Finance & Capital Management

Atlanta – A Home Depot customer has reportedly filed a lawsuit against The Home Depot Inc. alleging the retailer did not properly protect consumer data from the recent cyber attack that occurred. According to Reuters, Illinois resident Kelsey O’Brien filed the suit Sept. 9 in Chicago federal court.

New York -- Fitch Ratings downgraded the credit ratings of Sears Holding Corp. from “CCC” to “CC,” citing the “magnitude” of the retailer’s drop in profitability and lack of visibility to turn operations around as a significant concern.

Fitch also cited the company’s cash burn rate, calling it a “significant concern.”

Vancouver – E-commerce company Elastic Path Software Inc. has secured $5.88 million in equity investments led by BDC Venture Capital IT Fund, with participation from Yaletown Venture Partners and individual investors. The company will use the funds to support development for its patent-pending enterprise commerce products.

San Diego – For the month of August 2014, net sales at PriceSmart Inc. increased 7.3% to $206.7 million, from $192.6 million in August a year earlier. Same-store sales for the month increased 2.3%.

PriceSmart also announced the planned opening dates for the three warehouse clubs currently under construction in Colombia. The Bogota warehouse club is planned to open on Oct. 29; the Pereira warehouse club is planned to open on Nov. 13; and the Medellin warehouse club is planned to open on Nov. 26.

By Jon May, Nuspire Networks

The year 2013 was a wake-up call for retailers with regards to national data breaches, with frequency jumping 62% from 2012 to 2013. Eight chart-topping breaches exposed information totaling just over 10 million people last year, as opposed to one single breach of that size the year before.

Statistics show the fall-out from a breach extend far beyond financial repercussions, (plan for $11k per affected customer per breach). Here are the scary statistics:

Avon EVP and CFO Kimberly Ross, who joined the company in 2011, has resigned effective Oct. 2. VP and corporate controller Robert Loughran will be appointed acting CFO while the company finds a permanent replacement.

Houston – Shipley Do-Nuts has signed a development agreement with Adkins Development Corp. to accelerate expansion in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. The agreement requires Adkins to open a minimum of 60 stores during a 15-year period.

RetailMeNot, a leading marketplace for digital offers, has added Eric Korman to its board of directors.

Korman recently served as president of Ralph Lauren's digital and global e-commerce division, where he was responsible for the company's digital businesses, marketing and operations, across all markets. In addition to leading the digital division, Korman is credited with establishing and managing Ralph Lauren's customer intelligence and experience management group, a global enterprise function supporting all global business channels.