Corporate Governance

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The United Entertainment Group (UEG), a global entertainment and marketing agency, has been chosen by HSNi to become its marketing partnership agency of record.

As part of the deal, UEG and its partner UTA (United Talent Agency) will utilize its combined presence in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue to build upon HSNi's ongoing foray into integrating entertainment and retail by building partnerships that consist of celebrity brands, music platforms, television and film collaborations, and like-minded brand partnerships.

Asheville, N.C. – Ingles Markets, Inc. reported net income of $9.5 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, down 18% from $11.6 million during the same period a year earlier. Net sales rose 1.1% for the quarter, to $945.1 million from $935 million.

Grocery same-store sales decreased 0.8%. In addition, operating expenses rose, which may have contributed to the decline in net income. Robert P. Ingle II, CEO of Ingles, also cited holiday price-cutting measures.

San Diego – On Jan. 30, 2014, PriceSmart, Inc. acquired approximately 147,000 usable sq. ft. of land in the city of Medellin, Colombia, and leased approximately 126,000 usable sq. ft. of land in the city of Bogota, Colombia, upon which the company plans to construct two new warehouse club stores. These two warehouse clubs are currently planned to open before the end of calendar year 2014.

Milwaukee – Roundy’s, Inc. will be offering 2,948,113 shares of its common stock, and certain selling stockholders will be offering 5,896,226 shares of the company’s common stock. The underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,326,650 shares of common stock from the selling stockholders, all at the offering price less the underwriting discount.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Dan Beem will be joining Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. as senior VP of the company and president international later in February 2014. Beem, 44, will report to president and CEO Jim Morgan, and will be responsible for the company's international franchise business segment.  

Plano, Texas -- Rent-A-Center has opened its newest location in Bartlett, Tenn. Rent-A-Center operates 82 locations in the state of Tennessee.

The retailer also operates more than 3,000 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. It employs more than 21,000 workers.

Hampstead, Md. – The correspondence between Jos. A. Bank and The Men’s Wearhouse continues, and it’s not all love letters. In response to a letter sent Jan. 30 from the Men’s Wearhouse board urging Jos. A. Bank to reconsider its recent all-cash offer to acquire Jos. A. Bank for $57.50 per share, or about $1.6 billion, Jos. A. Bank — which rejected that offer on Jan. 20 — does not sound anxious to revisit it in the most recent letter it sent to Men’s Wearhouse president and CEO Doug Ewert.

Sports Authority has named Jeremy J. Aguilar as CFO. Aguilar was most recently at Hhgregg, where he has been CFO since 2009.

“Jeremy’s expertise in finance and accounting will play a critical role in further strengthening Sports Authority,” said CEO Michael E. Foss. “He will be a valuable asset to the team; we are thrilled to have him on board.”

Our industry has talked so much about omnichannel that it seems only the “aha” gets our attention anymore. Here’s the problem: Our talk is well ahead of our ability to execute. And execution is what matters.

Omnichannel isn’t sexy. It’s not about “Wow.” It’s about making it easier for people accustomed to an anything-anytime-anywhere world to do business with us. That’s primarily a question of organization, commitment and execution, for manufacturers as well as retailers.

R.G. Barry Corporation’s chairman of the board Gordon B. Zacks died at his Bexley home following a brief illness. He was 80.

Zacks joined his family's business in 1955 after attending Dartmouth College and graduating from the Ohio State University. He joined the board of directors in 1959 and was named company president in 1965. He added the roles of chairman of the board and CEO to his resume in 1979. Following retirement from his day-to-day management roles in 2004, he was named the company's non-executive chairman of the board, a post held until his death.