International Business

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Clorox Co. on Tuesday announced that COO Lawrence Peiros, 57, will retire from the company effective April 1, 2013.

Peiros, who joined Clorox in 1980 as a summer intern, was appointed a member of the company's executive committee in 1999 and then to the COO role in 2007. He also oversees the marketing, sales, research & development and product supply functions as well as Clorox's Eco office.

Greensboro, N.C. -- RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers announced Tuesday they will acquire two outlet centers in the Montreal area.

The pair will co-purchase Les Factoreries St. Sauveur and Bromont Outlet Mall for about $94.7 million Canadian dollars.

RioCan will provide development and property management services and Tanger will provide leasing and marketing services.  The properties will be rebranded as Tanger Outlets.

Both transactions are slated to close in November 2012.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens said Tuesday it has formally set up a new company, jointly owned with Alliance Boots, as part of the strategic partnership’s synergy program.

The new company, called Walgreens Boots Alliance Development GmbH, is based in Bern, Switzerland.

Chicago -- Claire's Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it has opened its first stores in Venezuela and Panama; the Venezuelan store opened on Oct. 12 in Sambil Paraguna Mall in Punto Fijo and the Panama store opened Oct. 27 at Metro Mall.

Claire's has partnered with locally headquartered Grupo David Enterprises as the single franchisee across 16 countries in Latin America. Over time, Claire's said it expects these countries to present a minimum 100 stores market opportunity.

 

San Jose, Calif. -- eBay has eliminated approximately 325 jobs from its PayPal division. As a result, the company has announced a planned fourth quarter pretax restructuring charge of approximately $15 million related to staff reductions at the company's PayPal business unit. PayPal also is ending contracts with approximately 120 contractors globally.

London -- Barnes & Noble said Monday that its subsidiary Nook Media will partner with U.K.’s largest supermarket chain Asda to sell the Nook reader in 300 Asda stores across the U.K.

Barnes & Noble said it plans to expand the expected number of U.K. retail outlets to over 2,500 and include various online retail platforms as well. Terms of its deal with Asda weren’t disclosed.

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. said Monday it has named LuAnn Via president and CEO, effective Nov. 26.

Via, also named to the retailer’s board of directors, succeeds Joel Waller, who will remain in a consultative capacity through June 30, 2013.

Since July 2008, Via has served as president and CEO of Payless ShoeSource, a subsidiary of Collective Brands, which recently was acquired.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced the completion of its increased investment in Yihaodian, a fast-growing Chinese e-commerce company. The chain now holds an approximate 51% stake in the Yihaodian holding company.

"This investment demonstrates we are committed to the development of e-commerce in China and bringing the best possible shopping experience to Chinese customers," said Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's Global e-commerce division in a statement.