International Business

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has announced the passing of Mark R. Bernstein, a member of the company's board of directors, on April 27.

Melbourne, Australia – Vertical Australian luggage retailer Crumpler has selected Raymark's cloud-based store management software suite for deployment in its stores worldwide. The software initiative is aimed at supporting Crumpler's international growth, improving the omnichannel customer experience and modernizing IT operations.

New York -- The deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry, as reported by The New York Times, has led to finger-pointing and lawsuits aimed at a group of retailers.

The old expression, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” was taken to heart at Whole Foods where a recent fundraising campaign will provide loans to help people improve their lot in life.

Whole Food held concerts and craft fairs and thousands of small events that raised $4.6 million with the goal of alleviating global poverty. To achieve such a lofty mission, the retailer isn’t donating money to food banks to provide hand outs, but rather using the dollars to fund a microlending campaign.

New York – During World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur famously said, “I shall return.” Two board members of Aeropostale Inc. are taking the opposite approach.

Robert B. Chavez has advised Aeropostale that he will not seek re-election to its board of directors in 2015 due to his responsibilities and time commitments as president and CEO of Hermes of Paris Inc. Chavez will continue to serve until the 2015 annual meeting.

Seattle – Increases in expenses including fulfillment, marketing and technology helped swing Amazon.com to a net loss of $57 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from net income of $108 million the same quarter a year earlier. Amazon met Wall Street expectations with the loss.

Amazon fared better with net sales, which increased 15% to $22.72 billion from $19.74 billion. In North America, net sales grew 24% to $13.41 billion from $10.08 billion.

Seattle – Net earnings rose 16% to $494.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015 from $427 million a year earlier at Starbucks Corp. Cost of sales grew at a slower pace than extremely strong revenue growth, which helped boost profits.

Starbucks plans to open 1,650 net new stores globally during fiscal 2015. This includes 600 new stores in the Americas, half licensed; 200 new stores in Europe/Middle East/Africa, primarily licensed; and 850 new stores in China/Asia-Pacific, primarily licensed.

West Des Moines, Iowa - WineStyles Tasting Station, a boutique wine and craft beer retail chain, is launching expansion plans to grow its national footprint. The company currently has more than 20 locations across the country, and aims to grow the business to nearly 50 stores during the next several years through franchising.