Finance & Capital Management

Ankeny, Iowa — Casey’s General Stores reported that the board of directors elected Terry W. Handley to serve as president of the Company, effective immediately.  He  will continue to serve in his present role of COO.

Activist investor Carl Icahn on Friday reported a 9.4% stake in Family Dollar, making him the company’s largest shareholder and prompting concerns of a hostile takeover.
 
Family Dollar has responded by adopting a one-year shareholder rights plan with a 10% trigger that would prevent any investor from gaining a controlling interest of the company without board approval.
 

Atlanta — Shapewear wholesaler and retailer Spanx announced that Jan Singer has been named CEO of the company. She joins Spanx from Nike, where she held various senior leadership roles, including corporate VP of global apparel and corporate VP of global footwear.  

Singer, who will report to Spanx founder and owner Sara Blakely, is expected to come on board in early July.  Gregg Ribatt, interim CEO, will assist Singer through a transition, and then continue to serve on the company’s board of advisors.

Wal-Mart Stores chairman Rob Walton, 69, announced the appointment of Greg Penner, 44, as vice chairman at the company's shareholders' meeting Friday morning, a move that positions Penner, Walton 's son-in-law, as his successor.

New York — Coach Inc. will reportedly start offering 25% discounts on its luxury handbags at its stores in twice-a-year sales during June and December. According to Bloomberg, Coach will reduce prices on end-of-season and discount merchandise from 30-50%.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. — Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. had a difficult first quarter of fiscal 2014, reporting a substantial decline in net income as well as drops in net sales and same-store sales. Net income declined 75% to $3.7 million from $15 million.

Commerce, Calif. and Herzogenaurach, Germany — At the recent SAP Sapphire 2014 conference, 99 Cents Only Stores and Adidas AG both detailed how they are using different SAP solutions in different ways for the same ultimate goal – increased accessibility and transparency of data.

Oak Brook, Ill. — The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. has appointed Chong P. Huan chief information officer. He will direct all information technology initiatives for Inland and its member companies. In addition, Huan will serve as CEO of Inland Computer Services, Inland’s in-house IT and computer services department.