Corporate Governance

Tractor Supply is scheduled to provide complete second-quarter results in just under two weeks. But the first half of the quarter was affected by bad weather, which caused softness in sales, particularly in seasonal merchandise, prompting the company to lower its full-year guidance.

New York -- Smoking Vapor.Phoenix, which manufactures and sells electronic cigarettes, has opened a store in Phoenix, and plans to open four more locations in the coming months, according to a report by Phoenix Business Journal.

The 1,200-sq.-ft. store sells e-cigarettes, e-cigars and related products. Smoking Vapor operates a handful of kiosks in Phoenix-area malls. The kiosks will close as retail locations open.

The e-cigarette industry has grown into a $1.7 billion market, according to Wells Fargo.

Randolph, N.J. -- Retailers are behind Amazon in analytics maturity, according to a new research report from EKN Research. Eighty percent of retailers say they are behind Amazon in analytics maturity, and 71% of retailers perform either basic analytics reporting or none at all – revealing retailers’ inability to take advantage of the data that is available to them.
 

Gap and Banana Republic may have had soft sales in June, but performance at the company’s Old Navy brand saved the day.

The company reported an increase of 1% in June sales compared with last year. Net sales for the five-week period ended July 5 were $1.54 billion compared with net sales of $1.53 billion for the five-week period ended July 6 last year.
 

GE Capital is providing MerchSource with a $130 million senior credit facility providing working capital for the company’s operations in the U.S. and Hong Kong.
 
MerchSource, headquartered in Irvine, California, ideates, designs, develops and distributes a variety of consumer products in categories including electronics, toys, home décor, household accessories and pet supplies. Its products are sold in retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond, CVS, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.
 

Latham, New York -- DWM Facilities Maintenance announces today the promotion of Paul Meeks to executive VP of projects.  Meeks was an integral part of founding DWM with his brother David and has been with the company since its inception in 1997.

Unilever has sold its Slim-Fast brand to Kainos Capital. The supplier of food, home and personal care products will retain a minority stake in the business. Terms of the transaction, which was completed late this week, were not disclosed.

The transaction includes the Slim-Fast trademark and the global Slim-Fast business portfolio. Slim-Fast is sold throughout North America and in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Olive Garden has begun the the roll out of a new restaurant remodel design and logo. The company, a division of Darden Restaurants Inc., is also launching an updated web experience and an online to-go platform for desktop and mobile computer users at all its U.S. restaurants.