Finance & Capital Management

Reston, Va. -- comScore promoted president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who, along with Gian Fulgoni, co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus. All appointments are effective March 1.

New York - A new Verizon report has found that too many businesses, following their annual assessment for meeting the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, fail to maintain ongoing compliance – putting the businesses at an increased risk for data breaches, and financial and reputational damages.

Atlanta — Flip Flop Shops has announced plans to develop 25 shops throughout South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mauritius. The new shops stem from a master franchise agreement with Barefoot, regional retail group. The first new shop is expected to open by mid-year, with additional shops following over the next 10 years.

Flip Flop Shops has nearly 100 locations globally plus more than 150 shops in the development pipeline, not including those within this new franchise agreement.

 

San Bernadino, Calif. – Stater Bros. Holdings Inc. reported a substantial increase in net income, for the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income more than doubled to $11.1 million from $5.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Net sales rose almost 2% to $984 million, to $968.7 million.  

Same-store sales grew 1.4%. Jack H. Brown, chairman, president and CEO of Stater Bros., credited the supermarket retailer’s maintaining of a low-price market strategy during difficult economic times with boosting financial performance.

Hanoi, Vietnam – Vietnamese property developer and mall operator Vingroup JSC is reportedly preparing to launch an e-commerce venture. According to Bloomberg, Le Thi Thu Thuy vice chairwoman of Vingroup, has left that position to lead an online subsidiary called VinE-com.

VinE-com will reportedly sell a wide range of products to Vietnamese consumers and compete locally with global e-commerce retailers including Ebay and China’s Alibaba. Thuy told Bloomberg VinE-com is looking to acquire other Vietnamese e-commerce providers.

Less than a year after joining Hhgregg to lead the retailer’s digital initiatives, Kevin Lyons has been elevated to the role of SVP of e-commerce.

The Indianapolis-based operator of 228 stores said Lyons’ promotion to SVP from VP of e-commerce resulted from the creation of an ambitious online development and promotional strategy. As a result, Hhgregg has improved website navigation, driven positive social media engagement among key customer groups and integrated online and in-store marketing, resulting in double-digit growth in sales and conversions.

Amazon plans to fill more than 2,500 new full-time jobs across its growing U.S. fulfillment network. Median pay inside Amazon fulfillment centers is 30% higher than traditional retail jobs, the company said, although it stopped short of disclosing the actual median pay rate for the positions it intends to fill.

Against the backdrop of a growing national debate over the minimum wage and part-time versus full-time workers, Home Depot has begun a huge seasonal hiring surge in preparation for spring.

The nation's largest home improvement retailer said it planned to hire approximately 80,000 seasonal employees, many of whom are part-time, the same day that President Barack Obama was expected to sign an executive order unilaterally increasing to $10.10 the minimum wage the federal government pays contract workers.

Stater Bros. reported a substantial increase in net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and credited its long-time low-price strategy for its sales growth.

ComScore elevated president Serge Matta to the role of CEO as the digital measurement firm reported recorded fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Matta fills the position occupied by Dr. Magid Abraham who along with Gian Fulgoni co-founded the company. Abraham will relinquish the CEO role and serve as executive chairman of the board of directors, assuming a position currently held by Fulgoni who will become chairman emeritus.