Corporate Governance

Cary, N.C. -- C-store operator The Pantry said Thursday it has named Joe Venezia as senior VP operations for the chain.

Venezia most recently worked at TitleMax, and before that served in regional general manager positions at Wal-Mart.

Foothills Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal Inc. said Thursday it has dropped its temporary shareholder rights plan, citing feedback from stakeholders, and has proposed to expand its board to include two nominees of activist investor Clinton Group.

In July, Clinton Group, which owns approximately 7% of Wet Seal, called for a sale of the retailer, expressing dissatisfaction with its performance, and made a play for four seats on the board. In response, the retailer adopted a temporary shareholder rights plan with a 10% trigger.

New York -- A Thursday report by Wall Street Journal said that Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. has filed plans for an initial public offering of up to $150 million in common stock.

The retailer, which this week unveiled its new RH branding, is looking to the IPO to pay down debt. It was acquired in 2008 by Catterton Partners in a $179 million buyout and last month revealed a plan for reorganization on the heels of co-CEO Gary Friedman’s resignation following an internal probe into a relationship with a female employee.

Union, N.J. -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 25 dipped 2.2% to $224.3 million, from $229.4 million in the same period last year. Results, negatively impacted by aggressive coupon discounting, trailed Wall Street’s expectations.

Sales increased 12.1% to $2.593 billion, and same-store sales climbed 3.5%, compared with an increase of 5.6% last year.

The retailer acquired Cost Plus in July for $495 million, adding 259 stores and a new e-commerce platform.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday a loss of $41.4 million in the second quarter, significantly narrowed from a $94.7 million loss in the year-ago period.

Revenue slipped to $6.23 billion from $6.27 billion last year, missing Wall Street’s projected $6.25 billion in sales. Same-store sales were essentially flat for the quarter.

Chicago -- A real estate report released Wednesday by Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s Urban Team found that much of Chicago lacks the type of product that today’s downsized big-box retailers are looking for.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax Inc. announced Thursday a new search engine on Officemax.com designed to speed up shopping and provide more accurate search and recommendation results.

In its first month with the new search engine, OfficeMax said that OfficeMax.com has already experienced an increase in conversion rate and customer satisfaction around site navigation, and more than a 60% increase in average revenue per visit.

By Kevin Kulinowski, Robert Grosskopf and Rick Edwards, Gordon Brothers Group

The defining paradox of our industry is that closing stores has become a trademark of successful retail companies. Certainly healthy retailers are opening new stores; but shuttering locations has become the norm as well and, in most instances, is equally indicative of positive growth.

Walmart and HumanaVitality have developed a unique way to incent people to eat healthier while promoting increased customer traffic at Walmart stores.

The companies on Wednesday morning launched a first-of-its-kind program called Vitality HealthyFood whereby Walmart offers a 5% discount on produce items to HumanaVitality members. The discount is loaded on a card in the form of a credit within five business days that can be redeemed on a subsequent trip to Walmart.

Premium adult beverage maker Diageo received the Carbon Disclosure Project’s top distinction for its efforts in the area of climate change strategy, emissions disclosure and performance.