International Business

Minneapolis -- Best Buy today announced that retired director, EVP, chief operating and CFO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., Sharon McCollam, will join the company as its new chief administrative and CFO, effective Dec. 10, according to a Reuters report. McCollam, 50, left Williams-Sonoma earlier this year after serving as an executive officer for more than 12 years.

McCollam succeeds CFO James Muehlbauer, whose departure was announced last month. Muehlbauer will leave the company at the end of this fiscal year, allowing for a smooth transition.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Café has signed a franchise agreement to open its first restaurants in New York’s Nassau County beginning in 2013. Earlier this year, Corner Bakery Cafe announced similar expansion plans in the Northeast, including Northern New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
 
Four M Bakery, LLC, a group of veteran restaurant operators, which also owns 12 Buffalo Wild Wings through Four M Capital, LLC, has plans to open seven Corner Bakery Cafes in Nassau County.
 

New York -- Marimekko will open a flagship in the heart of Beverly Hills, Calif., on Nov. 15. The 5,000 -sq.-ft. store will feature the entire range of Marimekko products, from signature fashions to home furnishings and textiles, as well as a showroom to support further business development of the brand in the area.

The Finnish textile and clothing design company, renowned for its original prints and colors, opened a store in Palo in the Stanford Shopping Center, on Oct. 25.

Specialty retailer Five Below doubled in size the past three years and now the company has secured a new distribution center to help it replicate that accomplishment going forward.

The new 600,000-sq.-ft. facility in the northern Mississippi community of Olive Branch will become operational in 2013 and will complement the company’s existing distribution facility in Newark, De. Five Below is focused on teen and pre-teen customers and derives its name from a merchandise mix price at $5 or less.

New York -- PTC announced that Brooks Brothers Group Inc. has chosen PTC Windchill FlexPLM software, PTC's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution for retail, to improve product design and development effectiveness, reduce costs and better capture market opportunities.

NEW YORK — Luxury shoe retailer Stuart Weitzman has promoted Susan Duffy to chief marketing officer. Duffy, who joined the company in April 2011 as SVP global marketing and communications, will continue to lead marketing, advertising, public relations and social media to ensure the branding message is consistent across all worldwide communications platforms as the company expands into new markets.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro has been named as one of America’s most community-minded companies. Hasbro was selected in the top 10 by "The Civic 50," the first comprehensive ranking of S&P 500 corporations that best use their time, talent, and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business. This list also includes companies such as IBM, Citi and AT&T.

New York -- Stuart Weitzman said Thursday that it has promoted Susan Duffy from senior VP global marketing to the position of chief marketing officer, as part of the luxury retailer’s plan for new market expansion.

As CMO, Duffy is charged with leading marketing, advertising, public relations and social media to ensure the branding message is consistent across all worldwide communications platforms.