Mass Merchant

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold USA on Monday announced that Tom Lenkevich will join the company’s Giant/Martin's division as president, effective March 4.

Lenkevich, who most recently served as COO and senior VP retail operations at Save-A-Lot Food Stores, will manage all aspects of the division, with responsibility for Giant and Martin’s sales, operating profits, organization and people.

Jos. A. Bank has officially rejected Men’s Wearhouse’s latest $1.78 billion buyout offer. But in yet another twist to the long-running saga between the two companies, in open letter to Men’s Wearhouse president and CEO Douglas S. Ewert, Jos. A. Bank said it is willing to meet with its rival.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Stores’ said its Ross Dress for Less  will open three new locations in Texas on March 8, for a total of over 160 stores in the chain’s second largest state. The new Texas stores will be located in the Katy Mills shopping center in Katy, Rayzor Ranch Marketplace in Denton, and The Pavillions in El Paso.  

Ross is also expanding its dd’s Discounts brand, opening two new locations in Northern California on March 1. The new stores are in White Road Plaza in San Jose and Hatch Road Center in Ceres.

As far as sales go, Sears Holdings didn’t have a very happy holiday. But the company was still able to narrow its loss for the fourth quarter, as it lowered expenses and reduced inventory.

The company said the costs of transforming into a member-centric retailer using an integrated online platform and the omnichannel Shop Your Way membership program fueled its net losses. It attributed declining revenues to lower same-store sales and having fewer stores in operation.

Minneapolis – Best Buy’s “Renew Blue” cost reduction program appears to be succeeding, as the retailer reported profit instead of loss during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. The improvements came even as revenues in both periods declined compared to the same periods a year earlier.

During the fourth quarter, Best Buy reported net earnings of $311 million, a substantial improvement from its $460 million net loss a year earlier and above Wall Street projections.

Hampstead, Md. – Goldman-Sachs Group, sole underwriter of a $400 million bridge loan supporting Jos. A. Bank’s tentative acquisition of Eddie Bauer, is reportedly postponing the loan. According to the Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs had previously set a Feb. 27, 2014 deadline for investors to commit to purchasing portions of the loan, and has not yet set a new deadline.

WTI expects March 2014 to trend similar in temperature to last year and below normal for the U.S. as a whole. The month starts out with cold, possibly record-breaking, in the North along with some potentially snowy and/or icy weather as a storm system moves through. Colder trends linger into the second week of the month, but toward St.Patrick’s day, temperatures look to take a turn toward trending warmer than last year.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. on Thursday reported a 12.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit, with its results impacted by heavy discounting during the holidays. The retailer also issued a profit outlook for the full year that is below analysts' expectations, and said it will open 30 additional U.S. stores during fiscal year 2014.

Gap reported net income of $307 million for the three-month period ended Feb. 1, better than the Street expected, down from $351 million in the year-ago period.