Consumer Affairs & Relations

Naperville, Ill. – OfficeMax Incorporated and Office Depot Inc. have hired global talent management consulting firm Korn/Ferry International to assist the search for a new CEO for the combined company that will result from the proposed OfficeMax-Office Depot merger.

The search will include both incumbent CEOs Neil Austrian of Office Depot and Ravi Saligram of OfficeMax, as well as external candidates.

Yonkers, N.Y. – American consumers are reporting significantly fewer financial troubles than any time in the past three years, according to the Consumer Reports Index. The Index’s trouble tracker index, which measures the proportion of consumers that have faced difficulties as well as the number of negative financial events they have encountered, dropped from 41.7 in April to 34 in May. This is the lowest trouble tracker score since Consumer Reports began reporting it in April 2009 and more than 50% below its all-time high score of 68.7 in September 2009.

SIDNEY, Neb. — Cabela’s drew record attendance at its 2013 annual meeting of shareholders June 5 in Sidney, Neb., home of company headquarters.

A crowd of more than 3,000 gathered June 4 to catch a performance by Cabela’s ambassador and Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan, with fellow country star Jon Pardi, at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds.

NEW YORK — Coty has promoted Catherine Walsh to the newly created position of SVP of corporate communications. The company will look to Walsh to help strengthen its global brand-building efforts.

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — In an effort to clean up its image following CEO Mike Jeffries' controversial comments regarding the type of people he would prefer to see donning his clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch is launching an anti-bullying campaign and college scholarship program.

OfficeMax and Office Depot have tapped global talent management consultancy Korn/Ferry International to assist the CEO selection committee in finding a CEO for the combined company in the pending merger.

Dennis Carey, vice chairman of Korn/Ferry International, is leading the search. The CEO selection committee is co-chaired by Office Depot board member Nigel Travis, chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands and OfficeMax board member Jim Marino, former president and CEO of Alberto Culver Company.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Dole Food Company's board of directors has received an unsolicited proposal from David H. Murdock, the company's chairman of the board and CEO, to acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of Dole not already owned by Murdock or his family for $12 per share in cash.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Kathy Ireland has been named chief designer for Royal Footwear & Accessories, and is launching her own line of footwear with the company in spring 2015.

Key elements in the collection will include soft footbeds and flex insoles with lightweight outsoles that will incorporate traction technology throughout the footwear brand.

SALT LAKE CITY — Overstock.com announced it would resume using Missouri advertisers after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the recently enacted affiliate nexus bill. The bill sought to recruit remote sellers into state sales tax collection if they continued to use Missouri Internet advertisers.

PHOENIX — PetSmart's board of directors has named Gregory P. Josefowicz its non-executive chairman. Josefowicz has served as a director since 2004 and as lead director since 2006.

Chairman and CEO Bob Moran will not stand for election as a director at the company’s 2013 annual stockholder meeting. As previously announced, David Lenhardt, current president and COO, will become the CEO of PetSmart at that time.