Corporate Governance

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holding Corp. reported a bigger-than-expected net loss of $279 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to net income of $189 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. 

The retailer also said that it is considering selling its protection-agreement business in an ongoing effort to raise cash as it struggles to improve its profits.

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co.’s 175th anniversary and its Great Gatsby movie tie-in collection drove the jeweler’s better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter ended April 30, which included Valentine’s Day. 

The jeweler had worldwide net sales of $895 million, an increase of 9% from $819,170 for the same period last year. On a constant exchange rate basis that excludes the effect of translating foreign currency denominated sales into U.S. dollars, worldwide net sales increased 13% and comparable store sales rose 8%.

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — Abercrombie & Fitch shrunk its net loss during the first quarter of 2013 but still reported thin financial results. Net loss for the quarter was $7.2 million, compared to $21.3 million during the first quarter of 2012. The results missed analysts’ estimates.

Net sales dropped 9% from $921.2 million to $838.8 million. Same-store sales plummeted 17%. Direct-to-consumer sales fell 6%. U.S. same-store sales fell 14%; international comparable sales were down 16%.

CHICAGO — The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association honored ConAgra VP of strategic projects William J. Caskey with the trade association’s newly established Distinguished Foodservice Executive Award.

Caskey received the award for his dedication to the foodservice industry and his service on the IFMA board of directors during the National Restaurant Association Show week in Chicago, Ill. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Quantum Health has appointed former Express executive Elliott R. Tobias as the company’s VP of human resources.

CINCINNATI — Kroger has announced the retirement of Quintin Frey, president of Turkey Hill Dairy. Frey began his career with Kroger at Turkey Hill Dairy in 1980 as a management trainee. He served in a variety of leadership roles before being promoted to serve as president in 1991.

"Quintin has been a great ambassador for the Turkey Hill brand and an important part of the Kroger leadership team," said Kroger chairman and CEO David B. Dillon. "The Kroger family extends our thanks and best wishes to Quintin and his family."

FAIRFIELD, CALIF. — Jelly Belly Candy Company plans to implement front-of-package nutrition labeling on its most popular packaged products. The company will begin to roll out labeled packages on shelves this fall. 

The new front label will highlight information such as calories and fat content. By providing the information up front, Jelly Belly joins the National Confectioners Association and other manufacturers in support of adopting a method that helps consumers easily access information necessary to make decisions about their diets.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Dole Food Company’s board of directors has approved a proposal to update the company’s owned vessel fleet, with the acquisition of three new specialty built refrigerated container ships for its U.S. West Coast operations, costing approximately $165 million, for a phased delivery between 2015 and 2016.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has pleaded guilty to charges that it inappropriately transported and disposed of common consumer products, such as bleach and fertilizer, while reiterating that the misdemeanor violations of certain environmental laws occurred years ago and had no specific environment impact.

As of this writing, the first of hundreds of new gTLDs — the suffixes to the right of the dot in domain names — have begun to be approved for release on the Internet. In an international move that hasn’t been widely publicized in the U.S., ICANN has been sifting through some 2,000 applications for new domain name suffixes, alternatives to the dozen or so we’ve all become familiar with, such as .com, .net and .gov.