Sales & Marketing

Gordmans Stores president and CEO Jeff Gordman has resigned his post. According to the company, he is retiring to spend more time with his family as well as to pursue outside interests. Board chairman T. Scott King will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for Gordman’s successor.

Louisville, Ky. -- Papa John’s is launching a television commercial starring iconic sportscaster Jim Nantz, and Papa John’s founder, chairman and CEO, John Schnatter, touting the company’s online ordering platform. The commercial also reminds consumers that Papa John’s was the first national pizza company with online ordering at all of its U.S. delivery restaurants in 2001.

Although fourth-quarter sales at J. Crew increased, the retailer saw profit drop 42% in the quarter amid higher costs.

Net income fell to $5.92 million in the quarter, down from $10.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 6.7% to $686.2 million. Retail store sales rose 5% to $438.6 million and direct sales jumped 10% to $238.1 million

Same-store sales, which include direct sales, increased 3%. Excluding a calendar shift, comparable-store sales increased 4%.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. announced that Dedra N. Castle is joining Rite Aid as executive VP and chief human resources officer.

In this position, Castle will be responsible for all aspects of human resources, including training, recruitment, talent management, compensation and benefits, labor relations, leadership development and diversity. She will report to Rite Aid’s Chairman and CEO John Standley.

Omaha, Neb. -- Gordmans Stores announced that its president and CEO, Jeff Gordman, has given his resignation to the board. The retailer said that Gorman is retiring to spend more time with his family and pursue outside interests.

T. Scott King, the current chairman of Gordmans’ board, will serve as interim CEO while a search is conducted for a permanent successor to Gordman. King will take an unpaid leave of absence from his position as senior managing director at Sun Capital Partners while he serves in the interim position.

The ability to integrate more data from more sources faster than ever to accelerate decision-making forms the core value proposition of an the new SAS Customer Intelligence solution unveiled this week at the software company’s Global Forum.
 

iBeacons, the Apple iOS 7 technological feature that uses low-frequency Bluetooth transmissions to help mobile devices track their position relative to stationary beacons, are getting quite a bit of attention from retailers and the IT vendors who serve them. Each beacon has a unique ID that lets mobile devices tell different beacons apart.

A severe winter may have affected sales results for many retailers, but Five Below saw improving trends as it weathered the fourth quarter.

Net sales increased by 22% to $212 million from $173.6 million in the prior-year quarter, which consisted of 14 weeks. Comparable-store sales increased by 0.3% on a 13-week basis.

The company ended the quarter with 304 stores in 19 states, an increase of 25% from the end of the prior-year quarter.