Retail

New York -- Coach on Tuesday reported that its net income for three-month period ending on March 30 rose 6.2% to $238.9 million amid strong sales in North America, beating analysts’ expectations. The company also disclosed that its longtime president and executive creative director, Reed Krakoff, will step down when his contract expires next year in order to focus on his own namesake brand, which is owned by Coach. Coach said it is already looking for a successor.

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Company on Tuesday said that chairman and co-CEO Ron Shaich will once again serve as the company's sole CEO starting on Aug. 1. Bill Moreton, who currently serves as co-CEO and president, plans to transition to an executive vice chairman role in order to spend more time on a family matter.

Moreton commented: "As a result of this family matter, I have found myself unable to travel and am now clear I will be challenged to fully execute my responsibilities as president and Co-CEO of Panera Bread.”

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax has been awarded the National Employment Team 2013 “Private Sector Business of the Year” by the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) for its commitment to employing people with disabilities, including veterans.

OfficeMax is one of two organizations — and the only private sector company — to receive this year's CSAVR distinction.

By Leslie Hand, research director, IDC Retail Insights

Ron Johnson's highly publicized short tenure at J.C. Penney, or JCP, as it was rebranded, will certainly make it into the textbooks and graduate theses on what to do and what not to do when undertaking a significant retail business transformation. The primary failure was not putting customer needs first in what promised to be an excellent long term strategy. Oops — forget the customer in an omni-channel customer strategy?

What a colossal mistake!

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected first quarter loss on weak sales of wireless phone contracts. The company also reported that it is updating its brand and will begin remodeling select locations with a new look and feel over the next few weeks.

Joseph C. Magnacca, a former Walgreens executive who became CEO of RadioShack in February, remarked on the initial priorities and initiatives underway. Last week, he named a new chief marketing officer and a new SVP store concepts.

Tampa, Fla. -- Applied Data Corporation (ADC), a provider of fresh item management (FIM), recipe management and scales management software to the grocery retail and food service industries, announces that Publix Super Markets, a 1,068 store chain headquartered in Lakeland, Fla., has selected InterScale, ADC's Scales Management Software system, for data transmission to and from the barcode labeling scales in their stores.
 

New York -- The National Retail Federation applauded a Senate vote to proceed with debate on S.743, an act to level the sales tax field for online and brick-and-mortar stores.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay issued the following statement: “NRF applauds today’s Senate vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act and we commend Senators Enzi, Durbin, Alexander and Heitkamp for their skilled leadership in moving this legislation ahead.”


New York -- Icing, a division of Claire’s Stores, is being re-branded with a new store design, new logo and updated imagery, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

The jewelry and accessories retailer plans to open some 35 stores this year, including a flagship in Chicago. The new locations will feature the updated design. Existing stores will be remodeled.