International Business

Chicago -- Expect another busy year of retail mergers and acquisitions, according to an annual survey of retail CFO’s by BDO USA. In the most bullish forecast for deal flow in the survey’s nine-year history, 16% of surveyed retail CFOs cite M&A activity as the growth tactic they are most heavily focused on for 2015, up from just 3% in 2014. Seventy-three percent of the CFOs expect the activity will take place primarily in the United States, and 15% expect Asia to see the most activity.

When Lumber Liquidators executives talked about earnings in a conference call last week, they alluded to an upcoming "60 Minutes" investigation of the company's business practices. Turns out, the CBS report was a lot more damning than some analysts expected.

The company's shares tumbled drastically on Monday, with the stock price falling more than 24%.

New York -- The "60 Minutes" episode alluded to in last week's Lumber Liquidators earnings conference call was apparently more damning than some analysts expected.

As a result, the company's shares tumbled Monday morning, with pending news prompting a pause in trading that resumed again after the stock price fell more than 24%.

Costco has a new credit card partner for its stores, and it’s a brand name that shoppers may already be very familiar with.

The retailer has entered into a new co-brand credit card program agreement with Citi and an acceptance and co-brand incentive agreement with Visa.

Columbia Sportswear Co. is re-aligning its executive ranks in order to drive sustainable and profitable growth.

“Strong momentum behind each of our largest brands drove our global net sales to more than $2.1 billion in 2014 and is expected to fuel continued double-digit currency-neutral growth in 2015,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Boyle said. “The leadership changes that we are announcing today are intended to position us to secure the significant global growth potential that we believe exists within each of the brands in our portfolio.”

New York -- Thor Equities has expanded its international portfolio by acquiring a retail property at 777 Saint Catherine Street in Montreal. The historical building is located on the corner of McGill College Avenue and Saint Catherine Street, in the heart of Montreal’s prime shopping corridor.

Chicago – Charles Talbot, CFO of food service retailer Potbelly Corp., is leaving the company for a position outside the restaurant industry. Talbot will continue to serve as Potbelly's CFO while an external search is underway, until his departure on March 27.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Thursday, fueled by surging sales at Old Navy and strong online results. But it offered a disappointing profit outlook for 2015 as it feels the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar and West Coast port delays.