Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Chicago -- During a morning keynote session on Wednesday at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, former Vice President and self-described “recovering politician” Al Gore related a couple of interesting facts about how the Internet is shaping modern commerce. First, he stated that when an online network increases in size its value increases by a squared amount, so that for example a network that doubles its number of users quadruples in value.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has promoted Marty Amschler to senior VP of franchise.

Amschler, who has been with RadioShack since 2009, will continue overseeing dealer franchise operations and also provide senior leadership to the company's commercial sales division and B2B sales team. He has close to 40 years of retail executive experience and previously held sales and franchise positions at companies including Kinney Shoe Corporation, The Athlete's Foot and NexCen Brands.

New York – Law firm Harwood Feffer LLP is launching an investigation into claims against the board of directors of rue21 Inc. regarding the proposed purchase of the company by Apax Partners. On May 23, rue21 announced a definitive agreement for Apax to buy it, with stockholders receiving $42 in cash per share.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack has promoted Marty Amschler to SVP of franchise. In his expanded role, Amschler will continue to lead RadioShack's dealer franchise operations while also now providing senior leadership to the company's commercial sales division and B2B sales team.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot has reached an agreement to sell its 50% stake in Office Depot de Mexico S.A. de C.V. to its joint venture partner Grupo Gigante, S.A.B. de C.V. for roughly $690 million in cash.

Office Depot de Mexico, which was founded in 1994 as a joint partnership between Office Depot and Grupo Gigante, has more than 248 stores throughout Mexico and Central America and more than $1.1 billion in annual sales.

DALLAS — Neiman Marcus reported net earnings of $71 million for the third quarter ended April 27, a 13% increase from $63 million in the prior year. 

The company’s total revenues for the quarter were $1.1 billion, a 4% increase from $1.06 billion in the prior year. Comparable revenues increased 4%. 

NEW YORK — Nina Footwear has appointed Alan Johnson as president of Nina Footwear Corp, a newly created position at the company. In his new role, Johnson will oversee design, sales and marketing for Delman and all Nina branded divisions, including shoes, bridal, handbags and kids.  

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. announced Monday that it will introduce the Gap brand to Paraguay and Hungary through new agreements with existing franchise partners: Neutral for Paraguay and Gottex Brands for Hungary. The first Gap store will open later this year in Paraguay, joining Neutral’s 2012 Gap launch in Uruguay. And, in Hungary, Gottex Brands will open two Gap stores in Budapest. A specific timeline wasn’t released.