International Business

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Thursday named James Skinner, Walgreens board member since 2005 and recently retired McDonalds CEO, as the new nonexecutive chairman of the board of Walgreens. Skinner will succeed Al McNally, who has served on the Walgreens board since 1999 and as nonexecutive chairman since 2009. McNally will continue serving on the Walgreens board.

New York -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is further lowering its credit rating on J.C. Penney Co., attributing the move to a continuing weak performance.

J.C. Penney’s corporate credit rating has been lowered to "B+" from "BB-." The junk rating is four notches below investment grade. The move marks the second downgrade from S&P since mid-May.
 

If Hong Kong is part of your global expansion initiatives, be prepared to pay the freight.

The most recent retail rent report from CBRE Group labeled Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive retail destination, bettering New York City (No. 2) and Sydney, Australia (No. 3).

WAYNE, N.J. — FAO Schwarz, in honor of its 150th anniversary, has unveiled a walk-around gallery dedicated to Steiff, one of the most renowned European brands, whose signature products have been offered at FAO Schwarz for more than 100 years. "A Gallery of Classic Steiff Collectibles," is displayed prominently throughout the famed flagship location in New York City. The museum quality exhibit will run through early September and can be viewed online at FAO.com.

Paris -- French retail giant Carrefour reported Thursday that sales in the second quarter dipped 0.3% to $26.5 billion, beating analysts’ expectations and prompting the retailer to issue earnings guidance to match 2012 expectations of $2.5 to $2.6 billion.

Seattle -- Nordstrom and British fashion brand TopShop said Thursday they have formed a partnership to launch TopShop and TopMan in-store departments in 14 Nordstrom stores, as well as on Nordstrom.com beginning Sept. 10.   

The joint venture makes Nordstrom the only large U.S. retailer to sell a broad assortment of the British fashion brands' merchandise in-store and online.

TopShop and TopMan have flagship stores in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles (opening spring 2013).

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Heineken USA announced that it has brought Indio, a dark beer that has been sold in Mexico since 1893 to the United States. The beer is now available in 6-pack and 12-packs at locations throughout Chicago,Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens said Thursday that it has named retired McDonald’s CEO James Skinner as its new non-executive chairman of the board.

Skinner has served on the Walgreens board since 2005. He will succeed Al McNally, who has been non-executive chairman since 2009.

Walgreens said the change "is consistent with its board of directors succession and rotational planning process."