Supply Chain & Merchandising

Dollar General elevated COO Todd Vasos to the role of CEO, filling a position held by Rick Dreiling who is sticking to his original retirement timetable after losing out to Dollar Tree in the bidding for Family Dollar.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express turned in a strong first quarter performance, with its profits and revenue surpassing Wall Street estimates. The retailer boosted its full-year earnings forecast and also issued second-quarter earnings guidance above analyst projections.

“2015 is off to a strong start,” said David Kornberg, president and CEO. “Our customers responded with enthusiasm to our assortment while we intensified our inventory discipline and scaled back our promotional activity.”

Minneapolis - Edward "Jack" Cameron, who served as CEO of Appliance Recycling Centers of America Inc. (ARCA) from 1976 to 2014, has been reinstated as CEO. Private investment firm Isaac Capital Group LLC (ICG), the largest single shareholder of ARCA with a 12% stake, backed Cameron’s return.

Cameron replaces Mark Eisenschenk, who had served as ARCA president since July 2013 and CEO since August 2014. ICG has also nominated new members to the company's board of directors, replacing the majority of the old board.

The Walmart shareholders meeting is next week and while the event is great for the retailer’s associates, suppliers looking for deeper insight into new priorities and key initiatives will be better served by attending a more content rich event the following week.

That’s when the Center for Retailing Excellence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas plans to hold its annual Emerging Trends in Retail conference. The event, scheduled for Thursday, June 11, is especially noteworthy for several reasons this year.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with first quarter profits that were aided by a reduction in clearance-priced merchandise. Net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 rose 22% to $47.37 million, from $38.64 million a year earlier.

Net sales grew 9% to $655.49 from $598.95 million. Same-store sales improved 5.1%.

City of Commerce, Calif. - 99 Cents Only Stores has named Andrew Giancamilli, chairman of the company’s board of directors, as interim president and CEO, replacing Stéphane Gonthier, who has resigned.

Atlanta -- Arby’s Restaurant Group, franchisor of the Arby’s brand, announced that it has reached an 11%  total energy reduction per company-owned restaurant since 2011, paving the way to a goal of 15% energy reduction by the end of 2015. This follows a 2014 reported reduction of 3.3% in average year-over-year energy consumption per company-owned restaurant.

Chico's FAS Inc. is blaming its first quarter profit decline on restructuring charges and lower sales.