Finance & Capital Management

Mars has named Debra A. Sandler as its chief health and wellbeing officer and elevated Tracey Massey to the role Sandler previously held as the acting president of Mars Chocolate, North America.

The creation of the chief health and wellbeing officer role is a reflection of the strategic priority that the company is placing on issues such as global food security, safety and quality, as well as on improving the nutritional value of its portfolio.

New York -- Ron Johnson, who has been keeping a low profile since he was ousted from J.C. Penney in April 2013, made a rare guest appearance at Stanford University. Johnson, a graduate of Stanford and a member of its board, was a guest speaker at the university's View From the Top series in May, where he discussed with Stanford Graduate School of Business students Penny, Apple and Target and the lessons learned over his career in retail.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners has promoted Laura Tinetti to senior VP in the San Francisco office.

Tinetti joined SRS in 2006 and, in the past eight years, has completed more than 150 retail transactions valued at approximately $300 million.

Mumbai, India – In a move that may have implications for Wal-Mart, French retailer Carrefour S.A. will reportedly shutter its five Indian wholesale stores by the end of September 2014. According to Reuters, Carrefour is in advanced talks to sell its Indian assets to an unspecified buyer.

Having passed the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the most viewed stories of the year to date on Chainstoreage.com.

With the official start of summer underway, one-third of small to medium-size business owners (SMBs) say they will not be able to take a vacation this year, according to the latest Small Business Index conducted by Office Depot.

Those who are able to get away this year can do so because they have reliable staff to cover for them while they are away from the office (35%) and have technology that keeps them connected no matter where they are (32%).

New York -- The American Apparel saga continues, with the beleaguered chain receiving a notice of default from its longtime lender, Lion Capital.
   
The default notice was based on the claim that founder Dov Charney ceased to be CEO of the company, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. (Lion had a stipulation in its loan agreement, which was signed last year, stating that if Charney left the company, it would be in default.)
  


Atlanta – Havertys sales for second quarter 2014 increased 2.4% to $175.1 million, compared with $171.1 million for the second quarter of 2013. On a same-store basis, sales for the quarter increased 3.2%.

Havertys closed its Plano, Texas, store in May. In the third quarter, the company will open a new store in Fort Worth, Texas, and relocate its Fayetteville, North Carolina, showroom.