

New York -- Joseph Abboud has opened a flagship, the first under the umbrella of Men's Wearhouse, on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Men’s Wearhouse acquired the Abboud brand in 2013.

The 4,300-sq.-ft. location was designed and styled collaboratively by Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates and Joseph Abboud, and is reminiscent of London's Savile Row.

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line Inc. on Friday reported a decline in its fourth-quarter profit and cautioned that profits in its current year may not hit expectations of a fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $40.8 million.

The retailer also authorized a new 5-million-share buyback program.

The Finish Line’s earnings in the fourth quarter fell 5% to $40.8 million.

Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $551.3 million, an increase of 6.3% over the prior year period. Same-store sales increased 2.6%.

Middletown, Conn. -- Target Corp. is expanding its deployment of solar energy. The retailer has signed a power-purchase agreement with Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC that calls for supplier to install solar arrays on the roofs of 180 Target stores and distribution centers across the United States from Augusta, Maine, to San Diego.

Restoration Hardware is in the middle of a strategy overhaul that may slow down revenue growth, but the retailer did post better-than-expected profits in the fourth quarter.

Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. reported that its profit for the fourth quarter increased a better-than-expected 25% to $42.5 million from $34 million in the year-ago period. Restoration Hardware’s total sales in the fourth quarter grew 23.5% to $582.7 million. For the year, the company reported profit of $91 million. Revenue was reported as $1.87 billion.