Events

Washington, D.C. -- Madison Marquette announced Thursday that two of its senior professionals, John-david Franklin (who will represent Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey) and Chuck Taylor (who will represent Florida), have been selected as State Directors by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

The volunteer positions are granted annually to industry leaders who are seen to display unique dedication to ICSC goals and mission.

The Network of Executive Women announced that Walmart U.S. chief operating officer Gisel will be a featured speaker at the organization’s sixth annual Network of Executive Leaders Forum to be held July 31 through Aug. 2 at the Terranea Resort near Los Angeles.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart executives, at its Thursday webcast of its 2012 International Conference for the investment community, said its emphasis in international markets will be on improving results in existing markets as opposed to focusing on entering new territories.

"Our focus this year in particular has been on improving returns with our existing businesses," said Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart International. He said the company is working on the key markets of China and Brazil.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.2% in April compared with the same month last year, and year-over-year gains should continue through the end of summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Retailers are continuing to watch rising gas prices, but job gains and other indicators show the economy is strengthening,” NRF VP for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that same-store sales for the quarter ended Mar. 31 dropped 3.2% on spending and traffic decreases.

According to the discount retailer, traffic dipped 1.8% for the third quarter and average tickets fell 1.4%. Total revenue edged down 1% to $172.7 million, compared with $174.3 million in the year-ago period.
 

At Westfield San Francisco Centre, a nightly light show projected onto the mall’s iconic dome is expected to be a huge draw.

The center, owned by Westfield, will be showcasing a one-of-a-kind animated 3D light spectacular, called The Heart of San Francisco, which will run nightly on Level 4 Under the Dome from June 15 through July 31.

Featuring iconic San Francisco images, the free show will be projected on the Centre’s 102-ft.-wide dome and set to a collection of San Francisco songs.

Minneapolis -- In a surprise announcement, Best Buy Co. said Tuesday that CEO Brian Dunn has resigned from the company. Company director G. Mike Mikan has been named interim CEO. Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy, continues to serve as chairman.

By Steve Friedman, [email protected]

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples has awarded five small businesses $50,000 in free advertising and cash as part of the “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest. 

Selected from hundreds of video entries submitted on Staples’ Facebook page (facebook.com/staples), each of the five small businesses will receive a total of $50,000 in local cable television advertising and cash in their home markets.

The winners include:

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Ikea, in partnership with American Forests, has planted 2 million trees across America through its Plant A Tree program.

Ikea launced the national in-store ‘Plant A Tree’ program in 1998 and since that time has raised $2 million through customer contributions and its own donations to plant the trees. During the month of April, Ikea Family ‘loyalty’ card member usage will also support Ikea in its donations to plant more trees through American Forests.