Corporate Governance

Arlington, Va. --Texas joins eight other states in taking legislative action requiring online-only retailers, notably Amazon.com, to collect sales tax. Online retailers will have to collect sales tax in Texas beginning July 1.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) gave voice to concerns after Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that  upheld the individual-mandate within the Affordable Care Act.

“With the Supreme Court decision now behind us, the focus must turn to the employer-mandate and the effect that impending changes to employer-sponsored coverage will have on the nearly 170 million Americans who receive health care through their employer,” said RILA president Sandy Kennedy.

New York -- Canadian retailer Aritzia will open its largest store to date, a 13,000-sq.-ft. flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The apparel retailer is taking over a space previously occupied by Esprit. The location is in a building that is part of Rockfeller Center.

New York -- Brookshire Brothers has launched a facility-wide lighting update, including in-store, parking lot, exterior signage and refrigerated case fixtures.

Using a combination of new linear fluorescent lighting and LED technologies -- from GE Lighting, East Cleveland, Ohio -- Brookshire will, once all of its stores have been completed, reduce its annual operating costs more than $235,000.

New York -- New York & Co. has named former Ann Taylor executive Laura Weil as its new COO.

Weil, who has served as a consultant at the company since February, was Ann Taylor COO from 2008 to 2011.
 

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. announced that it has appointed Scott Bowman to the newly created role of group president of global retail and international development, effective immediately. He will oversee the international strategy and operations of retail and licensing for the company's portfolio of brands.

New York -- The Finish Line Inc. said Friday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 25% as higher costs offset sales growth.

For the quarter ended June 2, the company earned $12.3 million, just beating Wall Street expectations, down from $16.4 million in the year-ago period.

Sales rose 6.5% to $319 million, from $299.5 million. Same-store sales were up 8%.

The company's cost of sales rose 9.3% to $214.4 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 11% to $84.8 million.

SAN DIEGO — Genius Brands International has named Sunscape Eyewear as an eyewear licensee for its Baby Genius brand.

The two-year agreement grants Sunscape rights to manufacture and distribute worldwide Baby Genius-themed eyewear for boys and girls ages 0 to 4 years featuring Baby Genius characters. Product categories include sunglasses, eyewear and eyewear accessories such as croakies and cases.

SEATTLE — William Meissner has resigned as CEO and board member of Jones Soda. Richard Eiswirth has also resigned as chairman of the board. Both resignations are effective Jne 30. Jennifer Cue will become the company's CEO. Mick Fleming, long-standing board member, will assume the role of chairman of the board.

The company also announced the elimination of the CFO position effective June 30. Carrie Traner, VP finance and principal financial officer will assume . Stapleton's duties.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Dollar stores continue to thrive in this consumer-conscious economy, and Family Dollar is no exception.

The dollar store chain reported a total sales increase of 9.6% to $2.36 billion for the third quarter, compared with $2.15 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales rose 5%, helped by increased customer traffic and strong performances in the seasonal, electronics and consumables categories.