Finance & Capital Management

Hudson’s Bay Company has named Paul V. Beesley as CFO, effective June 2014.

North Bergen, N.J. -- Vitamin Shoppe reported flat net income for the first quarter, at $20.5 million. Sales during the period grew 10.3% to $307.8 million, boosted by e-commerce strength, and same-store sales increased 3.6%.

“We are continuing to make investments in our omni-channel initiative to further enhance our customers overall experience," said Tony Truesdale, CEO.

The company opened nine stores in the quarter, including one in Canada. It said it plans to open 60 new stores in 2014.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM has introduced comprehensive new security software and services to help organizations protect their critical data in an environment where advanced persistent threats, zero day attacks, breaches, and the financial impact on an organization continue to rise.

According to two IBM-commission studies, the average cost of a data breach increased by 15%, reaching an average of $3.5 million. The majority of companies surveyed say targeted attacks are the greatest threat, costing them on average $9.4 million in brand equity alone.

New York — RKF has announced that it will lease the entire seventh floor of 521 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

With the expansion RKF will occupy 20,987 sq. ft., roughly 30% more space than the current lease. The expansion will enable the firm to increase its ranks by 25%.

McCain Foods has appointed Jeff DeLapp as president, North America, effective June 2. DeLapp takes over the role from Frank van Schaayk, who is retiring next October, and will be based in Lisle, Ill.

DeLapp has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the food industry. He was president of Lamb Weston from 2002 to 2010. Prior to joining Lamb Weston, he was president and COO at The Bruss Company (acquired by Tyson Foods).

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. announced that it will be the first in Oregon to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty trucks that run on Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The 40 trucks will replace 40 diesel trucks currently in use, and are expected to start making store deliveries in the Portland metropolitan area by the end of 2014.

The use of natural gas fuel not only reduces operating costs for vehicles, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions up to 23% in medium- to heavy-duty vehicles.

New York -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese Web behemoth, filed paperwork on Tuesday for what some experts claim could be one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history. The company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $1 billion, but many analysts say the company could bring in more than the $16 billion Facebook raised in 2012.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot will close at least 400 U.S. stores during the next two years as part of its plan to consolidate operations after its acquisition of OfficeMax last November. The closings were not unexpected since there are many locations where the two brands have stores in close proximity to one another. The retailer also raised its full-year adjusted operating income forecast after reporting better-than-expected first quarter results amid cost cutting efforts.