Supply Chain & Merchandising

In the first part of December, delivery providers experienced difficulties that probably left some holiday shoppers less than merry.

According to analysis of what more than 130,000 shoppers said in surveys about on-time deliveries of their full orders between Dec. 1 - Dec. 10 by Bizrate Insights, a division of Connexity, the timeliness trend is clearly downward.

The value proposition of Perfumania stores is under scrutiny after the retailer reported dismal same store sale for the third quarter.

For the 13-week period ended Oct. 31, net sales at Perfumania decreased 8% to $142 million, compared to $154.3 million in the prior year. Same-store sales decreased 22.1%. Net income was $3 million, or net income per diluted share of 20 cents, compared to a net income of $7.5 million, or a net income per diluted share of 48 cents during last year’s third quarter.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- InvenTrust Properties Corp. announced the appointment of Lance W. Billingsley as senior VP of leasing. Billingsley will oversee the leasing of the Company’s retail portfolio and manage leasing teams based in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Oak Brook, Illinois.

The CEO of 99 Cents Only pointed to the promise of a new executive team as evidence that the company can return to profitable growth even as it reported disappointing third quarter results.

The company said for the period ended Oct. 30, the company's net sales increased 2.8% to $491.5 million, compared to $478.3 million in the prior year. Same-store sales decreased 3.9% due to challenges in produce and consumables sales, the cannibalization impact of recent new store openings as well as ongoing initiatives to clear excess seasonal inventory, the company said.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources announced that the companies will be managing the stores closing process, which has begun, for Los Angeles-based, Kitson, at all 17 locations throughout California, Oregon, and Nevada. Sales are offering discounts of up to 50% on all of the fashion apparel, gifts and novelty merchandise. Store fixtures, furniture and equipment will also be available for sale.

Tuesday Morning Corp. has selected the chairman of its board to be the off-price retailer's next chief executive, ending a search that began in September.

Steven R. Becker becomes the Texas-based retailer's next CEO, effective immediately. Becker has led Tuesday Morning's office of the chairman since Sept. 28, when the Dallas-based retailer’s previous CEO, Michael Rouleau, announced his retirement. Previously Becker had served as the company's chairman of the board since 2012.

Despite the mixed outlook for holiday sales, the private equity community remains interested in retail, believing that the sector can offer the opportunity to achieve scalable growth.