Mass Merchant

New York -- A report by Bloomberg said that investor BlueCrest Capital Management is urging RadioShack to repay the lenders that are blocking plans to shutter stores.

The electronics retailer announced last March that it would close 1,100 stores; it later reduced the number of closures to 200 per year for three years after negotiations with lenders failed.

BlueCrest said it supported the company's decision to shut stores to stem losses and was willing to provide financing, Bloomberg said.
 

Brian Cornell’s tenure as Target’s chairman and CEO begins on August 12. Don’t expect it to last long if his track record at other recent employers is any indication.
 
Cornell brings to Target an impressive roster of C-level positions at big name companies — PepsiCo, Sam’s Club, Michael’s, Safeway — but the 55-year-old executive didn’t stick around for long at any of them.
 

Belk president and chief merchandising officer Kathryn Bufano was named president at CEO of The Bon-Ton Stores late Thursday.

Jacksonville, Fla. -- Body Central Corp. has appointed three new directors effective July 31.

Bryan Eshelman is COO of Aldo Group in Montreal; prior to Aldo, he was the executive VP and chief supply chain officer at Charming Shoppes.

Folline Cullen is a turnaround specialist with Educate Online who has overseen the Sylvan Learning spinoff; she was previously the CFO of  Wall Street International, a global brand in English instruction.

Walmart kicked off its back-to-school promotional effort the way it does every seasonal selling initiative – with a big emphasis on low prices – but added a stronger digital component this year.

The retailer sought to bring a bit of Black Friday and Cyber Monday magic to its back-to-school efforts with a series of price cuts and limited duration offerings designed to generate sales and drive traffic to its stores and Web site.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced the appointment of Kathryn Bufano to the position of president and CEO, effective Aug. 25. Bufano has served as the president and chief merchandising officer of Belk Inc. since 2010.

Bufano replaces outgoing president and CEO Brendan Hoffman, who announced his resignation.

Retail and consumer products veteran Brian Cornell was named chairman and CEO at Target to fill two of the three roles previously held by the company’s former top executive Gregg Steinhafel.