Personnel Updates

Barnes & Noble Inc. has announced that the CEO of its retail group retired May 2.  Mitchell Klipper, will continue to work with the company as a special adviser on real estate and other matters, Barnes & Noble said. The company said it has begun to search for a new retail CEO, and Klipper will help in the process. The announcement of Klipper’s retirement comes as the company looks to separate its retail business from its Nook e-book operations. Barnes Noble had hoped the Nook would help the company compete better with Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle devices. But the Nook has failed to resonate with consumers.

HSN Inc. has appointed John Aylward as Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer for HSN.

Staples has named Peter J. Scala as Exec VP, Merchandising.  The company announced that te previous head merchant, Mike Edwards, has “resigned from Staples to pursue other interests.”

Tech Data Corporation announced that it has promoted Marc McClure to VP of Field Sales, Eastern U.S. and Vince Stemen to VP of Field Sales, West/Central U.S.

Tech Data Corporation announced that it has appointed Pete Peterson to Senior VP, Business Development and promoted Marty Bauerlein to Senior VP, U.S. Sales, Mr. Peterson’s former position..

The Toy Industry Association (TIA), whose members account for more than 90% of U.S. toy sales, has named Stephen J. Pasierb as President and CEO.  He succeeded President and CEO Carter Keithley who is retiring.  He will be responsible for leading the growth, development, and oversight of TIA.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. announced the appointment of Neil Watanabe as Chief Financial Officer.

Walmart announced another round of senior executive moves – including several retirements, focused on supercenters, small format and the rollout of grocery home shopping. Veteran Walmart operator Mike Moore, who currently serves as Exec VP of the Neighborhood Market division, will transition to a new Exec VP role with oversight of Walmart’s much larger supercenter operation in the U.S. Assuming Moore’s previous position is Walmart West Exec VP Julie Murphy. Also of note is an expanded role for Walmart U.S. Senior VP of Innovations Mark Ibbotson. He retains his Senior VP title in the innovations organization now named “Central Operations,” but has been given new responsibilities for asset protection and work with Walmart Global eCommerce to implement grocery home shopping within operations. In addition to new responsibilities for Moore and Murphy, it was also revealed that Pam Kohn, Exec VP of Walmart Realty and Joaquin Gonzalez Varela, Exec VP of Walmart East, will leave the company. JP Suarez will be elevated to the role of Senior VP of Walmart Realty. He currently serves as Senior VP of Real Estate Strategy, Design and Construction.

Financial Focus

Anixter International Inc. reported that annual net sales rose to $6.4 billion from a total of $6.2 billion from the previous year.  This amounted to an increase of 4%.

Arrow Electronics, Inc. reported that annual consolidated sales rose to $22.8 billion from $21.4 billion for the previous year.

Dorman Products, Inc. announced that annual net sales had increased to $751 million from $664 million from the previous year.

Hancock Fabrics announced that net sales for fiscal year 2014 were $283.1 million compared to $276.0 million last year. On a comparable 52 week basis net sales increased by 0.7% and comparable same store sales also increased by 0.7%.

Ingram Micro Inc. announced that annual net sales had increased to $46.5 billion up from $42.6 billion from the previous year.

The Michaels Companies, Inc. announced record financial results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015.  For the full year, net sales increased 3.7% to $4.74 billion. Comparable store sales for fiscal year 2014 were 1.7% or 2.4% on a constant currency basis,

Office Depot announced that Deb O’Connor, Senior VP of Integration and Finance, has left the company to accept the position of Senior VP and CFO with True Value. O’Connor spent seven years at OfficeMax, where she was played a critical role in the OfficeMax/Office Depot merger.

SYNNEX Corporation announced financial results which indicate annual revenue increased to $13.8 billion from $10.8 billion for the previous year.  This represents a 27.6% increase over the previous year’s revenues.

Tech Data Corporation announced that annual net sales had increased to $27.7 million from $26.8 million from the previous year.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. reported that net annual sales increased to $283.5 million from $254.8 million from the previous year.

Uni-Select Inc. announced that annual sales declined to $1.784 billion from the previous year’s total of $1.788 billion.

Industry Insight

Hancock Fabrics announced that for the 2014 fiscal year, seven new stores opened, six closed, six stores were relocated and six remodeled ending the year with 263 stores.  The company finished the year with 263 stores.

O’Reilly Automotive plans to open 205 new stores nationwide, in 2015.

TargetExpress, the retailer’s newest and smallest format store yet, is now open in San Francisco and Berkeley and designed with local city dwellers in mind. The 12,000-square-foot Berkeley store, a former Walgreens, and the San Francisco location, 18,000 square feet and housed on Bush Street in the financial district, feature a refined and modern concept.

Tuesday Morning Corp. completed its turnaround initiative in the third quarter, closing 21 stores and narrowing its loss to $2.8 million.