News

Target couldn’t have written a better script for last weekend’s Indianapolis 500, won by Dario Franchitti in the number 50 Target Honda.

Fans of the IndyCar racing series know that Franchitti’s Honda normally bears the number 10, but in recognition of Target’s golden anniversary the car and his uniform bore the number 50. Franchitti had won the Indy 500 on two prior occasions so the fact that he was running well throughout the day was no surprise.

New York -- Modell’s Sporting Goods, which operates 150+ brick-and-mortar stores as well as Modells.com, said Wednesday it has selected San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based e-commerce provider Shopatron as its order management solution to deliver officially licensed sports gear to fans just in time for the playoffs.

Modell's said it will continue to add more product categories to the site throughout the year, including athletic footwear, active apparel and other sporting goods, to bring its complete in-store selection online.

PHILADELPHIA — Pep Boys has put an end to the proposed merger between itself and investment firm The Gores Group.

The potential merger was first announced on Jan. 30, and The Gores Group has agreed to pay Pep Boys a fee of $50 million and to reimburse Pep Boys for certain merger-related expenses. The special meeting of Pep Boys’ shareholders, which was scheduled to be held on May 30, has been canceled.

St. Louis -- Brown Shoe Co. said Wednesday that CFO Mark Hood has resigned the company, effective June 11. Russ Hammer has been named the successor.

“I’m confident [Hammer] will be able to make an immediate contribution across the company and to the work we’ve been completing in our portfolio realignment efforts,” said Diane Sullivan, president and CEO.

NEW YORK — Nicole by OPI is launching new fall shades of nail lacquer exclusively at Target this fall.

“Nicole by OPI is excited to bring the fashion-forward Target guest new lacquers for the fall season,” stated Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI EVP and artistic director. “Not only do the shades add the final touch to runway trends, the shimmery finish [also] adds elegance and depth to these trendy colors.”

The richly pigmented formulas come in shimmering shades of deep blue, gold, purple, mauve and green.

Dallas -- Loyalty and marketing solution-provider Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced Wednesday that it has signed a multi-year renewal agreement to continue providing the turnkey, marketing-driven private label credit card program for Gardner-White Furniture.

Gardner-White is a regional retailer of home furnishings, electronics, mattresses and accessories in the metro Detroit area.

Yankee Candle Company president and CEO Harlan Kent is the newest member of the specialty apparel retailer Rue21’s board of directors.

Rue21 is a rapidly expanding specialty apparel retailer that currently operates 810 stores in 46 states

Washington, D.C. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement in response to the announcement that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has reached an agreement with Amazon.com requiring the online retailer to begin collecting state sales tax on purchases made in New Jersey by July 1, 2013.

"Today's announcement ends the practice of giving out-of-state retailers like Amazon.com an unfair advantage over those retailers who are an integral part of communities across New Jersey," said RILA president Sandy Kennedy