News

Potbelly Corp. CFO resigns
Chicago – Charles Talbot, CFO of food service retailer Potbelly Corp., is leaving the company for a position outside the restaurant industry. Talbot will continue to serve as Potbelly's CFO while an external search is underway, until his departure on March 27.
Barnes & Noble to keep Nook after all
Barnes & Noble has changed its mind about which business to spin off. But in the end, the bookseller will still have to compete with Amazon.

Barnes & Noble now says it is looking to raise as much as $775 million by spinning off its college bookstore business, traditionally the strongest performing division for Barnes & Noble. Last May the company said it would be spinning off its Nook division after disappointing sales.

Appeals court revives Macy’s Martha Stewart claims against Penney

New York – A state appeals court in New York has revived two claims Macy’s Inc. made against J.C. Penney Co. Inc. in a long-running dispute between the two department store chains about who has the right to sell Martha Stewart Living home products.

According to Reuters, in a unanimous decision, judges in the Manhattan Appellate Division ruled that Penney breached confidentiality provisions of Macy’s contract with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Penney’s actions amounted to unfair competition.
Big oil gets good news from the retail world

The 2,200 store Bridgestone Retail Operations group is refining its approach to a key supplier relationship with a new deal involving Shell Lubricants Americas.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO) said Shell would serve as its supplier of choice for automotive lubricants at the company’s more than 2,200 U.S. tire and automotive service centers.
Gap Q4 tops estimates as Old Navy, online surges; 20 Athleta stores on tap

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Thursday, fueled by surging sales at Old Navy and strong online results. But it offered a disappointing profit outlook for 2015 as it feels the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar and West Coast port delays.
White House spinmaster joins Amazon.com team

Jay Carney spent three years parsing words as president Barack Obama’s top spokesman and now has joined Amazon.com as senior vice president of worldwide corporate affairs, according to Politico.
Affordable Health Care Act Requires One Solution for Human Capital

By John Orr, Ceridian

With the Affordable Care Act, employers’ new reality is here, right now — and contrasts starkly with the past: Retailers that run payroll, time and attendance, scheduling, and benefits administration the way they used to will probably run afoul of the Employer Mandate, also known as “Play or Pay.”
Report: Google plans Android Pay release in May

Mountain View, Calif. – Apple Pay may have some new competition this spring. Google is reportedly planning to release an Android-based digital payment API known as Android Pay at its Google I/O conference in May 2015.

According to Ars Technica, Android Pay would integrate into retailers’ mobile apps but could also be used at physical checkout stations. Similar to Apple Pay, consumers would upload credit or debit card information to Android Pay and pay by tap.
HSN beats Street with Q4 results; digital, mobile sales soar

St. Petersburg, Fla. – HSN Inc. had a successful fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, beating Wall Street estimates for both net income and sales. Net income rose 11% to $68.3 million from $61.6 million, while net sales grew 10% to $1.12 billion from $1.1 billion.

Digital grew 12%, reaching a milestone of representing more than half HSN’s business. Mobile remains the company’s fastest-growing platform with growth of 40% in the quarter.
Sales turnaround is intact at JCPenney

Better than expected fourth quarter same store sales growth and big increase in gross margins have JCPenney eyeing potentially faster topline growth in 2015.

The company said its same store sales for fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 increased 4.4%, above the forecast range of 2% to 4% provided at the end of the third quarter. Total sales increased 2.9% to nearly $3.9 billion and online sales grew 12.5% to $428 million.