Labor & Employment

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. on Thursday posted a net loss of $137.2 million in its second quarter, more than double the $52.2 million loss reported in the year-ago period.  It was the troubled retailer’s 10th straight quarterly loss. RadioShack warned in a regulatory filing it may seek bankruptcy protection, with a possible sale or third-party investment as other potential avenues to remedy its ongoing financial woes.

PepsiCo announced its "Purple On!" campaign against bullying. The initiative supports GLAAD's annual Spirit Day, which takes place on Oct. 16. Spirit Day inspires citizens to wear purple to show their stance against bullying, and also to show support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

North Bergen, N.J. - Tony Truesdale, who has served as CEO of Vitamin Shoppe Inc. since 2006, has announced his intent to retire on June 27, 2015 to spend more time with his family and his external board work. The board of directors of the Vitamin Shoppe will be commencing a search for a new CEO, which will include both internal and external candidates, who will then implement the next stages of the company's long-term growth plans.

North Plainfield, N.J. — David Reiner has joined retail real estate services firm Levin Management as VP of leasing. Most recently, Reiner served as director of real estate for Body Central Stores Inc.

During the past 25 years, he has also has held executive- and management-level retail leasing positions with property owners such as Urban Retail Properties, Colonial Properties Trust, and Simon Property Group.
 

Seattle — Starbucks Corp. is reportedly considering changing its policy that forbids visible tattoos on baristas. According to CNNMoney, more than 21,000 employees have signed an online petition asking Starbucks to allow baristas in its stores to display visible, non-offensive tattoos.

Nicholas Ahrens will join the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as VP of privacy and cyber security. Joining the association from the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ahrens will lead RILA’s privacy and data security agenda and serve as the lead advocate to the government on cyber security, privacy, data security and related issues.

Arlington, Va. - Nicholas Ahrens will join the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as VP of privacy and cyber security. Joining the association from the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Ahrens will lead RILA’s privacy and data security agenda and serve as the lead advocate to the government on cyber security, privacy, data security and related issues.

Phoenix — Vestar, a privately-held real estate company in the western U.S. that acquires and manages retail and entertainment destinations, has named Jenny Cushing as assistant VP of leasing. Cushing will be responsible for overseeing and growing the leasing efforts throughout Vestar’s California, Arizona & Nevada projects.