Discount Store

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced that Alasdair James has joined the company as president and chief member officer for the Kmart business.

James is a seven-year veteran of Tesco, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as commercial director for the company's global business unit. Prior to that, he spent two years managing Tesco's China operations as executive VP and commercial director.

Sears Holdings has appointed former Tesco executive Alasdair James as president and chief member officer for the Kmart business.

In this role, James will be responsible for driving the Kmart format strategy, managing the Kmart P&L and aligning merchandise, marketing, pricing and selling with the needs and wants of Shop Your Way members.

A more cautious consumer led to weaker-than-anticipated traffic at Hibbett in the second quarter, prompting the sporting goods retailer to revise its earnings expectations for the full year.

Net sales for the 13-week period ended August 2 are expected to increase 4.2% to $194 million compared with $186.2 million for the year-ago period. Comparable store sales are expected to increase 0.1% for the quarter.

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is reopening six stores in California the weekend of Aug. 15 – Aug. 16. On Aug. 15, 99 Cents Only will kick off the grand re-opening celebration of its Concord, Poway and Sanger stores.

On Aug. 16, 99 Cents Only Stores will kick off the grand re-opening celebration of its San Bernardino, Escondido and Rohnert Park stores.

Fred’s has brought Craig Barnes and Kelly Ma on board to lead the company’s new sourcing team, as part of the regional discount chain’s efforts to strengthen its overall inventory and buying management capabilities. The company tapped the pair in conjunction with its July sales results.

Memphis, Tenn. – Fred’s Inc. expects to report a net loss of $0.15 to $0.20 per share. The discount chain cited transitional costs associated with implementing its convenience center model, as well as vendor-related cost pressures on pharmacy, as driving the negative profit growth.

However, not all the financial news was bad for Fred’s in the second quarter. Compared to same period a year earlier, Fred’s total sales grew 2% to $490.6 million, from $482.2 million. Same-store sales declined 0.1% for the quarter.

New York -- Costco Wholesale Corp. fell slightly short of estimates in July even as most other retailers who still report same-store monthly sales outperformed expectations.

The warehouse club giant reported a 5% rise in same-store sales for July, excluding gasoline, falling short of estimates for a 5.7% increase. The company said foreign currencies had a slightly negative impact. It was the first time in five months that Costco's sales have increased less than expected. Costco's total revenue for the month increased 9% to $8.55 billion.

New York -- Aldi was recognized as the nation's low-price grocery leader for the fourth year in a row, according to a recent consumer survey conducted by Market Force Information. Aldi announced in December 2013 that it intends to open 650 new stores across the country during the next five years.

When asked to rank the top grocers offering low prices, the 6,200 consumers who participated in the study ranked Aldi first, followed by Costco and Walmart third.