Sales & Marketing

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. said CEO James Gooch has agreed to step down from his position, effective immediately. The company did not specify a reason for his departure. Gooch was appointed CEO in 2011 and has been working to boost stagnant sales.

RadioShack said its board is conducting a search for a successor and would not rule out internal candidates. In the interim, executive VP and CFO Dorvin Lively will serve as the acting CEO.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal said that two independent proxy advisors, Institutional Shareholder Services and Egan-Jones Proxy Services, recommended that the chain’s shareholders reject efforts by Clinton Group to replace six members of the company’s board of directors.  

PALO ALTO, Calif. — In an effort to extend its leadership as the premier indoor map and search platform, mobile retail navigation service Aisle411 has expanded its executive management team.

The nation’s leading sporting goods retailer has introduced a ranking system that shows football fans how sales of their favorite player’s jersey stacks up against the competition.

It is a clever strategy and feeds into NFL fans fantasy league obsession for statistics and provides Dick’s a lever to heighten shopper engagement and drive sales of big ticket, high margin apparel items that typically retail for upwards of $100.

New York -- A U.S. judge in San Francisco has certified a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. that involved allegations of gender discrimination in the store's promotion practices.

“Costco offers numerous competing explanations for the observed gender disparity in promotions,” U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said in the ruling, Bloomberg reported. “None of these explanations undermine the companywide nature of the challenged policies and their disparate effects.”

By Sean Jackson, [email protected]

In recent weeks, there have been some well-publicised examples of retail giants whose financial performance has been severely impacted by breakdowns in the supply chain. As salt in the wound to these behemoths of retail, there are just as many examples of organizations that have exceeded market expectations due to an ability to behave nimbly and respond quickly to changes in consumer demand.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. — Kraft Foods is on track to complete a three-year initiative to reduce sodium by an average of 10% across its North American portfolio by the end of 2012.

Kraft Foods' sodium reduction efforts reach across the company's North American product portfolio, including Kraft grated parmesan cheese, Breakstone's 2% cottage cheese and Oscar Mayer bacon. Many other Kraft Foods products, the results far exceeded this goal, including:

• Kraft original BBQ sauce, 40%;

Deloitte is forecasting holiday sales will increase between 3.5% and 4% as the economy's health and the presidential election take center stage among consumers this fall.

Despite some distractions this year, retailers should expect a modest increase in 2012 holiday sales, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday forecast release Tuesday morning.