Elder-Beerman has quarterly loss

        Elder-Beerman Stores, the Dayton-based department store chain, reported a $3.5 million first-quarter loss and a meager increase in sales Thursday.

        Results for the three months ended May 4 were even worse after the company implemented a tougher accounting standard for the booking of goodwill. The standard, which requires corporations to review goodwill at least once a year for possible impairment, led to an after-tax charge of $14.1 million, giving Elder-Beerman a $17.5 million net loss for the quarter.

        The company's first-quarter results included other one-time charges and gains: A $700,000 charge for employee severance payouts, a $1 million writedown of the value of long-term assets to reflect current value, and a $600,000 gain from insurance proceeds and the sale of non-core assets.

        Elder-Beerman posted $149 million in revenue, up from $147.4 million a year ago. For stores open at least a year, sales fell 2.8 percent.
       

Chamber names 2 vice presidents

        The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Thursday appointed Myrita Craig and Steven Love vice presidents.

        Ms. Craig, founder of Sapientia Consulting Inc., will become vice president of the chamber's Small Business Group. Mr. Love, formerly vice president and general manager of Blue Chip Broadcasting, will become vice president of Economic Inclusion and Community Development.

        The appointments round out the chamber's leadership team under new president Michael Fisher.

Bill Knapp's in Chapter 11

        Battle Creek, Mich.-based Bill Knapp's, a restaurant chain serving Michigan and Ohio, has filed for protection from creditors while it reorganizes its finances.

        The struggling company, which serves lower-priced family style food, filed its Chapter 11 petition this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.

— From staff and wire reports

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