News

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy reported Tuesday that net income for the first quarter fell 12% to $136 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, hurt by increased promotions and lower demand for such items as flat-panel televisions and digital cameras. But strong showings in China, mobile phone sales and online performance pushed helped to boost profit and revenue past analyst estimates.

PLANO, Texas — Things just got a whole lot more interesting in the mid-tier department store space now that JCPenney has hired former Apple executive Ron Johnson to be its CEO. Johnson is a former Target merchandising executive who for the past 11 years oversaw the growth of Apple’s wildly successful and widely heralded retail operation.

DALLAS — Karen Katz, president and CEO of Neiman Marcus announced that John E. Koryl will be joining the company, June 20, as president of Neiman Marcus Direct. Koryl succeeds Gerald Barnes, who will become EVP, chief merchant Neiman Marcus Direct.

Koryl, 40, joins Neiman Marcus from Williams-Sonoma where he was the SVP e-commerce marketing and analytics. Prior to Williams-Sonoma, Koryl was senior director marketing solutions at eBay and has worked at UmbrellaBank, Creditland.com, and Accenture.

WASHINGTON — Retail spending for the month of May experienced a slight drop of 0.2% to $387.1 billion, though the advanced estimates noted that May sales were 7.7% higher than the year-ago period, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.

The government agency also reported that total sales for the March through May period were up 7.5% from the same period a year ago.

RYE, N.Y. — Jarden Corp., a manufacturer of a variety of branded consumer products, announced that James Lillie was named CEO effective immediately.  Martin Franklin, formerly chairman and CEO of Jarden Corp., will serve as executive chairman, overseeing corporate strategy, including growth initiatives, corporate culture and philosophy.

Hitachi Power Tools has appointed Tim Hawkins as its director of home center sales for North American business, effective June 1. Hawkins previously served as director of outdoor power equipment for Hitachi Power Tools & Tanaka Power Equipment (a brand within the Hitachi Power Tools group). Prior to then, he was regional manager over the central United States for Hitachi. Hawkins first joined the company in 1998. 

Minneapolis -- Grocery Shopping Network announced Tuesday the launch of a new mobile apps program for Coborn’s and Cashwise stores. The new program is compatible with iPhone and Android smartphones and allows shoppers to view circular specials, in-store specials, recipes, and mobile offers based on this week’s deals from their mobile phone.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Commerce Department showed that total U.S. retail sales fell 0.2% in May, a less-than-forecast dip following April’s 0.3% gain. It was the first drop in 11 months. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.3% last month, the smallest gain since July 2010.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. reported Tuesday that net income for the first quarter fell 12% to $136 million, hurt by increased promotions and lower demand for such items as flat-panel televisions and digital cameras. But strong showings in China, mobile phone sales and online performance pushed helped to boost profit and revenue past analyst estimates.

Johannesburg, South Africa -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that South Africa’s Economic Development Ministry made an “aggressive intervention” in Wal-Mart Stores’ bid to buy a stake in Massmart Holdings Ltd.

South Africa’s Trade, Economic Development and Agriculture Ministries made a joint bid to the Competition Tribunal to force Wal-Mart to restrict imports if it buys a controlling stake in Johannesburg-based Massmart, concerned about job losses.