News

Austin, Texas – The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is reportedly suing Whole Foods Market, Inc. for selling four pesticide products that allegedly fail to comply with state regulations.

An Associated Press report says the suit, filed Monday, Sept. 9 in Sacramento Superior Court, requests a court order to force Whole Foods to explain why it is selling the pesticides in question. If the court determines the pesticides are banned in California, the state could potentially fine the retailer.

Washington, D.C. - The American people overwhelmingly oppose new legislation that lets states force tax collection obligations on Internet purchases made from businesses outside their borders.

San Francisco – Twitter publicly announced its intention to file for an IPO with a tweet yesterday afternoon.

“We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO,” stated the tweet. “This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.”

DANBURY, Conn. — Ethan Allen Interiors has appointed Dave Moore as the company’s VP and chief brand officer.

“Ethan Allen has been here for over 80 years,” Ethan Allen’s chairman, president, and CEO Farooq Kathwari explains, “but we must do everything we can to make sure our brand is as relevant today and tomorrow as it has always been.”

Bi-Lo Holdings and Harris Teeter announced plans to acquire select Piggly Wiggly-branded stores. Bi-Lo plans to acquire 22 Piggly Wiggly stores in South Carolina and coastal Georgia. Harris Teeter plans to purchase six locations and a future store location in the Charleston, S.C., area.

CVS unveiled the details of a company-wide information and outreach program to help customers navigate their insurance options under the new healthcare law during a store visit in Orlando with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The program includes retail events and brochure displays at more than 7,500 CVS/pharmacy stores and 650 MinuteClinic locations. Information is also available online at cvs.com/insurance.

Ulta Beauty CEO Mary Dillon outlined some of the key priorities for her first 100 days at the helm of the beauty retailer, following a 24.8% boost in second quarter net sales.

Dillon, a former PepsiCo executive, joined the company as CEO on July 1. She succeeded Chuck Rubin, who left the company to become CEO at Michaels Stores. Serving as interim CEO following Rubin’s departure was Dennis Eck.

Twitter is going public and announced its intention to file for an IPO with a tweet.

“We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO,” stated the tweet. “This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.”

As the winter season approaches, Burlington Coat Factory experienced overall sales growth that led to a comparative store sales increase of 7.8% for the second quarter ended Aug. 3.

Total net sales increased 11.5% to $963.7 million for the months quarter compared with last year.

“We are proud of our second quarter results including 11.5% overall sales growth and, most important, our 7.8% comparative store sales increase. I would like to thank our store and corporate teams for contributing to these results,” said Tom Kingsbury, president and CEO. 

Although retail sales in August increased, they came in at a much slower pace than anticipated, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.1% seasonally adjusted from last month, and increased 3.9% unadjusted year-over-year.