News

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma has named Julie Whalen as permanent CFO. Whalen replaces Sharon McCollam, who retired in March. Whalen had been serving as acting CFO since McCollam retired.

Whalen joined Williams-Sonoma, which operates namesake stores, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and other stores, in 2001 and has served in a variety of positions, including treasurer.

Epicor Software Corporation and True Value Co., announced the continuation of an agreement naming Epicor as True Value's recommended Epicor(R) Eagle(R) point-of-sale (POS) solution provider.

This 3-year agreement provides more of True Value's retailers the opportunity to benefit from Epicor solutions, according to the companies.

New York -- Lower cotton costs will boost the earnings of US retail apparel companies during the coming back-to-school season, according to a report by Moody's Investors Service.

The report, "Back to School: Lower Cotton Costs, Gas Prices Set Stage for Higher 3Q Earnings,” notes that for the third quarter overall, Moody's expects the apparel-makers' growth in earnings to outpace their growth in sales.

Retired KPMG International chairman Timothy Flynn was named to the Walmart board of directors on Monday amid ongoing investigations into whether the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

New York -- Modell's Sporting Goods has added a mobile component to its MVP loyalty program. The sporting goods retailer is using Key Ring Reward Cards’ mobile coupon and customer acquisition platform to introduce mobile into its loyalty marketing mix for its 150 retail locations.

LONDON — Unilever has put its North America frozen meals business on the sales block.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Monday named Wayne Sales, a Canadian hall-of-fame-caliber retailer, as the company's president and CEO, replacing Craig Herkert.

“In my new role, I will work closely with our leadership team to improve our sales and earnings trajectory and generate long-term shareholder value, focusing relentlessly on identifying factors that will drive meaningful improvements in our strategy execution and overall performance,” Sales stated.

New York -- Seven Walmart stores in Missouri were evacuated after receiving bomb threats but no explosives were found and no injuries were reported, according to Reuters.

The threats were called in late on Friday to stores in Raytown, Gladstone, Jefferson City, Nixa, St. Peters and Ozark, the report said.