International Business

Kellogg Company's board of directors has elected president and CEO John A. Bryant as chairman, effective July 1. Current Chairman James M. Jenness will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Bryant has been a member of the company's board of directors since July 2010. He has been president and CEO since January 2011. Bryant joined Kellogg in 1998. Prior to becoming CEO, he held a variety of key senior leadership roles including CFO, president of Kellogg North America, president of Kellogg International and COO.

Restoration Hardware Holdings has appointed Dr. Leonard Schlesinger to its board of directors. He will also serve as the chairman of the board’s compensation committee.

Dr. Schlesinger has held executive leadership positions at various retail and consumer brands, including vice chairman and COO of Limited Brands from 1999 to 2007, and is an esteemed leader in academia having served for more than 20 years as a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and as the president of Babson College.

Whirlpool Corporation reaffirmed its full-year guidance following first quarter results.

Net sales in the quarter were $4.4 billion compared to $4.2 billion during the same prior-year period. Excluding the impact of foreign currency in addition to Brazilian (BEFIEX) tax credits, sales increased approximately 6%.

Pleasanton, Calif. – Safeway reported a net loss of $76.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to net earnings of $118.9 million in the same period a year earlier. The company is working toward closing its $9.4 billion merger with Albertson’s by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.

Franklin, Tenn. – China was the fastest-growing country in Asia during 2013 in terms of new POS terminal installed. According to a new report from IHL Group, “Asia/Pacific POS Terminal Study,” China had 12% year-over-year growth in year-over-year POS terminal installations.

The Asia/Pacific region as a whole experienced 6.5% POS terminal growth. Other findings include that uncertainty about foreign ownership of retailers slowed POS growth in India to 8% and that Vietnam was the newest hot market for new POS devices.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity Corp. reported that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 dipped to $3.2 million, compared to $5.9 million in the same period last year.

Revenue fell 6.5% to $126.1 million from $134.9 million, and same-store sales decreased 5.1%. CEO Ed Krell blamed the disappointing results on inclement weather.

Phoenix -- Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. said it will grand-open 20 retail locations throughout the U.S. on April 25; stores will open in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 45 new stores this year, between April and May of 2014.

The world’s largest social media network reported record first quarter results late Wednesday and CFO David Ebersman used the occasion to announce his departure.

With net revenues soaring 36% in the first quarter to $642 million from $472 million in the prior year's period, Under Armour is off to a strong start in 2014. In conjunction with its financial results, the company also opened its newest specialty retail location in SoHo, in New York.

As announced in February, The Coca-Cola Company’s board has today elected Kathy N. Waller as EVP and CFO. Waller is replacing Gary Fayard who is retiring after 20 years with the company.