Apparel

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascenta Retail Group Inc., whose brands include Dressbarn, Maurices, and Justice, said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 50% on higher sales. The company raised its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year.

Ascena said that during the quarter ended Jan. 28 it earned $63.7 million, compared with $42.5 million in the same period a year before.

Revenue during the quarter rose 15% to $862 million. E-commerce sales jumped 61% to $52 million in the quarter.

Plano, Texas — J.C. Penney Co. has named Laurie Beja Miller as executive VP The Square, a position in which she will lead the company’s efforts to execute its new center core strategy. The appointment follows J.C. Penney’s previously plans to transform its stores by adding some 100 in-store branded shops and converting the center of its stores to a “Town Square” area that offer various services.

NEW YORK — Foot Locker Inc. grew its fourth-quarter profit 42% amid higher sales and cost cuts.

The company earned a better-than-expected $81 million in the three months that ended Jan. 28, up from $57 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 8% to $1.5 billion, from $1.39 billion. Same-store sales were up 7.5% in quarter.

During fiscal 2011, Foot Locker opened 70 new stores, relocated or remodeled 182, and closed 127. The chain had 3,369 total stores as of Jan. 28, down from 3,426 at the end of the previous fiscal year.

The Center for Retail Excellence at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business is scheduled to hold its second annual SHOP conference on May 1 with Walmart’s head of global consumer insights recently confirmed as a guest speaker.

New York City -- Foot Locker Inc. said that its fourth-quarter profit increased 42% amid higher sales and cost cuts.

The company earned a better-than-expected $81 million in the three months that ended Jan. 28, up from $57 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 8% to $1.5 billion, from $1.39 billion. Same-store sales were up 7.5% in quarter.

Toronto -- Sears Canada Inc. said on Friday it is shutting down three downtown stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. The move follows an announcement last month by Sears Holdings, the majority owner of Sears Canada, that it will raise about $770 million by spinning off parts of its business and selling prime real estate.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Genesco has appointed Thurgood Marshall, Jr. to its board of directors. Marshall is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bingham McCutchen LLP. He also serves on the boards of Corrections Corporation of America, Ethics Resource Center, and the Ford Foundation and as chairman of the board of governors of the United States Postal Service.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — General merchandise retailers Shopko Stores and Pamida has completed their merger that will create a $3 billion company that serves largely rural communities in 22 states.

The combined entity will retain the Shopko name. Shopko will be headquartered in Green Bay and Pamida’s corporate headquarters in Omaha, Neb., will be consolidated into the Green Bay office over the next several months.