Corporate Governance

Exiting Canada may have taken a bite out of Big Lots’ profits in the first quarter, but the company still saw net and comparable-store sales increase.

Net sales for the quarter increased 1.1% to $1.28 billion, compared to net sales from continuing U.S. operations of $1.26 billion for the same period last year. Comparable-store sales for stores open at least 15 months increased 0.9% for the quarter.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores announced the promotion of Shelley Broader, currently president and CEO of Walmart Canada, to executive VP, president and CEO of Walmart EMEA, effective June 1. In her new role, she will lead Walmart's retail operations and oversee business development in Europe, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Canada and will report directly to David Cheesewright, president and CEO, Walmart International.

Nashville, Tenn. – Genesco Inc. reported net earnings of $13.97 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, down 3% from $14.41 million in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. A jump in selling and administrative expenses drove the net earnings decline.

Meanwhile, net sales rose 6% to $629 million, from $591 million. Same-store sales grew 1%. Genesco expects a low-single-digit same-store sales increase for the full fiscal year.

Thought-provoking presentations and forward-looking exchanges dominated the annual gathering of the Global Retail Marketing Association’s (GMRA) Executive Leadership Forum at the Don Cesar resort on St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.
 

Columbus, Ohio – A subsidiary of Express Inc. has entered into a franchise agreement with Edcon Group, a retail franchise operator in South Africa, to bring the Express brand to South Africa. The Express brand is expected to launch as a store-in-store concept at select Edgars department stores by the end of 2014 with standalone Express store locations to open in 2015.

Express has identified international expansion as one of the company's four pillars of growth and a significant long-term revenue opportunity for the company.

Washington, D.C. — The Fairfax, Virginia, City Council has approved a rezoning application for Combined Properties’ Fairfax Circle Plaza. The project aims to redevelop the current strip retail center and replace it with a mixed-use development with up to 400 new apartments and 88,000 sq. ft. of retail including a grocery store.

The project is located at the intersection of two major routes just over a half mile from the Vienna, Virginia, Metro station.

New York — Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, and Joseph Aquino, executive VP of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group, has leased a multi-level space at 45 East 58th Street in the Plaza District in Manhattan, to Caruso, the exclusive Italian menswear label.

The new location will be Caruso’s first in the United States. It will be the brand’s New York flagship and showroom.

Formerly the Spanierman Gallery, the unusually large space encompasses more than 11,000 sq. ft. on two levels.

Walmart Canada president and CEO Shelley Broader’s responsibilities have been significantly expanded to include oversight of Europe and Africa.

Broader was named EVP, president and CEO of Walmart EMEA, a region Walmart defines as including Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.