Finance & Capital Management

Beaverton, Ore. - Jim Scholefield, 53, will become CIO of Nike Inc., reporting to Eric Sprunk, COO, on June 29.

Scholefield most recently served as CTO for The Coca-Cola Co., where he was responsible for creating and executing its worldwide IT strategy, technology operations, production support and technology engineering. His duties providing global leadership across the Coca-Cola enterprise on all technology matters.
 

Framingham, Mass. – The proposed $6.3 billion merger of Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. has cleared a global regulatory hurdle. Staples has received clearance from the Commerce Commission of New Zealand to acquire all the outstanding shares of Office Depot, which trades in New Zealand as OfficeMax.

San Diego – PriceSmart Inc. increased net and same-store sales during May 2015. Net sales increased 14% to $230.2 million, from $202.3 million in May a year earlier.

Same-store sales rose 4.6%. There were 36 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of May 2015.
 

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores announced that board chairman Rob Walton is stepping down and will be succeeded by vice chairman Greg Penner, who is Walton's son-in-law. Walton relinquished the position of chairman at the company's annual meeting on June 5.

Franklin, Tenn. - The new EMV card payment mandate may not provide financial ROI for retailers. According to new research from IHL Group, most retailers will never recoup the expense that EMV imposes.

Rob Walton relinquished the position of chairman of the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., to his son-in-law, Greg Penner, at the company annual meeting on June 5.

The move to elevate Penner to the new role didn’t come as huge shock since the stage had been set for the move at Walmart’s annual meeting last year when Walton, 70, announced Penner had been named the board’s vice chairman. Walton has served as chairman of the board since 1992 the same year that his father and company founder Sam Walton died. He will continue to serve on the board.

Dick’s Sporting Goods named veteran consumer packaged goods finance executive Teri List executive vice president and CFO to oversee the retailer’s finance and legal organizations.

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc.

Lower sales and a fall in commissions led Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. to post falling profit in the first quarter.

The retail industry is more competitive than ever, but Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told a gathering of more than 14,000 associates and shareholders that he is more worried about the enemy within the company than competitors.

“The truth is the real villains are lurking within the company,” said McMillon. “Our real villains are things like bureaucracy, complacency, a lack of speed, or a lack of passion.”