Consumer Affairs & Relations

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Pacific Sunwear of California announced the appointment of Amber Fredman-Tarshis as its senior VP and chief marketing officer.  She most recently served as CMO of Guess?. Fredman-Tarshis’ background also includes executive roles at Puma, Warner Bros., Victoria's Secret.
 

New Delhi, India – The India unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has reportedly fired a mid-level manager as part of a probe into alleged bribery violations. According to the Economic Times, Wal-Mart gave the manager a termination notice last week, two years after the company suspended its former India CEO and legal team due to possible violations of U.S. anti-bribery laws.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Domino’s Pizza is continuing its international growth by opening its first store in Kenya. Master Kenya franchise holder Om Nom Nom Ltd. opened a store in Nairobi Nov.8 and will open more stores in the city in the next few years.
"Establishing ourselves in Kenya provides an excellent opportunity for our brand to continue growing globally," said Ritch Allison, Domino's Pizza international president. "Domino's has terrific potential to offer an unmatched pizza experience to the people of Nairobi."

Customers at the nation’s largest home improvement retailer appeared to shrug off any concerns about a data breach as Home Depot’s sales increased 5.4% to $20.5 billion. Comparable store sales increased 5.2%, but grew 5.8% at U.S. stores. The increased productivity at existing stores drove profit growth, with earnings increasing to $1.5 billion, or $1.15 per share, compared to $1.4 billion, or $95 cents a share, the prior year.

Toronto, Canada – The bad news continued for Sears Canada Inc. during the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Following the announcement by parent company Sears Holding that it would sell off most of its 51% ownership stake to shareholders and reports that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will end its agreement to issue credit cards for Sears Canada in November 2015, Sears Canada reported a net loss of $118.7 million, significantly larger than the $48.8 million net loss reported the same period a year earlier.

By Todd Waskelis, AT&T

Former Guess? and Victoria’s Secret executive Amber Fredman-Tarshis has joined Pacific Sunwear of California to help the teen retailer brand reconnect with customers.

Atlanta – The Home Depot Inc. showed solid performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 despite reporting a major data breach in September, but still has not fully accounted for all the costs related to the breach. Home Depot reported net earnings of $1.5 billion, topping Wall Street projections and a 7% increase from $1.4 billion the same quarter in fiscal 2013.