News

RadioShack reported a $28.9 million increase in kiosk sales driven in large part by the roll-out of the company’s mobile centers in Target stores. This boost helped drive RadioShack’s total sales to $1.06 billion from $1.04 billion.

At the end of its fiscal first quarter, RadioShack operated 887 Target Mobile centers inside Target stores compared with 104 at March 31, 2010. The company said it expects to expand Target Mobile to approximately 1,450 locations by the end of June 2011.

RadioShack reported a $28.9 million increase in kiosk sales driven in large part by the roll-out of the company’s mobile centers in Target stores. This boost helped drive RadioShack’s total sales to $1.06 billion from $1.04 billion.

At the end of its fiscal first quarter, RadioShack operated 887 Target Mobile centers inside Target stores compared with 104 at March 31, 2010. The company said it expects to expand Target Mobile to approximately 1,450 locations by the end of June 2011.

Target stores weren’t open on Easter Sunday, which helps explain why the company distributed one of its smallest circulars of the year with messaging focused on an overall low-price image rather than featuring hundreds of items.

Right about now Target might be wishing it hadn’t walked away from the lawn and garden business. That’s basically what the company did last year when it shuttered outdoor garden centers and eliminated live plants sales. Now, spring is under way nationwide and consumers looking to refresh their yards and outdoor living spaces are being forced to shop at competitors.

A Reuter’s report this week quotes the manager of a Target store in Rogers, Ark., regarding the fact that Mike Duke, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is an occasional visitor in his store. Well of course he is. And so are hundreds if not thousands of other Walmart employees.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Whirlpool announced that it has launched a virtual showroom to showcase its latest products. The showroom, which can be accessed at https://vts.inxpo.com/Launch/Event.htm?ShowKey=3631%3C/a%3E, is modeled after the company's flagship brand and product experience center in Chicago's Reid Murdoch Center. 

New York City -- Borders Group won approval of an amended executive bonus plan after a judge sought changes to resolve objections from an arm of the U.S. government that oversees bankruptcies, Bloomberg reported.

Judge Martin Glenn of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said the amended bonus packages, which tie the $6.6 million in payments closer to the financial performance of Borders, were needed so Borders could "maintain its experienced work force."

New York City -- The chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. received a pay package worth $22.5 million, down 38% from last year, mostly because of a reduction in option awards, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Jeffries, 66, received a base salary of $1.5 million and a performance-based bonus of $2.3 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He received option awards worth $14.1 million on the date they were granted, down 58% from the prior year.

New York City -- The CEO of Best Buy received a pay package worth about $5 million in the most recent fiscal year, half what he got the year before, according to a document the company filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Associated Press said.

Brian Dunn, 50, received a base salary of $1 million and a performance-based bonus of $746,667, down 75% from his performance based bonus the year before. Dunn received option awards valued at $3.2 million when they were granted, down 48%.

New York City -- Tesco announced that it has acquired a majority stake in video-on-demand pioneer Blinkbox. The acquisition positions Tesco for the next stage in the Internet-driven revolution in home entertainment, the retailer said.

Blinkbox is the United Kingdom’s leading movie streaming service, offering thousands of titles streamed on the Internet.

Tesco has bought an 80% stake in Blinkbox from Eden Ventures and Nordic Venture Partners.