Personnel Update:

Aaron’s is seeking a new CEO.  Ronald W. Allen, 72, retired as the company’s CEO and stepped down from the board of directors.

Aaron’s Inc. appointed its CFO Gilbert L. Danielson as interim CEO as it searches for a successor to the recently retired Ron Allen.

Alexander Lumber Co. named Russell Kathrein as CEO and President. Kathrein has 25 years of experience in the lumber and building material industry, most recently with ProBuild. Alexander Lumber operates 20 yards in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, along with two truss plants and a counter-top facility. “We are excited to have Russ join our team,” said Alexander Lumber Co. Chairman Watt Alexander.

Do it Best Corp. announced the retirement of one of its senior leaders while also transitioning another proven executive into a new position.  Do it Best VP of Lumber and Building Materials Quent Ondricek has retired, while Gary Nackers, has moved into that role.

Handy Hardware named Brian Sarno as VP Sales.

Huttig Building Products has announced that Paul Colliton has rejoined the company as Senior Director of Product Management.

Mid-State Lumber Corp. has brought on Zach Fornuto as its new territory manager for Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware.  He spent the last five years as a territory manager with Huttig Building Products.

Parr Lumber named Jon Friesen as the new manager of the company’s Tacoma, Washington, location.

ProBuild Holdings announced that operations executive Russell Kathrein has left the company and has been named CEO and President of Alexander Lumber Co..

Rent-A-Center, Inc. announced the appointment of Aubyn Thomas to VP of Marketing.

Rent-A-Center, Inc. announced the appointment of two new senior executives. The company named Guy J. Constant as Executive VP Finance, CFO and Treasurer. The company also named Jody Diaz as Senior VP Human Resources, Chief People Officer.

Rooms To Go has announced that Micah Goldstein, will join senior management as VP Manufacturing Operations.

Tractor Supply Company announced that Chad Frazell has joined the Company as Senior VP, Human Resources. Mr. Frazell reports to Greg Sandfort, President and Chief Executive Officer, and serves on the company’s executive committee. Prior to joining Tractor Supply Company, Frazell was senior VP human resources for Shopko Stores.

Weyerhaeuser Company has announced its plans to move its headquarters from its current Federal Way, Washington location to Seattle.  The new headquarters, which is currently under construction and is due for completion in mid to late 2016, will be located at 200 Occidental Avenue in Seattle.

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Mattress Firm, already the nation’s biggest bedding retail chain, has agreed to acquire Top 100 retailer Bedding Experts, which operates 135 stores under the Mattress Barn, Back to Bed and Bedding Experts names. Most of the stores are in the Chicago and Orlando metro areas, and it will mark Mattress Firm’s debut in the Chicago market. Mattress Firm said the purchase price is approximately $60 million and is subject to customary closing conditions. The retailer expects to close the transaction by the end of its third fiscal quarter in late October, and said it will be funded by cash reserves and borrowings from its revolving credit line.  The latest deal is Mattress Firm’s third major acquisition this year. In June, the retailer completed the purchase of 75-store Mattress Liquidators, which operated stores under the Mattress King and BedMart names in Colorado and Arizona, and bought the 55-store Sleep Experts chain in April, which added stores in the Dallas and Austin, Texas, markets.

Sleep Train acquired America’s Mattress in Hawaii in April.  The acquisition included nine local America’s Mattress stores: five stores on Oahu, two stores on the Big Island in Kona and Hilo, and one each on the islands of Maui and Kauai.

Industry Insight:

IKEA had a successful grand opening of its new Miami-Dade location to mark the company’s second South Florida outpost.

IKEA opened its first Kansas City-area store on Sept. 10.

McCoy’s Building Supply opened a new store in Dayton, Texas, marking the family-owned company’s 86th location.

Runnings announced that the company will expand to New York this fall, opening three new retail stores. This is the first major regional expansion in the company’s 67-year history. The new locations will open this September in Canandaigua, Rome and Gloversville, New York. Each of the locations will be hiring roughly 80 new workers in each community.  Runnings purchased existing, vacant retail space in each community and will use local contractors to develop the new stores for the Runnings experience. The three new locations will use a total of 300,000 square feet of retail space to serve the needs of thousands of new customers each year. Runnings is a private, family-owned business by the Dennis and Adele Reed Family. The company currently has 34 stores and employs more than 1,500 workers across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, with new locations set to open in September 2014 in Upstate New York.

Celebrating more than 65 years in business, Runnings is a family-owned general merchandise retailer. The company offers more than 100,000 items including sporting goods, clothing, footwear, pet supplies, house wares, tools, farm supplies, lawn & garden supplies, toys, and outdoor equipment. Runnings also offers a large inventory of hunting, fishing and archery equipment and accessories, as well as guns.

Tractor Supply Co. opened its 1,346^th store, in Sealy, Texas.