Corporate Governance

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Thomas Nowak, senior VP merchandising for European e-commerce site Bol.com, will join the Staples team as senior VP of merchandising, Staples Europe, effective Aug. 1. Nowak will report to president of Staples Europe John Wilson, and will be a member of the European leadership team.

New York – Barnes & Noble Inc. reportedly plans to open about 300 new stores on college and university campuses in the next five years. According to Reuters, Barnes & Noble wants to expand its college bookstore footprint from the current 696 locations to 1,000.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources have, effective May 8, launched the total liquidation of Coldwater Creek brick-and-mortar stores and its website.

The joint-venture team is conducting closing sales at all Coldwater Creek stores and online, offering 30% to 50% off all items.

The timing of Easter this year left Costco with 27 days of sales in April, rather than last year’s 28. But despite the Easter holiday shift, Costco still came out on top with a 7% increase in net sales that reportedly beat analysts’ expectations.

Fred's plans to implement a long-term marketing strategy stressing everyday low pricing and the convenience of a smaller box to help bolster sales against what the company describes as "intense competitive pressures." The company's pharmacy operations continue to grow, however.

Fred's reported $150 million in sales for the four weeks ended May 3, representing a decline of 1.6% as compared to year-ago sales. For the first quarter ended May 3, sales totaled $498.5 million, down 0.6%.

Amazon customers in 15 additional cities are now eligible for Sunday delivery, according to the online retail giant.

In addition to the Los Angeles and New York metro areas where Sunday delivery launched late last year, Amazon customers in the following locations are now receiving deliveries on Sunday:

Staples has appointed Thomas Nowak, most recently SVP, merchandising for bol.com, one of Europe’s largest e-commerce sites, as SVP of merchandising, Staples Europe, effective Aug. 1.

Nowak will report to president of Staples Europe John Wilson, and will be a member of the European leadership team.

Virgin Mobile has entered into a partnership with Banana Republic that will offer its Canadian members the newest looks from the brand for less.

Starting today through Dec. 31, Virgin Mobile members will receive 20% off any one full-priced item at Banana Republic stores across the country.

Roundy's saw net sales increase by 1.9% to $1 billion, and reported a net loss of $4.5 million compared with net income of $8.6 million.

Interactions, a leading global integrated sales and marketing programs developer, has appointed David Zierman as director of insights.
 
Based in San Diego, Zierman will lead the company’s market research efforts including managing primary data collected via Mystery Shopping, Customer Intercept Surveys, Web Based Surveys, electronic customer satisfaction surveys (bottom of the receipt surveys) and Retail Audits. He will be responsible for the organization’s P&L as well as business development and operations.