Sales & Marketing

Milford, Conn. -- Don Fertman, chief development officer for the Subway sandwich chain, is the latest executive to go undercover on the CBS television series “Undercover Boss.” Fertman, a 29 year veteran of the restaurant chain, will be seen baking bread, stocking sandwich ingredients, slicing vegetables, taking inventories and serving customers, on the episode that airs Nov. 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

New York City -- Microsoft on Thursday opened a store in Bellevue, Wash., close to its headquarters in Redmond.

It is the company’s seventh store to date, but more expected, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company expects a “pretty aggressive roll-out schedule” of new stores next year, the report said.

New York City -- AnnTaylor Stores Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter profit rose, aided by better-than-expected sales growth. Net income surged to $24.2 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 30, compared with $2.1 million a year earlier.

Total sales rose 9.3% to $505.3 million, above analysts' expectations of $492.8 million.

Same-store sales increased 11.7% overall, with a 21.9% rise at the Ann Taylor brand and a 4.5% less expensive Loft chain.

New York City -- Foot Locker on Thursday reported a profit for its third quarter on stronger margins for the retailer.

The company said it earned $52 million for the quarter that ended Oct. 30. That compares with a loss of $6 million during the same period year earlier, when the company also had $22 million in impairment charges.

Revenue rose 5% o $1.28 billion. Same-store sales were up 8.1%.

Hicksville, L.I. -- National Business Solutions (NBS) recently introduced its Product Protection System (PPS), a loss-prevention shelving solution that can be customized to fit any product application and planogram.

The new shelving unit helps thwart professional thieves and shoplifting groups by preventing the sweeping of product at store level, thereby eliminating the potential for a thief to dump an entire shelf of merchandise into a bag at once.

New York City -- The NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan will close in late February, due to rising rent. The company said it is looking for a new location in the city.

Atlanta -- SRS Real Estate Partners said that Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Pei Wei Asian Diner has selected SRS to find its debut location in the state of Georgia.

Pei Wei was launched in July 2000 as a growth vehicle for P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. Currently, Pei Wei operates more than 165 company-owned stores in 20 states.