Associations

HOUSTON -- Cardtronics, the world's largest retail ATM owner, announced that Lucia Romanello Crater has joined Cardtronics as the company's new VP U.S. merchant sales. 

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and CargoNet jointly announced that they have strategically aligned to combat cargo theft across the retail industry.

According to the 2010 United States Cargo Theft Report issued by CargoNet, reported incidences of cargo theft increased by 50% compared with 2009. According to the FBI, cargo theft is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States.

Mahwah, N.J. -- TD Retail Card Services announced that it has been selected as a preferred provider of private label credit services for members of Furniture First, a home furnishings and mattress purchasing cooperative with more than 175 retail furniture dealers operating over 360 locations nationwide.

Under the agreement, the Mahwah, N.J-based business unit of TD Bank, N.A., will offer a full range of private label credit products and services, custom financing options and special benefits to participating members of the co-op.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has hired Julie Philp as director of federal affairs to bring additional pharmacy and legislative expertise to the government affairs team. She joins NACDS on April 11.

"Julie is a seasoned advocate with experience in pharmacy and on Capitol Hill, and she will bring a wealth of expertise to NACDS," stated NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson. "NACDS members will enjoy working with Julie, and we are pleased to welcome her to NACDS' highly effective team."

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), managed by The Consumer Goods Forum, announced that Yves Rey, corporate quality general manager Danone, has been appointed chairman elect to replace current chairman, Jürgen Matern, Metro AG, once he completes his mandate in February 2012. Yves Rey will become the sixth chairman of the Global Food Safety Initiative. 

WASHINGTON --  The National Retail Federation has a new ally in its fight for swipe-fee reform. The group announced that Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition focused on financial services industry reform that includes the Consumer Federation of America, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and a number of other consumer organizations among its 250 national, state and local members, asked Congress Wednesday to reject proposals to delay swipe-fee reform.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's commitment to complete final swipe fee reform regulations in time for retailers to begin offering customers discounts and other benefits this summer as scheduled.

Bethesda, Md. -- Retail real estate alliance X Team International said it has named a new partner, Bethesda, Md.-based Streetsense.

Beyond traditional landlord and tenant representation, Streetsense offers architecture, interior design, branding, marketing and merchandising strategies to entrepreneurs, retailers, developers and public sector entities.