Finance & Capital Management

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. CEO Kevin Mansell is said to be seeking a new chief merchandising officer who would be next in line to take the CEO reins.

A report by the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, suggested that Mansell is scouting for a new chief merchant to not only take the merchandising lead for the discount department store chain but also to serve as the key player in a potential succession plan. The chief merchant slot has been vacant since the departure of Donald Brennan last March.

Seattle – Slightly more than half (51%) of retailers do not have a plan for responding to security breaches. According to a new study conducted by Microsoft, “Security Trends for Retail Services,” almost three-quarters (72%) of retailers do not have budgeted disaster recovery plans.

Reston, Va. -- A report by comScore showed that, in the first quarter, desktop-based e-commerce rose 12% year-over-year to $56.1 billion, marking the 18th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

M-commerce spending on smartphones and tablets added $7.3 billion for the quarter, up 23%, for a digital commerce spending total of $63.4 billion in the first quarter.
 

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Michael Jeffries saw his pay shrink 72% in 2013, according to a filing by the company on Tuesday.

The teen retailer has recorded declining sales and profits, and Jeffries has come under fire. His total compensation last year was $2.24 million, down from $8.16 million in the previous year and $48.1 million in Abercrombie’s fiscal 2011. He was paid more than $20 million a year in the three years before that, according to the report.  

By Ron Chan, director of marketing, Posiflex USA

Washington, D.C. - Retail sales rose ever so slightly in April, putting a damper on hopes of a sharp uptick in economic growth in the second quarter. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales, which include categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, rose 0.1% in April, following a revised 1.5% increase in March that ranked as the biggest since March 2010.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- JDA Software Group, a leading provider of supply chain, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and collaborative category management solutions, announced that CEO Hamish Brewer is leaving the company. Baljit (Bal) Dail, a technology executive who has served as JDA’s chairman since May 2013, has been named interim CEO, effective immediately. Dail will lead the search for a permanent successor.
 

Montpelier, Vt. – The Vermont state legislature has voted to raise the minimum wage in the state from $8.73 an hour to $10.50 an hour. The increase will occur gradually during a four-year period and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the bill.

“We're raising the minimum wage higher in each of the next four years, joining a growing number of states nationwide that are moving on their own in the face of congressional inaction," Gov. Shumlin said in a prepared statement.

San Antonio – Convenience store operator CST Brands plans to open 38 new stores in North America during fiscal 2014. That includes 30 new stores in the U.S. and eight in Canada.

Los Angeles -- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has named Karen Cate as CFO and Jeff Schroeder as VP operations.

Cate most recently served as the VP controller of Trader Joe's Company, where she was responsible for the integrity of financial processes and reporting for the retail grocery store, warehouses, and distribution operations.

Schroeder brings more than 30 years of experience with large multi-unit operations in the restaurant industry. He most recently served as VP brewery restaurants for Karl Strauss Brewing Company.