International Business

Cary, N.C. -- The board of directors of The Pantry Inc. has elected Thomas W. "Tad" Dickson, former chairman and CEO of Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc., to serve as chairman of the board of directors. He replaces Edwin J. Holman, who was chairman of the board since September 2009.

Barnes & Noble named Tulane University president Scott Cowen to its board a after a major shareholder disclosed it was dumping 90% of its stake in the company and relinquishing a seat on the board of directors.

Cowen serves as president of Tulane University in New Orleans and also holds the titles of Seymour S. Goodman Memorial Professor of Business in Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and Professor of Economics in the School of Liberal Arts.

Columbus, Ohio — DSW Inc., Designer Shoe Warehouse has announced the opening of a new store in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on April 10. As of April 10, DSW will operate 407 stores in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

DSW also operates an e-commerce site at DSW.com. In addition, the company supplies footwear to 357 leased locations in the United States under the Affiliated Business Group.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Kids 21, a children’s upscale apparel retailer operated by luxury fashion group Club21, will use IBM’s cloud, e-commerce and analytics software to deliver personalized experience while expanding its online presence across Asia-Pacific. When it launches in the third quarter, the new online site will increase Kids 21’s reach from four to more than 15 countries in the region.

Arysta LifeScience president and CEO Wayne Hewett will stand for election to The Home Depot’s board of directors when current director Bonnie Hill steps down.

Talk of nearshoring and a resurgent U.S. manufacturing sector weren’t enough to help the Stanley Furniture Company avoid shuttering a domestic manufacturing plant that employs 400 people.

Following steep losses last year, Stanley said it would close its 562,000-sq.-ft. facility in Robbinsville, NC., where ironically enough the company’s Young America line of Juvenile furniture was manufactured.

Seattle -- Starbucks on Wednesday released its 13th Global Responsibility Report, which highlights the company’s progress on long-term goals for community engagement, sustainability and ethical sourcing. The coffee giant also announced the launch of its fourth annual Global Month of Service, with Starbucks employees, customers and community members once again coming together to help contribute more than one million community service hours per year by 2015.

Robert M. Long, former president, CEO and chairman of Longs Drug Stores passed away March 27 due to complications, which occurred as a result of inclusion body myositis.  

Long was a well-known industry veteran having led Longs Drug Stores for more than 20 years. His retirement from the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based pharmacy retailer as CEO in 2000 marked the first time that a member of the founding family was not heading the company.