News

Struggling retailer Francesca's has named specialty retailing veteran Michael W. Barnes as president and CEO.

Greg Brenneman, chairman of the board since 2010, was named lead director.

Barnes had been CEO at Signet since 2011 and led Signet’s $1.46 billion acquisition of Zale Corp. Before that, he spent more than 25 years at the fashion company Gossip Group Inc., becoming president and chief operating officer in 2007.

Nashville, Tenn. — Genesco Inc. announced that James S. Gulmi, senior VP and CFO, will retire at the end of its current fiscal year.  He will be succeeded as CFO by Mimi E. Vaughn, the company's current senior VP —strategy and shared services.   Gulmi, who has served as Genesco's CFO since 1986, will continue as senior advisor to the company for at least the  next year.    

Framingham, Mass. — Staples Inc. has long prided itself on making things for customers. Now the retailer is trying to do the same for suppliers with Staples Exchange, a unified platform that allows vendors to sell through all of Staples’ e-commerce channels, with multiple integration options. Staples does not require vendors to use a third party that charges integration fees, instead giving them a single portal to enroll with all of Staples’ sites.
 

Big Lots hypothetical core customer Jennifer isn’t feeling so cheerful this holiday season as the nation’s leading closeout retailer is eyeing a low single digit fourth quarter comp increase.

If you talk to retail industry stakeholders about their business priorities for 2015, you will likely hear about their continued focus on omnichannel. But the overall environment is starting to feel different than in years past. Words like “transformation” and “action” are being used to recap the 2014 business landscape. We’re moving past defining omnichannel and now focusing on implementation.

Weakening demand for guns and ammunition contributed to a 6.2 percent decline in same store sales at outdoor retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings.

The comp decline was offset by an increase in new stores which allowed the company to grow sales by 4.3 percent to $182.5 million and end the third quarter on Nov. 1 with 55 stores. Profits on an adjusted basis to exclude non-recurring expenses were $8.9 million, or 21 cents a share, compared to $7.1 million, or 17 cents a share.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. — Dollar General Corp. and Dollar Tree engaged in a verbal war on Friday as they both seek to acquire Family Dollar.    In a news release, Dollar Tree said Dollar General's bid "may ultimately fail" because the Federal Trade Commission may require it to sell more than the 1,500 stores the retailer has said it is willing to let go of.  

A former Walmart and Sears financial executive and a former Federal Reserve bank executive are the newest members of the board at gift card and financial services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings.

Blackhawk announced on Dec. 5 that Jane J. Thompson and Richard H. Bard were elected to its board of directors effective Oct. 6.