Corporate Governance

Undeterred by volatility in its sales results, leading footwear retailer DSW maintained its pace of expansion and opened 16 new stores to end the third quarter with 393 locations.

The operator of large format footwear stores that average about 22,000-sq.-ft., said its third quarter sales declined 0.7% while total sales increased 6.8% to $633 million due to the addition of the new stores. The third quarter comp decline is the latest development in what has been a tumultuous year from a sales standpoint.

The Children's Place president and CEO Jane Elfers focused on the positive following decreases in net and comparable-store sales for the third quarter, despite the company’s reportedly strong performance during the back-to-school period.

Famous footwear may have generated record third quarter sales, but parent company Brown Shoe was unwilling to get too ambitious with holiday expectations given uncertainty it sees around promotional activity and consumer sentiment.

The offices of Retailing Today are closed today, Thursday, Nov. 28, in observance of Thanksgiving Day. Distribution of the Retailing Today Daily Edition newsletter will resume Friday, Nov. 29. We wish you a happy and safe holiday weekend.

Barnes & Noble faces all the same headwinds as other retailers this holiday season, but its challenges are compounded by the fact that it continues to derive the majority of its revenues from declining sales of physical books.

The operator of 673 book stores said it expects holiday same store sales to decline in the high single digits following a 4.9% comp decrease during the second quarter ended October 26.
Total Barnes & Noble sales declined 8% to $1.7 billion with each of the company’s three segments reporting reduced sales.

Fred's credited an 8% lift in pharmacy department sales as a key factor accounting for the company's third-quarter success.

An increase in third-quarter net sales was not enough to bolster Chico’s FAS’s net income, which took a hit from its Boston Proper business.

The company reported net income of $35.8 million, down 15% from $42 million in the same period a year earlier.

Leading data collection and mobile research provider Field Agent added new insights capabilities to its solutions offering with the acquisition of CORE4 Research.

LLamasoft, a leading global supply chain design software provider, has added Jeff Metersky to the company’s leadership team as VP of solutions strategy.

Metersky will have global responsibility for designing comprehensive supply chain design solutions made up of technology, services, support, education and training for future and existing LLamasoft customers. He will also help shape and guide LLamasoft product strategy.

RF Biocidics, a leading food safety company that provides an environmentally friendly and chemical-free alternative for disinfection and disinfestation, has appointed Erik Smitt as its VP of operations.