Sales & Marketing

Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only Stores said Tuesday it has agreed to be acquired by a group of investors including its founding family, Ares Management and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.6 billion in cash.

The announcement ends a months-long sales process, which started with a takeover offer from Leonard Green & Partners in March.

New York City -- Apparel manufacturer and retailer The Jones Group confirmed Tuesday that it is in discussions to divest its jeanswear division for between $350 million to $400 million.

The potential buyer is Israeli clothing maker Delta Galil Industries.

Jones Group, whose brands include Anne Klein and Nine West, said talks should conclude within a month, but cautioned that no deal has been reached. If the two were to reach a deal, Jones said it would use net proceeds for share repurchases.

Stamford, Conn. -- Spa operator Red Door Spas said Tuesday it has named Jeff Kohl as its senior VP and COO. Kohl is charged with directing all Red Door Spa operations globally, including strategic partnership development and management of the company's 31 full-service spa and salon properties and 1,500+ spa associates.

He will report to Todd Walter, CEO of Red Door Spa Holdings.

Kohl was previously director of global hospitality sales for Precor.
 

Chelmsford, Mass. -- A report released Tuesday by Kronos said that the retail hiring levels have reached the highest mark in nearly three years. The Kronos Retail Labor Index, which characterizes the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, rose to 3.9% in September, reflecting a strong gain in hires and a modest decline in applications, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. (A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred).

By Mark Friedman, [email protected]

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that net sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30 edged down 1.2% to $170.7 million, compared with $172.8 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales for the period declined 4.1%, comprised of a 5.2% decrease in traffic offset by a 1.1% increase in average ticket.
 

New York City -- The National Retail Federation has announced that President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the NRF’s 101st Annual Convention in New York City.

Clinton, who will speak on "Embracing our Common Humanity,” will deliver his address on Jan 16, 11 a.m. 12 p.m.

Toronto, Ontario -- Web-based task management and store communications provider Opterus said Tuesday that Total Wine & More has implemented Opterus Store Ops-Center to manage tasks and projects and to obtain valuable feedback from their stores.