{"id":100,"date":"2012-08-16T13:37:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T17:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom.chainstoreguide.com\/2012\/08\/industry-updates-discount-and-specialty-stores-2\/"},"modified":"2012-08-16T13:37:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-16T17:37:00","slug":"industry-updates-discount-and-specialty-stores-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/2012\/08\/industry-updates-discount-and-specialty-stores-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Industry Updates: Discount and Specialty Stores"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Personnel Updates:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Alco Stores<\/span><\/b> has promoted Brent Streit to Senior VP Marketing and e-Commerce.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Barnes & Noble<\/span><\/b> has announced the appointment of Thomas Donohue as VP, Treasurer; Kanuj Malhotra as VP Corporate Development; and the promotion of Andy Milevoj to VP Investor Relations.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Books-A-Million<\/span><\/b> has named Michael Rediker as Corporate Development Analyst. Rediker will be responsible for identifying, analyzing and implementing strategic corporate initiatives within the organization, including new business growth opportunities.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Dollar General Corp<\/span><\/b>. announced that Kathleen Guion, Division President of Store Operations and Store Development has officially retired and left the company.\u00a0 After announcing her retirement last year, she remained with the company and was responsible for transitioning her real estate growth and development responsibilities and for assisting the company in its strategic planning.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Mail Boxes Etc<\/b>. Inc. announced the departure of Stuart Mathis, its now former President of The UPS Store<\/b> chain who left to become President, CEO of Quiznos.<\/o:p><\/div>\n
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Mail Boxes Etc<\/b>. Inc. has named Tim Davis President of The UPS Store<\/b> franchise network. <\/o:p><\/div>\n
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Michaels Stores<\/span><\/b> CEO John Menzer reportedly has resigned so he can focus on recovering from a stroke he suffered in April. The company has launched a search for a new CEO.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Office Depot<\/span><\/b> Senior Director of Private Brand Operations and Global Sourcing, Dennis Cohen, has left the company to accept a position with a non-competitor. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Pep Boys \u2013 Manny, Moe, & Jack<\/span><\/b>announced the departure of CFO Ray Arthur to accept a similar position with another company.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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PetSmart<\/span><\/b> has named Paulette Dodson to the position of Senior VP, General Counsel and Secretary.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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RadioShack <\/span><\/b>has named Telvin Jeffries as Exec VP and Chief Human Resources Officer and General Manager of Retail Services.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Shopko<\/span><\/b> has hired Nancy Altman as Senior VP, Chief Marketing Officer, <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Trans World Entertainment<\/span><\/b>has named John Anderson acting CFO.\u00a0 Anderson is replacing Tom Seaver who will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities after a short transition period.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Vann’s Inc<\/span><\/b>, the Montana based appliance and electronics chain, announced that Jerry McConnell has assumed the position of CEO. \u00a0George Manlove, Vann’s previous CEO, has stepped down, but will continue to serve on Vann’s board of directors and act as advisor throughout the transition.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/div>\n
Williams-Sonoma<\/span><\/b> has named Julie Whalen as permanent CFO. Whalen replaces Sharon McCollam, who retired in March. Whalen had been serving as acting CFO since McCollam retired. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Financial Focus<\/span>:<\/o:p><\/b><\/div>\n
Five Below<\/span><\/b> completed an initial public offering that involved the sale of 9.6 million shares priced at $17.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Tuesday Morning<\/span><\/b> reported that for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, net sales were $812.8 million compared with $821.1 million for fiscal 2011. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Mergers and Acquisitions:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc<\/span><\/b>. announced that its tender offer for the outstanding shares of common stock of Cost Plus was successful.\u00a0 Cost Plus is now a Bed Bath & Beyond subsidiary and has stopped trading on the Nasdaq.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Industry Insight<\/span><\/i><\/b>: <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
AutoZone<\/span><\/b><\/span>opened its newest store in Wasilla, Alaska. This location marks the company’s 5,000th<\/sup> store and its entry into Alaska.<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
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Blockbuster <\/span><\/b>has relocated its corporate headquarters to Dish’s campus in Colorado.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
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Five Below<\/span><\/b> expects to add 50 stores this year with plans to open 60 units next year. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

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Little Professor Book Store<\/span><\/b>announced it closed a location in Eldersburg MD.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
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Vann\u2019s Inc<\/span><\/b>. the Montana-based electronics and appliance retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection Sunday. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Green Initiatives\/Sustainability<\/span><\/i><\/b>:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
99 Cents Only Stores<\/span><\/b> has announced the conversion of 40 semi-trucks from diesel to clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG). This new fleet is the largest private Class-8 CNG trucking fleet in Southern California.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Office Depot<\/span><\/b> announced that its downtown Portland store has been remodeled to reflect a smaller footprint and an environmentally friendly design.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
As part of an effort to improve the customer shopping experience, Office Depot said it has been rolling out smaller store formats across the U.S., and the newly downsized Portland store \u2013 one of the larger formats when it opened 13 years ago \u2013 is the first in the Pacific Northwest to follow the trend.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Approximately 900 of the Portland store\u2019s products have environmental attributes identifiable by their labels. And green building elements include: <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
T5 energy-saving lights and reflectors allowing use of two bulbs instead of three per fixture;<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Daylight and occupancy sensors to reduce energy use;<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Energy Management Systems to allow tracking and central control of energy usage;<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Reused store shelving and fixtures;<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Recycled content carpet; and<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
Interior finishes made up of low VOC emitting materials.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cBy creating smaller stores we\u2019re reducing our retail footprint, our energy footprint and our carbon footprint,\u201d said Yalmaz Siddiqui, senior director of environmental strategy at Office Depot. \u201cThis store represents a new model for consumer engagement on sustainability.\u201d <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Office Depot<\/span><\/b> has been named to the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) list of 2012 Energy Star Leaders for Leadership in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
In the baseline year of 2004, Office Depot facilities emitted 381,689 metric tons of carbon dioxide. By 2011, the carbon footprint of Office Depot\u2019s facilities was 239,319 metric tons — a reduction of over 140,000 metric tons, or 37 percent over the seven year period. \u00a0The achievement was accomplished as a result of investing in energy efficiency and green building initiatives. Such projects have included a major de-lamping effort and a change to energy efficient lamps, reflectors and ballasts; the installation of motion detectors in receiving areas; continued upgrades to building HVAC systems; and aggressive energy management controls and monitoring. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Staple\u2019s VP of Environmental Affairs<\/b> is currently implementing the company’s five metric-based pillars that make up its sustainability business strategy as they move forward across all of their global markets and business units. To do this, the company takes a holistic approach when evaluating what truly makes a product or process sustainable. The key factors under examination include:<\/o:p><\/div>\n
Green products and services<\/o:p><\/div>\n
Life cycle impacts of products<\/o:p><\/div>\n
Addressing the issue of efficiency<\/o:p><\/div>\n
Reducing carbon impacts associated with energy and energy use<\/o:p><\/div>\n
Community engagement<\/o:p><\/div>\n
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc<\/span><\/b>. unveiled its 100th California store to use rooftop solar panels to generate power. The store, located in San Diego, is part of the company’s long-term goal to run off of 100 percent renewable energy. Since launching its solar pilot program in May 2007, the company has worked with local companies to install solar technology at stores across California, including 43 stores in the Los Angeles area and 17 stores in the Bay Area. San Mateo, Calif.-based SolarCity manages and maintains 70 of the 100 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in California using traditional and thin-film solar installations.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Walmart Stores<\/span><\/b> has installed its first onsite large-scale wind turbine at a distribution center in Red Bluff, Calif.\u00a0 The turbine is expected to be operational by the fall. According to Wal-Mart, the wind turbine will provide approximately one megawatt of power, or 15% to 20% of the facility’s annual electrical use. It will produce approximately 2.2 million kilowatt hours annually, the company added; and, over the term of the power purchase agreement, it will help Wal-Mart save on energy expenses while providing price certainty for the electricity produced.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Personnel Updates: Alco Stores has promoted Brent Streit to Senior VP Marketing and e-Commerce. Barnes & Noble has announced the appointment of Thomas Donohue as VP, Treasurer; Kanuj Malhotra as VP Corporate Development; and the promotion of Andy Milevoj to VP Investor Relations. Books-A-Million has named Michael Rediker as Corporate Development Analyst. Rediker will be… Continue reading Industry Updates: Discount and Specialty Stores<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"post-template-no-sidebar.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,11],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discount-specialty","tag-csg-old","tag-eupdate","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chainstoreguide.com\/offthechain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}