Finance & Capital Management

Miami Beach, Fla. -- Electric vehicle charging company Car Charging Group said Wednesday that former Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Bill Fields has been appointed to its board of directors.

Retail veteran Fields has also led Blockbuster Entertainment Group as its chairman and CEO and also served in the same capacity at Hudson’s Bay Co.

New York -- Foot Locker announced Wednesday that it has appointed Maxine Clarke, recently retired Build-A-Bear Workshop CEO, as a member of its board of directors.

Clark has also served as president of Payless ShoeSource, and spent 19 years as an executive with May Department Stores Co.

New York -- Foot Locker announced that its board of directors has approved a $220 million capital expenditure program for 2013. The amount marks a significant increase over the approximately $163 million spent on in 2012.

The company said it plans to invest in such growth initiatives as including new and innovative store formats; continued expansion in Europe; technology to improve its customers' experience; and robust capabilities for its digital segment.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. and BOCA RATON, Fla. — The office retail field narrowed Wednesday, as OfficeMax and Office Depot officially announced an agreement to merge into a single company. The combined company would have had pro forma combined revenue for the 12 months ended Dec. 29, 2012 of approximately $18 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, OfficeMax stockholders will receive 2.69 Office Depot common shares for each share of OfficeMax common stock.

New York -- As shares of his company reached an all-time high, fashion designer and retailer Michael Kors will sell 3 million of his shares as part of a secondary offering of 25 million shares, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing.

Kors' ownership in Michael Kors Holdings Inc. will fall to about 4.8 million shares, or 2.4%, down from 3.9% after the sale.

Georgetown, Texas -- Sport Clips Haircuts announced Wednesday that it will open its first store in Canada on March 1.

The Burlington, Ontario, franchised location is the first of three planned for the city by master franchisor Sport Clips Canada.
 
In addition to Burlington, Sport Clips Canada currently has 26 stores under contract to open throughout Ontario and British Columbia. Sport Clips Canada said it plans to open 50 stores within the next three years, 100 stores in five years and 200 stores in 10 years.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Café said Wednesday it plans to open 18 restaurants in the Boston area, joining under-development markets in neighboring Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The bakery-café concept is targeting its growth through franchising deals with restaurant pros capable of opening multiple units. Corner Bakery has set a goal of doubling its current U.S. footprint of 147 locations by the end of 2015.

Roswell, Ga. -- PGA Tour Superstore will open its second store on the West Coast, a 50,000-sq.ft, location in Irvine, Calif., later this year.

"We are excited to be expanding into Southern California, which encompasses one of the nation's most renowned golf areas in the country," said PGA Tour Superstore president and CEO Dick Sullivan.

With the addition of this store, the number of PGA Tour Superstores will increase nationwide to 17.