Corporate Governance

Macy’s is kicking off its fifth annual National Believe Day. As part of Macy's nostalgic Believe campaign, which was inspired by the New York Sun's famous editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," National Believe Day was created to spread the season's message of kindness and generosity toward others.

Regional department store operator Gordmans Stores said its fourth quarter same store sales are likely to decline in the mid-single digits after it reported a 6.1% drop in comps for the third quarter ended November 2.

Despite the comp decline, Gordman’s total sales at its 93 stores increased 5.8% to $151.3 million from $143.1 million due to the addition of 10 new stores in the prior nine months. Net income for the third quarter was $1.1 million, or six cents a share, compared to net income of $4 million, or 21 cents a share, last year.

Office Depot’s new chairman and CEO Roland Smith enlisted a former colleague from the fast food industry to serve as CFO of the recently combined Office Depot and OfficeMax company.

Kimberly-Clark Professional has named Tim Feeheley as VP of Kimberly-Clark Professional North America. Feeheley succeeds Richard Thorne, who recently was chosen to lead Kimberly-Clark Professional's Asia-Pacific Region.

Retailers were effective at getting a record number of Americans to visit stores and Web sites over the weekend, but persuading them to spend money was a different story, according to data released by the National Retail Federation Sunday afternoon.

Even before its final round of deals kicked in at Walmart on Friday morning the retailer announced that sales had exceeded last year’s record-breaking results with 10 million transactions completed between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Washington, D.C. -- More consumers plan to spend more than last year, and fewer consumers less than last year, according to the 14th annual holiday spending survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).  

Irving, Texas -- Zale Corp. narrowed its first-quarter loss slightly and reported its 12th consecutive quarterly sales increase.

Zale reported a net loss of $27. 3 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared to $28.3 million, a year ago. The prior year included a gain of $1.9 million from a settlement.

First-quarter sales increased 1.4% to $363 million, in line with expectations.

Same-store sales rose 4.4%. Zales Jewelers and Zales Outlet stores posted a same-store sales increase of 7.5%.

New York -- Holiday sales growth is looking up for the nation’s retailers, with much of the lift coming from pent-up demand, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The company’s holiday forecast is the 4.5% to 5.5% range, which is higher than the National Retail Federation’s forecast of 3.9% and the International Council of Shopping Centers’ forecast of 2.0%.

Deerfield, Ill. — Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and Studio A Salon have taken space at Cadwell’s Corners in Deerfield, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago. Mid-America Asset Management Inc. represented the shopping center in the transaction.