Data & Analytics

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shopko announced that Michael Cooper has joined the company as SVP marketing. In this role, Cooper will lead Shopko's branding strategy and marketing initiatives. He will report to Jill Soltau, president and chief merchandising officer.

UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported net earnings of $1.68 per diluted share ($373.9 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 2, 2013, an increase of approximately 14% versus net earnings of $1.48 per diluted share ($351 million) in the same quarter a year ago.  

Aston, Pa. -- Action Services Group, a national retail and commercial lighting, sign and electrical maintenance and service company announced a service agreement with Morgan’s Foods Inc., operator of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut Express and A&W restaurants under franchises licenses, to perform sign and exterior lighting service and maintenance for 73 of their franchise units.

By Robert Passikoff, president, Brand Keys

In 2000, the average tenure of a CEO was 10 years. In 2008, it was down to eight and half, signaling a slightly higher degree of corporate and brand accountability by boards and shareholders. Ron Johnson, the now former-CEO of J.C. Penney, only lasted 17 months.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced its retail services business has signed a long-term agreement to provide private label credit card services for Barneys New York.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. said total sales for the third quarter ended March 31 increased 3.1% to $178.1 million, from $172.7 million in the year-ago period.

Same-store sales rose 2.8%, boosted by increases in average transaction value and customer traffic.
 
For the nine-month period ended March 31, revenue at stores open at least a year increased 3.7% and total sales rose 3.2% to $636.2 million, from $616.4 million.

The company plans to release its full third-quarter results on April 25.

NEW YORK — Myron E. (Mike) Ullman has rejoined Penney as CEO, effective immediately, replacing Ron Johnson, who is leaving the company. Ullman, who served as CEO of Penney until late 2011, has also been elected to the board of directors.

Johnson’s departure was not all that unexpected given the chain’s mounting losses and sales declines. But it was still a stunning reversal of fortune for the former golden boy of Apple, who left the tech giant amid great fanfare for the top job at Penney.

DALLAS — AT&T has partnered with mobile engagement solutions provider, Scanbuy to help businesses launch more engaging QR code campaigns. 

Working with Scanbuy, a global provider of mobile engagement solutions, the enhanced features include the ability to:

• Execute creative campaigns with codes that can help trigger actions such as link to a video, prompt a phone call, or generate an email.

BOSTON — Roam, a leading mobile commerce platform provider, has appointed Scott Goldthwaite as SVP operations. In this role, Scott will assure that the firm’s operations and business processes are aligned with the rapidly evolving needs of its customers as they deploy mobile point of sale solutions. This includes the management of Roam’s Help Desk, IT, data center operations, payment gateway and quality assurance functions.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has announced a $1.6 million donation to the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a U.S. based NGO, to establish the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Academy in Bangladesh. Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is also a partner in providing support for the new Academy.