Mass Merchant

Memphis -- Discount general merchandise chain Fred’s has named Michael K. Bloom as its president and COO, effective immediately. Until recently, Bloom held the same position at Family Dollar Stores Inc.; he resigned in early January after just over two years in the position and could be owed as much as $4.8 million in severance by Family Dollar, according to an SEC filing.

New York -- A new index called the Price Perception Index provides insight into digital pricing strategies. The index, created by e-commerce startup Bommerang Commerce, measures how retailers optimize prices to attract buyers, compete with other retailers and build their business on a mix of profit margins and volume.

The first Price Perception Index looks at the complex competition between Amazon.com and Walmart.com.

Apparently closing all of your stores and firing all of your employees is among the actions a retailer can take when it is “exploring strategic alternatives.”

Body Central Inc., which announced early this month that it was $18 million in debt and exploring strategic alternatives, has shuttered all 265 of its stores and fired 2,500 employees.

New York -- The National Retail Federation announced that The Container Store chairman and CEO Kip Tindell has been elected chairman of the NRF board of directors and chairman of its executive committee, succeeding Stephen I. Sadove, retired chairman and CEO of Saks, Inc.  

Tindell was elected at the Board of Directors meeting held Sunday during NRF’s 104th Annual Convention and EXPO, Retail’s BIG Show.

Family Dollar is urging its shareholders to support a buyout offer from rival discounter Dollar Tree with less than two weeks remaining before a vote on the pending deal.

Family Dollar shareholders are scheduled to vote Jan. 22. on whether to accept the Dollar Tree offer.

Family Dollar has rejected numerous approaches from Dollar General, the latest worth $9.1 billion in cash, in favor of an $8.5 billion cash-and-stock offer from Dollar Tree. It has cited risks that the Dollar General deal would be blocked because of anti-monopoly rules.

New York -- Embattled apparel retailer Body Central has gone out of business and closed its entire remaining store base, effective Sunday evening, according to attorney for the company Gardner Davis.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, the 265-store Body Central Corp. had said earlier this week that it was "experiencing significant liquidity challenges" and was working with advisers to evaluate its options. With the closure announcement, about 2,500 employees lost their jobs.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar is urging its shareholders to support a buyout offer from rival discounter Dollar Tree with less than two weeks remaining before a vote on the pending deal.  Family Dollar shareholders are scheduled to vote Jan. 22. on whether to accept the Dollar Tree offer.

After posting stronger than expected holiday sales, Burlington Stores Inc. has named a new chief financial officer.

Marc Katz, formerly the company’s EVP of merchandise support and information technology, is replacing Todd Weyhrich, who retired this month.