Discount retailer Fred’s Inc. (FRED) recently appointed Michael K. Bloom as its new President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He assumed the new role on Jan 12. Prior to joining Fred’s, Bloom was serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO).
Bloom boasts more than 30 years’ experience in small-box general merchandising, supply chain management and store operations. He has been with CVS Caremark Corporation for 20 years, where he held several important positions. He also spent 10 years in merchandising and operations management with Virginia-based Peoples Drug Stores and the Florida division of Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation.
The appointment of the new COO is followed by the promotion of Jerry A. Shore as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company on Oct 30.Shore has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in Fred’s for more than 14 years.
Investors are encouraged by these new appointments as they expect the new CEO and COO to bring in greater innovation and undertake improved strategic initiatives to boost comps, going ahead.
Fred’s has been posting lower-than-expected comps for the past few months due to tough retail conditions and increasing competition.In third-quarter fiscal 2014, ended Nov 1, 2014, Fred’s’ comps increased 0.3%, but was significantly lower than 1.4% rise in the year-ago period.
It is encouraging that management is taking steps to improve its top line. Fred’s embarked on a 3-year reconfiguration plan in fiscal 2012 to enhance its focus on high-margin categories and move away from the low-margin consumable categories. It is also shutting down its underperforming assets while remodeling and refreshing its store layouts to allocate space to key revenue-generating categories.
We expect the new leadership team to help Fred’s steer clear of the headwinds and improve comps. Fred’s carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the apparel sector include Dollar Stores Inc. (DLTR) and Ross Stores Inc. (ROST). Both the stock carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment