Finance & Capital Management

NEW YORK — Coty has promoted Catherine Walsh to the newly created position of SVP of corporate communications. The company will look to Walsh to help strengthen its global brand-building efforts.

Yonkers, N.Y. – American consumers are reporting significantly fewer financial troubles than any time in the past three years, according to the Consumer Reports Index. The Index’s trouble tracker index, which measures the proportion of consumers that have faced difficulties as well as the number of negative financial events they have encountered, dropped from 41.7 in April to 34 in May. This is the lowest trouble tracker score since Consumer Reports began reporting it in April 2009 and more than 50% below its all-time high score of 68.7 in September 2009.

Tampa, Fla. -- RMC Property Group and The Ross Realty Group have merged. Effective June 3, Ross Realty’s investment sales and office leasing team has become RMC Ross Realty, and the Ross Realty property management team has become RMC Property Group.

The merged company oversees the management, leasing and sales of more than 8.4 million sq. ft. of commercial property and more than 900 tenants.

New York -- Fixtures Living, which specializes in high-end kitchen, bath, outdoor and lifestyle appliances, will open its first East Coast location at Lenox Marketplace in Atlanta. Additional stores are scheduled to open in Glendale, Calif., Chicago and Dallas

The emerging retailer, whose stores average 27,000 sq. ft., currently has three locations in California, in Costa Mesa, Rancho Mirage and San Diego.  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — CableOrganizer.com, an online retailer of electrical, telecom/datacom/networking, home theater, cable and wire management products, has been acquired by KT Capital Partners and CapitalSouth Partners Funds.

The company has appointed a new CEO, Gerald P. Quindlen, who previously served as president and CEO of Logitech. Company co-founders Valerie and Paul Holstein, former CEO and COO, respectively, will retain a minority ownership position in the new company.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The TJX Companies' shareholders elected Dawn Lepore to its board of directors at the company’s annual meeting. Lepore joins 10 ongoing directors who were re-elected at the meeting.

OfficeMax and Office Depot have tapped global talent management consultancy Korn/Ferry International to assist the CEO selection committee in finding a CEO for the combined company in the pending merger.

Dennis Carey, vice chairman of Korn/Ferry International, is leading the search. The CEO selection committee is co-chaired by Office Depot board member Nigel Travis, chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands and OfficeMax board member Jim Marino, former president and CEO of Alberto Culver Company.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar has named Brad Rogers as the company's SVP of real estate. Rogers replaces Keith Gehl, who announced his retirement from the company at the end of June. Rogers will report to chairman and CEO Howard R. Levine.