Department Store

The Woodlands, Texas – Conn’s Inc. exceeded Wall Street estimates with both its net income and net sales performance during the first quarter of fiscal 2014. In addition, the retailer said it plans to open 17-20 new stores while closing 10 existing stores during the full fiscal year.

Burlington Stores president and CEO Thomas A. Kingsbury has been elected as chairman of the board of directors.

Sears has unveiled Connected Solutions powered by Shop Your Way — experiential shops that bring together an assortment of smart, connected home and personal automation products.

New York – A group director for two Tiffany & Co. stores in Houston has filed a lawsuit alleging the retailer discriminates against African-Americans in hiring and promotions for management and executive-level jobs. A complaint filed by Michael McClure in federal court in New York on May 29 says that McClure is the only African-American holding one of 200 U.S. management-level positions at Tiffany, and that there are no African-American executives in the company.

Conn’s plans to open 17-20 new stores while closing 10 existing stores during the full fiscal year, following solid first-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates.

Net income surged 28% to $28.47 million from $22.18 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales soared 33% to $277.63 million, from $209.45 million. Same-store sales climbed 15.6%. Higher pretax income helped boost net income totals, while the opening of nine new stores and extremely strong growth in furniture and mattress sales helped drive overall sales growth.

New York – Edward H. Finkelstein, former chairman and CEO of the company now known as Macy’s Inc., died of natural causes at his home in Thousand Oaks, California, on May 31. He was 89.

Finkelstein led Macy’s in the 1970s and 1980s and launched concepts including the Aeropostale apparel chain, which was later sold off, as well as several private brands. Finkelstein left the company in 1992 after 44 years, following a bankruptcy filing.

Finance executive Sven Wehrwein is the newest member of the Quantum Retail Technology board of directors.

The Minneapolis-based retail technology company said Wehrwein’s addition to the board brings growth expertise and knowledge of corporate finance.

Express plans to close approximately 50 stores during the next 36 months, primarily at the end of their leases, following a weaker-than-expected first quarter.

The company’s profit dropped to $5.08 million, from $32.4 million a year earlier. Sales decreased to $460.7 million, from $509.4 million, while Same-store sales fell 11%.