News

The Wild Oats brand will begin appearing on Walmart shelves this month as the retailer plans to offer 100 low priced organic dry grocery items.

San Francisco -- Zynga Inc. named former Best Buy executive David Lee as CFO, effective April 14, as the online games company and creator of “Farmville” seeks to return to growth. He will replace current CFO Mark Vranesh who has decided to leave the company.

Lee was previously the senior VP of corporate finance, treasury, mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy at Best Buy.

J&R Music and Computer World may not be a retailer with which many are familiar, but it’s been a longtime institution in Lower Manhattan. After 43 years of business, owners Joe and Rachelle Friedman this week issued pink slips to all of the retailer’s employees and closed the doors of the block-long technology and music superstore.

New York -- March was a so-so month for retailers, whose performance was impacted by unspring-like, cold temperatures in many parts of the country and a late Easter. (Easter falls on April 20 this year as opposed to March 31 last year.)

The eight retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted a 2.2% increase in March same-store sales, better than the expected 1.4% increase.

Camp Hill, Pa. — In the wake of acquiring Houston-based RediClinic, Rite Aid on Thursday reported revenues of $6.6 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 1, resulting from a 2.2% lift primarily attributed to an increase in pharmacy same-store sales. For the full year, Rite Aid reported $25.5 billion in revenues, up 0.5%.

Whole Foods Market might as well declare bankruptcy now judging from widespread media coverage of Walmart’s decision to sell roughly 100 organic dry grocery items under the Wild Oats brand.

New York – Ann Inc. has signed a long-term renewal agreement with Alliance Data Systems Corp. to continue providing private label and co-branded credit card services. Alliance Data will continue to deliver marketing-driven private label and co-branded credit card programs that recognize and reward Ann Taylor and Loft card members.

Ann Taylor and Loft brands are marketed in approximately 1,025 stores across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico through its Ann Taylor, Loft, Ann Taylor Factory and Loft Outlet stores, as well as globally online.

Dole is bolstering its chopped salad line with two new All Natural Chopped Salad Kits. Dole All Natural Chopped Sunflower Crunch Salad Kit and Dole All Natural Chopped Sesame Asian Salad Kit are available at supermarkets across the country.