Mass Merchant

Fred's Inc. has appointed Rick Hans as executive VP and CFO. He fills the position left open when Jerry A. Shore, Fred's former finance head, was promoted to CEO in October 2014.

Prior to joining Fred's, Hans enjoyed a 27-year career with Walgreens, where he most recently served as VP of investor relations and finance. Hans previously held the position of director of finance and assistant treasurer, where he promoted a sound capital structure that subsequently provided the basis for major strategic acquisitions.

The number of Saks Off 5th stores will surge dramatically as will investments in technology as Hudson’s Bay Company said it will make higher than normal investments in growth initiative this year.

Target announced it is testing an expansion of its Cartwheel app, which launched in 2013. The retailer reported that the app has saved users, in total, $475 million (and counting) to date.

The new feature expands the app to allow for digital coupons from manufacturers that offer a dollar amount discount (rather than a percentage discount).

The service is made possible through a partnership with Quotient (formerly Coupons.com), a third-party provider of digital coupons, according to a report by TechCrunch.

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday announced an increase of 13.6% in net sales to $30.2 billion for the second quarter ended Feb. 29, 2016, compared with the same quarter a year ago, largely due to the full consolidation of Alliance Boots for the entire quarter this year. Foreign currency translation adversely impacted sales by approximately $750 million or 2.4%.

The rise of fast-fashion, changing fashion tastes and online commerce may be claiming another teen apparel retailer.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg, which cited people with "knowledge of the situation.” The report said the filing could occur as early as next week.

For about three hours the morning of April 4 it looked like Christopher & Banks had found itself a new board member, but then the company discovered a conflict that prevented the high level executive from accepting the nomination.

Longtime Walmart executive Tom Coughlin, an inspirational leader who played a key role in Walmart’s growth and left the company in 2005, passed away on April 1.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal from Wal-Mart Stores to throw out a class action judgment over its treatment of workers in Pennsylvania, Reuters reported.

In the case, hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club had brought a class action lawsuit, claiming they were not compensated for rest breaks and off-the-clock work as mandated in their policies. The case impacted some 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked in Pennsylvania between 1998 and 2006.