News

New York -- TJX Cos., The Buckle and Zumiez all reported better-than-expected same-store sales for April, even as concerns about the job market bit into other retailers’ results.
   
TJX Cos. said that same-store sales in April were up 8% on strong customer traffic, better than 6.8% increase that analysts had expected. For the four weeks ended May 4, total revenue rose 9% to $2 billion.
   

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings has appointed former Eli Lilly CIO Jeff Balagna as its new EVP and CIO. In his new role, Balagna will be responsible for all technology and infrastructure initiatives for the company in its support centers and in-store.

Toronto -- Canadian Tire Corp. plans to spin off most of its real estate assets into a C$3.5 billion (approximately U.S. $3.49 billion) real estate investment trust, with an initial public offering expected later this year. The proposed new REIT would acquire a majority of the company's owned real estate, including approximately 250 properties comprised largely of Canadian Tire Retail stores, Canadian Tire anchored retail developments and one distribution center.  

Chicago -- Dillard's has selected OpinionLab to extend its omnichannel “Voice of Customer” program including its digital, mobile and in-store experiences, with precise insight into what its customers want and need.

SALT LAKE CITY — Online discount retailer Overstock.com held its annual meeting and made changes to its board of directors.

Stockholders re-elected Joseph J. Tabacco and elected Jonathan E. Johnson III to the company's board for terms of three years each. The board also named Johnson as its new executive vice chairman.

Central Garden & Pet's CEO is not settling for the company's margins and bottom line results, despite reporting second-quarter net sales of $498.2 million, a 7% increase over the comparable fiscal 2012 period.

The company's net income for the second quarter ended March 30 was $22.2 million, compared with net income of $21.6 million in the second quarter of 2012. 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — JDA Software Group has launched six JDA Cloud Optimize services designed to enable customers to enhance and transform their supply chains.

Moving beyond simply organizing information, JDA Cloud Optimize teams work hand in hand with customers to generate concrete recommendations and offer contextually relevant insights into big data challenges facing every global enterprise today. 

New York -- Foot Locker Inc. said Wednesday that it will buy German athletic store chain Runners Point Warenhandelsges (RPG) for 72 million euros ($94 million) as it expands in Europe.  
 
RPG, which had sales of $254 million for 2012, operates more than 200 stores — with its most prominent banners being Runners Point and Sidestep — as well as an online subsidiary, Tredex. Most its stores are in Germany, although there are also Runners Point and Sidestep locations in The Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland.