Corporate Governance

Dallas – Neiman Marcus had a strong third quarter fiscal 2013, reporting a substantial increase in net earnings as well as growth total revenues and same store sales.

Net earnings grew 13% compared to third quarter of last year, from $62.6 million to $70.8 million from $62.6 million.

Total revenues increased 4%, from $1.06 billion to $1.1 billion.

Same store sales grew 3.6%.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is launching an initiative to increase the amount of fresh produce on its shelves. The effort includes buying produce directly from growers for immediate shipment to stores, performing independent weekly fresh produce checks at stores and providing fresh produce training for associates.

West Chester, Pa. -- QVC has appointed Ted Jastrzebski to the position of CFO. Jastrzebski, who will assume his new role in July 2013, will oversee QVC's financial operations, reporting to Mike George, president and CEO of QVC. He spent the last eight years in global leadership positions at The Hershey Company, most recently serving as senior VP and president of Hershey Americas.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has promoted Marty Amschler to senior VP of franchise.

Amschler, who has been with RadioShack since 2009, will continue overseeing dealer franchise operations and also provide senior leadership to the company's commercial sales division and B2B sales team. He has close to 40 years of retail executive experience and previously held sales and franchise positions at companies including Kinney Shoe Corporation, The Athlete's Foot and NexCen Brands.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening a new store in Petaluma, Calif., with a three-day grand opening weekend celebration beginning Friday, June 7. The location be the retailer's 28th store in the state of California and its 523rd nationwide.

"We're pleased to be opening a new Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Petaluma, which will enable us to better serve the needs of athletes in the community," said Lauren Hobart , chief marketing officer, Dick’s Sporting Goods..

New York – Law firm Harwood Feffer LLP is launching an investigation into claims against the board of directors of rue21 Inc. regarding the proposed purchase of the company by Apax Partners. On May 23, rue21 announced a definitive agreement for Apax to buy it, with stockholders receiving $42 in cash per share.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General reported record net income and sales during for the first quarter, but still reduced the top end of its profit forecast due to moderating same-store sales.

The discounter reported net income of $220 million, up 3% from $213 million in the first quarter of 2012. Net sales totaled $4.23 billion, up 8.5% from $3.9 billion.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot has reached an agreement to sell its 50% stake in Office Depot de Mexico S.A. de C.V. to its joint venture partner Grupo Gigante, S.A.B. de C.V. for roughly $690 million in cash.

Office Depot de Mexico, which was founded in 1994 as a joint partnership between Office Depot and Grupo Gigante, has more than 248 stores throughout Mexico and Central America and more than $1.1 billion in annual sales.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. has appointed Sharon Price John, 49, as CEO, effective immediately. John, who previously served as president of Stride Rite Children’s Group, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, succeeds company founder Maxine Clark, who is retiring as CEO. Clark will remain on the board of directors.

New Orleans -- Stirling Properties and JCH Development have announced a joint venture to develop the first 6,000-sq. ft. building of Magnolia Marketplace Shopping Center in New Orleans at the intersection of South Claiborne Avenue and Fourth Street. A second phase of the development will commence this fall at South Claiborne and Toledano.