International Business

Emeryville, Calif. – Jamba Inc., parent company of the Jamba Juice chain, is launching a new franchise recruiting campaign focused on single-store development in existing and new domestic markets. Jamba is looking to add 500 new domestic stores in the next five years and double year-over-year store development via the new recruiting program.

Scottsdale, Ariz. - Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, has signed a 10-year master franchise agreement with Om Nom Nom Mauritius Ltd. (ONN Ltd.) in Kenya. There are seven stores slated to open during a five-year period and the first location will be in the capital city of Nairobi, scheduled to open in late September.

ONN Ltd. will offer luxury products as well as ice cream to Kenyan consumers.

Online home furnishings company Wayfair has added e-commerce expert Romero Rodrigues to its board of directors.

Rodrigues, a 36-year-old Brazil native, is currently global CEO at South African company Naspers, which acquired his company Buscape in 2009 for $374 million.

London - Almost half (48%) of U.K. online shoppers have made an online purchase with a retailer based outside the U.K. According to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from EDigitalResearch and IMRG, 60% of the respondents who have shopped cross-border said that they choose to purchase with a retailer outside of the U.K. because of better prices, while another 60% said that they made the purchase because they couldn't get the product they wanted in the U.K.

Beijing -- Secoo.com, a Chinese luxury and high-end fashion e-commerce company, recently completed a new round of financing that has raised around $100 million. The event represents the largest amount of financing raised in one round across the Chinese luxury and high-end fashion e-commerce sector to date.

Secaucus, N.J. - The Children's Place Inc. has announced that Lou Lipschitz, a member of its board of directors and chair of the Audit Committee, has passed away. Lipschitz served on the board of directors since 2008, and was the chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance committees.

Prior to joining the Children’s Place board, Lipschitz served as the executive VP and CFO of Toys “R” Us Inc. from 1996 until his retirement in 2004.

The Children's Place has announced that Lou Lipschitz, a member of its board of directors and chair of the audit committee, has died.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, colleague and trusted advisor Lou Lipschitz. Lou's financial leadership, and passion for our business, enriched our company and our board, and we will dearly miss his dedication, grace and wonderful sense of humor," Norman Matthews, The Children's Place chairman of the board, said.

New York - June 2014 showed levels of imports to the U.S. 6% higher than imports in June 2013. According to new data from Panjiva, the numbers of shipments coming into the U.S. also changed .03% from May 2014 to June 2014.

Although Panjiva analysis indicates imports are strong and the U.S. economy generally looks optimistic, a possible port workers strike brewing in California could disrupt 40% of the waterborne goods coming into the country. Situations in the Middle East and Ukraine may cause supply chain disruptions as well.