Finance & Capital Management

cloudBuy, a cloud e-commerce marketplace, has named Jonathan Holden as CEO for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, reporting into the company's board.

The company will look to Holden to help drive expansion and oversee global partnerships, including Visa.

Tri-Land Properties is demonstrating the power of value added retail real estate investing with its extensive renovation of Fridley Market at the intersection of University Avenue and I-694 in Fridley, Minn.

Tri-Land is a full-service, real estate development and redevelopment company focused on the successful acquisition, development, renovation and management of community centers ranging in size from 100,000 sq. ft. to 750,000 sq. ft.

New York -- Direct spending in New York and New Jersey by the National Football League (NFL), businesses, visitors, and media on area lodging, transportation, food and beverage, entertainment, business services, and other hospitality and tourism activities related to Super Bowl XLVIII is expected to total more than $210 million.

Los Angeles -- The Coffee Bean & Tea Left said that Bill Robards has joined the company as VP of store development. He will be responsible for delivering upon the brand's extensive growth and expansion plans in the United States.

Irvine, Calif. -- Merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales. That’s one of the findings contained in The Retail Equation’s 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry study, which analyzes results from the National Retail Federation’s annual survey on merchandise returns and the 2012 Canadian Retail Security Survey from The Retail Council of Canada National Retail Federation.

Revelations of job cuts at leading retailers, the latest involving Sam’s Club, are a reminder that pro-active expense control remains retailers' best friend when it comes to ensuring profitability when faced with a murky outlook for consumer spending.

Sam’s Club on Friday became the latest retailer to disclose plans to eliminate 2,300 hourly and middle management positions. The move was characterized as a rebalancing of resources, according to Sam’s Club spokesman Bill Durling. Other retailers such as Macy’s and Target also recently announced job cuts.

Irving, Texas – Michaels Stores has learned of possible fraudulent activity on some U.S. payment cards that had been used at Michaels, suggesting that the company may have experienced a data security attack.

In a statement posted to its website on Jan. 25, Michaels said it is working closely with federal law enforcement and is conducting an investigation with the help of third-party data security experts to establish the facts.

Dollar General chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling was elected chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to fill a position held the past two years by Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Dreiling’s appointment was announced at RILA’s semi-annual board of directors meeting held Sunday in Naples, Fla. Steinhafel will continue to serve as a member of organization’s executive committee.