Corporate Governance

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold USA announced that Gordon Reid will join the company’s Giant-Landover division as president, effective Nov. 4. He most recently served as group director for commercial services for Dairy Farm International, which operates more than 5,600 retail outlets throughout Asia.

Reid replaces Bhavdeep Singh, who has served as interim president since September. Singh continues to serve as executive VP, operations, Ahold USA.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix reported net earnings for the third quarter fell 2.3% to $359.9 million, compared to $368.4 million in the year ago period.

Sales for the third quarter were $7 billion, up 5.6% from last year’s $6.7 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.1%.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid reported a same-store sales increase of 2.1% for October 2013 as compared to the same month in the prior year. Front-end same-store sales actually decreased 0.6%, but gains of 3.4% in pharmacy same-store sales and a 1.1% jump in prescription count drove the total growth.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods will open three new stores and one remodeled store on Nov. 8. The new stores will be located at Newport Pavilion in Newport, Ky., Bartonsville Square in Stroudsburg, Pa., and South County Mall in South County, Mo.

Dick’s will also open its newly remodeled store in Saratoga Springs, NY on Sunday, Nov. 10.

The new stores will mark Dick’s 10th store in Kentucky, 37th store in Pennsylvania, and 13th store in Missouri. Dick’s will operate 555 stores in the U.S. as of Nov. 10.

Columbus, Ohio – Lane Bryant opened four new stores on Nov. 1. The stores are located at University Mall in Carbondale, Ill., and Bey Lea Plaza in Toms River, N.J.

The retailer also opens two refreshed stores on Nov. 1, at Pavilion Center in Dallas and Las Palmas Marketplace Shopping Center location in El Paso, Texas.

Redlands, Calif. — Start-up Fresh Thyme Farmers Market plans to open 50 new stores across 12 Midwestern states over the next six years. To find the right locations, Fresh Thyme is using Esri technology and data to prioritize markets and rate, rank and compare potential sites based on geographic and demographi9c analyses.

Washington, D.C. —Marshall’s has opened its second Washington, D.C. store. According to the Washington, D.C., Economic Partnership, the 28,925-sq.-ft. store is located at the National Press Building at 14th and F Streets downtown. Marshall’s is planning a third location for the Shops at Dakota Crossing in the city’s northeastern quadrant.

Columbus, Ohio -- Big Lots will close down its wholesale operations — Big Lots Wholesale, Consolidated International and Wisconsin Toy — by the end of its current fiscal year as it concentrates its focus on its retail stores. The shuttering will result in the liquidation of the wholesale unit's inventory.

New York -- The Container Store on Friday, Nov. 1, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol “TCS.” Expectations were high: On Thursday, the retailer set its IPO price at $18 per share, higher than the originally-expected range of $14 to $16 per share.

The company is offering all 12.5 million shares of common stock, with an additional 1.9 million shares 30-day purchase option for the underwriters.

Naperville, Ill. -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved the merger of Office Max Inc. and Office Depot, the retailers said in a joint statement on Friday. The companies anticipate completing the transaction after market close on November 5, 2013.