International Business

Eugene Fife is the newest member of the Office Depot board.

The office products retailer added Fife to the board after James Rubin stepped down. Rubin was required to give up his seat because of a stipulation in an investor rights agreement Office Depot struck with BC Partners in 2009 that gave the firm three board seats after it made a sizable investment. The agreement required BC Partners board members to be employed by the firm and because Rubin recently resigned from BC Partners he was no longer allowed to serve on the Office Depot board.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group said it has named Cal Frese as CEO of the company’s Americas business. In this role, Frese has responsibility for leading CBRE’s largest business segment, with more than $3 billion of annual revenue and more than 20,000 employees.

MALIBU, Calif. — Jakks Pacific has acquired Ohio-based Maui Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of spring and summer activity toys, outdoor sports related toys, impulse toys including the popular Wave Hoop and Sky Ball products under the Maui Toys brand.

Jakks Pacific has acquired all of the shares of stock of Maui, a 24-year-old, privately held company, and its Hong Kong based affiliate A.S. Design Limited. The business is comprised of proprietary non-licensed brands.

Whirlpool North America, a division of Whirlpool Corp., reported second-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, a 4% increase over its sales in the second quarter of 2011. Overall, North America unit shipments decreased approximately 2%, the company said, with its unit shipments of major appliances to the United States increasing approximately 1%.

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group reported that total revenue for the second quarter of 2012 was approximately $93.6 million, a 5% increase as compared with approximately $89.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.

And the winner is… Oracle selects technology executive at Chile’s top department store chain for ultimate honor.

The average American has never heard of the Falabella chain of department stores, but the company dominates its home market of Chile and is regarded as a leader in the use of technology. So much so that when Oracle held its annual Retail Excellence Awards recently, it named Falabella’s VP technology and development, Julius Odian, as its Retailer Executive of the Year.

PITTSBURGH — GNC Holdings on Friday elected company president and CEO Joseph Fortunato to serve as chairman. The board also has appointed Michael Hines to serve as lead independent director.

Fortunato succeeds Norman Axelrod, who has resigned as chairman. Axelrod had been a member of the GNC board since March 2007.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro reported that net revenues for the quarter were $811.5 million, a decrease of 11%, compared with $908.5 million in 2011. Second quarter 2012 net revenues declined 7% excluding a negative $34.4 million impact of foreign exchange.

Net earnings for the second quarter 2012 were $43.4 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, versus $58.1 million, or 42 cents per diluted share, in 2011.