Transform SR Brands LLC

Having passed the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the most viewed stories of the year to date on Chainstoreage.com.

London -- Displaydata announced Tuesday it was named a 2014 Partner in Transformation for Sears Holdings Corp. The company received the award for delivering Sears' innovative digital display technology that supports its Shop Your Way program in stores.

Displaydata's responsiveness, hands-on delivery and commitment to supporting Sears' deployment in hundreds of stores to date has built a strong collaboration and partnership between both organizations. The award was recently presented at Sears Holdings' 2014 Vendor Summit.

Tewksbury, Mass. – Following the dismissal of former president and CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, the board of directors of Demoulas Super Markets Inc. has elected retail executives Felicia Thornton as COO and Jim Gooch as chief administrative officer, and the two will serve as co-CEOs. Both Thornton and Gooch had recently been serving as consultants to the company.

Intense price competition during back-to-school season is nothing new, but the competition now occurs on the shifting sands of an increasingly dynamic online world.

Philadelphia — Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has completed the previously announced sale of South Mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for $23.6 million. Net of closing costs, settlement pro-rations and credits, proceeds from the transaction totaled approximately $23.1 million.

In addition, PREIT has entered into an Agreement of Sale to dispose of its two remaining non-core malls — Nittany Mall and North Hanover Mall.

Toronto - Sears Canada Inc. has entered into a binding agreement with Concord Pacific Group of Companies to pursue the development of the 12-acre Sears site located at the North Hill Shopping Center in Calgary, Alberta. Closing under the agreement is conditional upon satisfaction of conditions such as site investigations and obtaining the approval from the city of Calgary for the project, which are expected to take some time.  

Dodgeville, Wisconsin — Lands' End reported that profit for the first quarter surged 68% to $10.9 million, from $6.5 million in the year-ago period, as shoppers have responded to improved merchandise assortments and targeted promotions.

The company, which was recently spun off by Sears, also reported a revenue rise of 4% to $330.5 million. Same-store sales climbed 3.4%.
 

Newly separated from Sears Holdings, Lands' End reported respectable sales growth during a first quarter that saw it vow to become a global lifestyle brand.

Lands' End completed its separation from Sears on April 4 and for the quarter ended May 2 said its sales increased 3.6% to $330.5 million, driven by a 4.8% increase in the direct segment offset by a 2.3% decrease in the retail segment. Profits increased 48.1% to $10.9 million, or 34 cents a share, compared to $7.3 million, or 23 cents a year the prior year.