Gap, Inc.

SUFFERN, N.Y. — Ascena Retail Group announced that Erin Stern has accepted the position of EVP and chief merchandising officer with their Maurices brand effective April 15. Maurices (based in Duluth, Minn,) is an 860-store chain serving a twenty-something female (sizes 0 to 24) in small- and mid-markets.

David Jaffe, president and CEO of the Ascena Retail Group, commented, “Erin is an outstanding merchant with a strong strategic vision and understanding of this customer. Erin is an exceptional hire for this role.”

Gap Inc., Ebay, Safeway, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Costco, Target, Best Buy and OfficeMax were all named to Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list.

The companies were chosen based on an evaluation of a questionnaire provided by Ethisphere to determine each company’s Ethics Quotient (EQ).

Companies were evaluated for their own ethics policies and enforcement of such policies, ethical track record and reputation in the market place, corporate governance, corporate responsibilities and culture of ethics.

New York -- Gap Inc. said Thursday that its February same-store sales rose a better-than-expected 3% for the four weeks ended Feb. 25. Analysts expected a 2% increase.
   
The chain was due to release the sales figures after the market closed, but put them out at midday after they were found in a leaked transcript of prerecorded comments.

By division, same-store sales rose 2% at Gap and 6% at Old Navy. They fell 5% at Banana Republic.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap is honoring the 70th birthday of Jimi Hendrix with the launch of two limited-edition t-shirt designs. The t-shirts feature art from the iconic musician's new album, People, Hell and Angels, which introduces previously unreleased studio recordings from 1969, the year Gap was founded in San Francisco.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Quiksilver has announced the appointments of Tom Hartge as global head of footwear and Kasey Mazzone as global head of supply chain. The additions to the team are part of a larger senior management reorganization, which includes Pierre Agnes, president of Quiksilver Europe, assuming the additional role as global head of apparel, and the company recruiting for a chief marketing officer position.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. reported that net sales for the fourth quarter were $4.73 billion, compared with $4.28 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales were up 5% for the quarter, compared with a 4% decrease during the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter was $351 million, or 73 cents per share on a diluted basis. This compares with net income of $218 million, or 44 cents per share on a diluted basis, for the same period last year.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. offered further proof that its turnaround has taken hold, reporting a 61% increase in fourth quarter profit amid strong same-store sales growth across its banners. The results end a strong year for the chain, which also said it was increasing its dividend by 20%.

New York -- Although there were some surprising gains among retailers in January, for the most part results were expectedly mixed, as consumers took a hit on their take-home pay from higher payroll taxes but cooler weather gave a boost to others.