Corporate Governance

Pier 1 Imports president and CEO Alex W. Smith described fiscal 2014 as a transformational year for the company, emphasizing the company’s continued focus on its ‘1 Pier 1’ strategy, which has evolved its operating model from a broad portfolio of stores to a true omnichannel retail business.

But the company had a difficult fourth quarter marked what it described as an unusually high number of snowstorms, which impacted approximately two-thirds of its selling days in many of its key markets.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart will carry Wild Oats organic food items later in April with a new, more affordable price point on products covering a broad variety of categories. Wal-Mart estimates customers will save 25% or more when comparing Wild Oats to national brand organic products.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity Corp. reported declining net and same-store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period a year earlier. Net sales decreased 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, while same-store sales dropped 5.1%.

Destination Maternity said the decline in net sales resulted primarily from the decrease in comparable sales and decreased sales related to the company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores.

Salt Lake City -- Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has relinquished his role as chairman of the company. In other moves, co-president Stormy Simon was named president of the online discount retailer.

Byrne will continue to serve as CEO, while current executive vice chairman Jonathan Johnson assumes the chairman responsibilities Byrnes has held since 2006.

Whole Foods Market might as well declare bankruptcy now judging from widespread media coverage of Walmart’s decision to sell roughly 100 organic dry grocery items under the Wild Oats brand.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM Corp. announced it will acquire digital marketing technology provider Silverpop. The Atlanta-based Silverpop allows marketers to target highly personalized offers and promotions. IBM said the technology will enhance its enterprise marketing capabilities.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Family Dollar plans to close 370 underperforming stores, cut jobs and lower prices on 1,000 basic items following a disappointing second quarter, which was adversely affected by the extra week in last year's quarter, severe weather, holiday promotions and a challenging consumer environment.

The company is also slowing its new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to bolster its return on investment. It now anticipates opening 350 to 400 new stores as opposed to approximately 525 stores in 2014.
 

Camp Hill, Pa. — In the wake of acquiring Houston-based RediClinic, Rite Aid on Thursday reported revenues of $6.6 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 1, resulting from a 2.2% lift primarily attributed to an increase in pharmacy same-store sales. For the full year, Rite Aid reported $25.5 billion in revenues, up 0.5%.