Discount Store

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wet Seal Inc. said John D. Goodman has resigned as CEO, effective Aug. 26.

Meijer is preparing to hire thousands of new employees for its stores as the growing company prepares for the fall and holiday selling seasons, announced Janet Emerson, EVP of operations for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer.

"Meijer is always looking for good people," Emerson said. "Our continued growth provides a great opportunity to find new team members who will help deliver on the Meijer promise of providing exceptional customer service."

The Family Dollar board is under new pressure to walk away from a deal with Dollar Tree after Dollar General further increased an already more generous counter offer.

Early Monday Dollar General increased its all cash offer to $80 a share from $78.50 a share and increased the number of stores it said it would be willing to divest to 1,500 from 700. The company also said it would be willing to pay Family Dollar a $500 million reverse break-up if the deal failed to secure antitrust clearance.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- The battle for Family Dollar moved into higher gear on Tuesday with Dollar General raising its bid for Family Dollar to $9.1 billion, or $80 per share, up from $78.50 per share in its previous offer. Dollar General also warned that it would attempt a hostile bid if Family Dollar refused to enter into talks regarding the new offer.

Broad-line retailer Alco’s shareholders have replaced the company’s board of directors with seven new members, effective immediately. The elections were made at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in Dallas late last week.

The Home Depot is the latest major retailer to investigate what looks like a data breach.

The Atlanta-based retailer is looking into the matter and also working with law enforcement and bank investigators.

"Protecting our customers' information is something we take extremely seriously, and we are aggressively gathering facts at this point while working to protect customers,” the retailer said in a statement.

Mountain View, Calif. – Target’s back-to-school ad “Supplies They Need” resonated most with consumers among all back-to-school ads in 2014. According to TV and video advertising analytics provider Ace Metrix, consumers awarded an Ace Score of 673 to the Target spot.

Improved merchandising strategies and marketing execution at Big Lots has president and CEO David Campisi feeling good about prospects for a company that continues to distance itself from its closeout roots.