International Business

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters said Wednesday it has named Kitty Yung to the position of EVP/president of Asia Pacific, charged with supporting the chain’s global geographic and channel growth “while aligning with our strategic plan of fortifying core assets, growing North America and transforming to a global omni-channel competitor …,” said Robert Hanson, CEO.

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Toy manufacturer, Tomy International has promoted Gregory Kilrea to president and CEO and Masayuki Nagatake to COO. The board of directors of Tomy Company, Ltd. has approved these appointments as Curtis Stoelting resigns from his positions as CEO and director of TOMY Company, Ltd. to pursue other business opportunities. 

Kilrea has been with the company since 2004, having served most recently as president of Tomy International, and prior to that as the company's EVP and COO.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Kitchenware manufacturer, Rena Ware International, has announced that Benjamin J. Zylstra will succeed his father, Russell J. Zylstra , as CEO of the company.  Russ Zylstra will remain as chairman of the board of Rena Ware and will continue to be involved in defining the direction and vision of the company. 

ABILENE, Kan. — Alco Stores announced that the company will move its corporate headquarters from Abilene, Kansas, to Coppell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

In making the announcement, CEO Rich Wilson said, "Today's challenging business climate and highly competitive retail landscape require that we locate our headquarters in a metropolitan center. The Dallas location provides easy access to many of our stores, other major retailers and transportation for our employees and business partners."

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation issued a statement on Tuesday in support of the International Longshoreman’s Association’s approval of a new long-term master labor contract covering port terminal operations along the East and Gulf Coast ports.

Wallingford, Conn. -- Edible Arrangements has set its sights on the Pacific Northwest for an aggressive expansion campaign designed to open as many as 30 new locations in the near future.
 
Edible Arrangements already has 10 locations in Oregon and Washington and sees significant opportunity for growth, which will be accomplished through franchising. Most of the growth will be focused in the Seattle, Tacoma and Portland areas and the company is currently seeking franchisees with the resources to open multiple locations.
 

NAPERVILLE, Ill. & BOCA RATON, Fla. — OfficeMax and Office Depot have announced the committee members tasked with overseeing the process to select a CEO for the combined company and selection of the executives who will help to manage the integration planning process. 

BOSTON — Roam, a leading mobile commerce platform provider, has appointed Scott Goldthwaite as SVP operations. In this role, Scott will assure that the firm’s operations and business processes are aligned with the rapidly evolving needs of its customers as they deploy mobile point of sale solutions. This includes the management of Roam’s Help Desk, IT, data center operations, payment gateway and quality assurance functions.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has announced a $1.6 million donation to the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a U.S. based NGO, to establish the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Academy in Bangladesh. Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is also a partner in providing support for the new Academy.

Seattle -- Nordstrom said Monday it will open a new namesake department store in Toronto in fall 2016, making its foray into the country a two-store debut.

The three-story, 188,000-sq.-ft. store planned for Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre will join a previously announced, smaller store in the city's Sherway Gardens mall.