News

Indianapolis -- Electronics and appliance retailer Hhgregg reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $6 million from $3.9 million in the year-ago period.

Sales for the period rose 29% to $618.6 million. Same-store sales rose 1.5%, returning to positive growth after a 5% decline last quarter.

Denton, Texas -- Sally Beauty Holdings said Wednesday it has acquired Netherlands-based Kappersservice Floral and two related companies, Hair Zone and Exphair as part of the company’s international growth strategy.

Secaucus, N.J. -- Syms Corp. and its Filene’s Basement subsidiary said Wednesday that they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will liquidate all stores and assets over the coming several months. Syms acquired the century-old Filene’s out of bankruptcy in 2009 for $63 million.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that its Shop Your Way Rewards members can now receive 5% back on all qualifying purchases at Sears and Kmart stores through Jan. 28, 2012. 

"We know budgets are tight, so we want to reward our customers by offering them ways to stretch their dollar," said Dave Friedman, SVP and president marketing at Sears Holdings. "We believe this program will help families get more out of every visit to Sears and Kmart when they use their Sears card."

DALLAS — Zale Corp. announced that Subha Ramesh has been named SVP real estate. Ramesh will report to Matt Appel, chief administrative officer.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Retail Inflation, a strong fuelperks! rewards program and increased sales at remodeled stores helped grow identical-store sales at Winn-Dixie Stores by 3.3% during the first quarter of fiscal 2012. This increase was also aided by a 5.5% increase in basket size, but partially offset by a 2.1% decrease in transaction count. The company announced that net sales for the first quarter were $1.6 billion, an increase of $48.2 million or 3.1% compared with the same period in the prior fiscal year. 

MINNEAPOLIS — The unexpected announcement that Target EVP and CFO Doug Scovanner will retire on March 31, 2012 has investors speculating about the reasons for his departure following the recent exit of other key executives.

Analysts at Bernstein Research pointed to the fact that no successor has been named, suggesting that the retirement was not a long planned for event. However, the firm said it believes that despite the unexpected news, this appears to be a true retirement and doesn't anticipate seeing Scovanner in a CFO role at another major company.

ATLANTA — OfficeMax is using RedPrairie Corp.'s Enterprise Workforce Management tool to boost labor efficiencies and manage costs enterprise-wide across its supply chain and retail stores, RedPrairie announced in a company press release.

RedPrairie’s Enterprise Workforce Management solution enables retailers to manage their workforce holistically addressing time and attendance, forecasting, scheduling, labor standards, execution management and learning management, according to the company. 

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys“R”Us announced that it has entered into a joint venture with Li & Fung Retailing that would make Toys"R"Us Inc. the majority shareholder of Toys"R"Us operations in Southeast Asia and Greater China. With this agreement, the existing Toys“R”Us licensed operations throughout Asia, which currently consist of more than 100 stores and offices across nine markets, will become 70% majority owned and controlled by Toys“R”Us Inc. and 30% owned by Li & Fung Retailing.

MIRAMAR, Fla. — Russell Hobbs, the licensee of the Farberware brand, announced that it has launched an exclusive line of small kitchen appliances at Walmart.

Farberware's line of products includes a chic, programmable coffee and tea maker, a dual-function food processor and a powerhouse 10-speed blender. All have stainless steel finishes and unparalleled craftsmanship perfect for the home chef that is interested in high-quality, great-looking appliances at an affordable price, according the company. All items are priced at $59.88 each.