News

Big Lots plans to close down its wholesale operations, Big Lots Wholesale, Consolidated International and Wisconsin Toy, by the end of the current fiscal year. The move is the latest in the company’s strategy to refine its business model and focus on its retail stores.

As things wind down for the wholesale business its inventory will be liquidated. The company says that it will assimilate employees into its retail operations wherever and whenever possible throughout the next 90 days.

The Container Store began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol “TCS.” Expectations were high: On Thursday, the retailer set its IPO price at $18 per share, higher than the originally-expected range of $14 to $16 per share.

The company is offering all 12.5 million shares of common stock, with an additional 1.9 million shares 30-day purchase option for the underwriters.

Gigwalk has made a major upgrade to its platform that involves new higher skilled, higher paid “Gigs” (jobs on the Gigwalk app) and free training programs based on worker certifications. The move makes Gigwalk the only mobile work marketplace that allows workers to advance their careers through special courses and certifications.

Gander Mountain has promoted Mike Owens to the position of president and COO. Owens was the company’s EVP and COO since joining in 2009.
 
“This is an exciting time for Gander Mountain, and we are very optimistic about our future,” said chairman of the board and CEO David Pratt, who has overseen a sizeable expansion in the past 18 months. “In Mike we have a true leader in driving further growth and success for Gander Mountain across our network of stores. I offer my personal congratulations to Mike on a well-deserved promotion.”

Wolverine Worldwide has appointed Frank Annunziata as VP and general manager of Sebago. Annunziata will be responsible for further developing the brand's global growth platform of footwear, apparel and accessories, and will report to Ted Gedra, president of the company's Heritage Group.

Newegg, a leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the U.S., has kicked off this year’s Black November shopping event. The online retailer first unveiled Black November in 2010.

The company will be offering exclusive deals on the first four days of Black November across 60 categories, including computers, electronics, automotive, sporting goods and jewelry.

Lay's will be introducing Lay's Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate next week, according to a report from USA Today.

The chips, priced at $3.49 for a 5-oz. bag, will only be sold at Target for a limited time through the holidays. If the product is successful it could become a permanent fixture on store shelves, according to Ram Krishnan, VP marketing at Frito-Lay.

Publix credited its customer service for helping fuel third-quarter sale sales of $7 billion, a 5.6% increase from last year’s $6.7 billion. Comparable-store sales for the third quarter of 2013 increased 4.1%.

The company reported net earnings for the quarter of $359.9 million, a decrease of 2.3% from $368.4 million in 2012. Earnings per share for the third quarter decreased to $0.46 for 2013, down from $0.47 per share in 2012.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney has secured Energy Star certifications in over 500 stores, one supply chain facility and its home office, far surpassing the company’s initial goal of having 400 locations certified by the end of 2013. (The Environmental Protection Agency awards Energy Star certification to buildings that rank within the top 25% of similar commercial buildings nationwide by meeting strict energy performance levels set by the EPA.)

New York  -- Experts from Oracle, Google, Red Hat Inc. and other top technology and Internet companies are joining the effort to "address the problems around Healthcare.gov," the  health-insurance exchange website for the Affordable Care Act, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The website has been plagued by slowdowns and severely limited functionality since its rollout on Oct. 1.