Corporate Governance

Certain locations present unique challenges when it comes to building and maintaining stores, and Hawaii qualifies in both instances. Ryno Irwin, CEO of Hawaii Retail Services, Makaha, Hawaii, spoke with Chain Store Age about logistics and demographics challenges in the Aloha State.

New York -- Tiffany & Co.'s net income in the second quarter rose 2 % to $91.8 million, up from $90 million last year. But the performance missed Wall Street's expectations and the jewelry company cut its full-year guidance, citing the tough global economy and weakness in key markets such as New York and Asia.

Dallas -- Retalix Ltd. and Delhaize Group have signed a multi-year global strategic partnership agreement, under which Retalix will become the preferred supplier of in-store software for Delhaize Group’s 3,300 locations, including more than 20,000 point-of-sale terminals, across Eurasia and the United States.

Atlanta -- Aaron's announced that R. Charles Loudemilk, Sr., chairman of the board of directors, will retire mid-September after founding and building Aaron's, which in now in its 57th year of operation.

Upon his retirement, Loudermilk will become chairman emeritus of the company.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Domino's Pizza announced that it joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and industry that provides a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of goods movement supply chains.

Domino's Pizza will contribute to the Partnership's savings of 1.5 billion gallons of fuel, $3.6 billion in fuel costs, 14.7 MMT of carbon dioxide, 215,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen and 8,000 tons of particulate matter.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced Monday that it as agreed to let founder and former chairman Richard Schulze conduct due diligence and form an investment group with private equity sponsors as he tries to take the retailer private.

Best Buy said its agreement with Schulze establishes a non-exclusive, orderly process that satisfies his requests and protects the interests of shareholders.

By Jim Porçarelli, Active International

It’s an all-too-familiar sight these days. A man walks into a local retail establishment. He browses the products. He finds one he likes. He tests it out, asks a few questions of a salesperson -- and then snaps an image of the product’s barcode with his cell phone and walks out the door.

By Jim Hogan, [email protected]

The retail industry is a bellwether for U.S financial health given that consumer spending is roughly 60%-70% of the economy. While the economy has sent mixed signals of late -- consumer confidence down, unemployment up -- consumer credit has swung up decidedly and leading companies in a wide swath of retail segments can point to positive year-over-year same store sales. This is prompting some retailers -- particularly discount stores--to begin opening new stores.

Electrolux has upped its investment in innovation as it looks to stay at the forefront of the household appliance industry.

The company, best known for its Electrolux, Eureka and Frigidaire brands, said it would spend $6.3 million on a state-of-the-art research and development center at an existing refrigerator facility in Anderson, S.C., where the company had already committed to spending $45 million on upgrades. The facility opened in 1988.

BALDWYN, Miss. — Hancock Fabrics reported that net sales for the second quarter increased 5% to $60.5 million from $57.8 million for second quarter of last year, and comparable-store sales improved by 5%.

Earnings per share increased by 3 cents, or $0.6 million with a net loss of $3.3 million, or 17 cents per basic share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to a net loss of $3.9 million, or 20 cents per basic share in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.