Data & Analytics

New York -- J.C. Penney Co. announced that activist investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has resigned from the board of directors of the company, effective Aug. 12. His resignation comes in the wake of a very public and heated campaign in which he called for the ouster of Penney interim CEO Myron Ullman and chairman Thomas Engibous.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool Corporation has entered into agreements to become a majority shareholder in Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., a leading home appliances manufacturer based in Hefei, China.

Through this transaction, a Whirlpool Corporation subsidiary will acquire all shares currently owned by Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co. (China) Ltd., and purchase new Hefei Sanyo shares via a private placement.

LOS ANGELES — Specialty sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet is touting its services and assorted selection of brands to runners. 

The retailer is reminding runners that it offers “extensive online show advice” to accurately fit athletes with the correct running shoe, not to mention a selection of brands which include Adidas, Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Nike, Reebok and Saucony. The retailer also offers custom in-store gait assessments.

NEW YORK — Gilt, an online shopping website, has appointed Tracey Weber as chief operating officer, effective September 3. Weber joins Gilt from Citibank, where she was the managing director, North America Internet and mobile and global product.  

In her role as chief operating officer, Weber will have responsibility for many of Gilt's operations, including Gilt City, international, customer service and merchandise planning; she will also oversee several new strategic initiatives. Weber will report directly to CEO Michelle Peluso.

WASHINGTON — Retailers had sales gains in many back-to-school categories like clothing and sporting goods but experienced surprising declines in home-based categories, including building materials and furniture stores, according to the National Retail Federation. 

The world’s largest retail trade association found that July retail sales — excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants — increased 0.3% seasonally, adjusted from June and increased 5% unadjusted year-over-year.

SEATTLE — Amazon Web Services, Inc., an Amazon.com company, has unveiled a cross-platform notification service called Amazon Simple Notification Service with Mobile Push that allows mobile apps to proactively keep their users aware of critical events and relevant information.

Robert Howard is the newest partner in the Retail and Consumer Products Group at management consulting firm Kurt Salmon.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores has donated $2 million throughout a three-year period to the Milwaukee Art Museum to continue the Kohl’s Art Generation program, a youth art education initiative.

Denver -- Thirty-one percent of survey respondents said they won't be shopping for any back-to-school products at all, up from 27.7% last year, according to research published by The Integer Group. The results were in the latest issue of “The Checkout, an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by Integer and M/A/R/C Research.

With fewer people shopping, certain channels will see a drop in traffic. Integer predicts that mass, clothing, and drug will take the largest hit, losing 2.3%, 3.2%, and 5.5% of shoppers this year compared to last.

New York -- Brooks Brothers has named Vivien Kronengold as the company’s executive VP and chief marketing officer, a newly created position. The company also appointed Mauro Calderan as COO. Calderon previously served as senior VP, distribution and logistics.

The appointments come less than a week after Brooks Brothers president and COO Diane Ellis was named CEO at the Limited.