Labor & Employment

As the key cog in the wheel of a retail chain’s financial structure, today’s retail CFOs find themselves caught in the crosshairs of senior management and stakeholders demanding maximum profit and measurable growth amid increased consolidation and tightened revenues.

But that’s nothing new. Financial chiefs have always had to balance profit and loss with expansion strategies.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. reportedly experienced difficulties in areas including product mix and corporate creativity under ousted CEO Gregg Steinhafel. According to the Wall Street Journal, these difficulties preceded any problems relating to Target’s fall 2013 data breach or expansion into Canada and helped lead to Steinhafel’s essentially forced resignation.

Tewksbury, Mass. – Following the dismissal of former president and CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, the board of directors of Demoulas Super Markets Inc. has elected retail executives Felicia Thornton as COO and Jim Gooch as chief administrative officer, and the two will serve as co-CEOs. Both Thornton and Gooch had recently been serving as consultants to the company.

Kodak Alaris Holdings Limited has named Brian Larcombe, Patrick De Smedt and Steve Webster as non-executive directors of the board.

Since the company’s separation from Eastman Kodak Company in Sept. 2013 it has focused on furthering its growth by adding key executive team members. The company appointed James Soames, most recently with Motorola Mobility, chief marketing officer. It also appointed John O’Reilly general counsel and company secretary.

New York -- Dov Charney, the ousted chairman and CEO of American Apparel Inc., is fighting back against his dismissal.

Kevin Holt was named CEO of Delhaize America to oversee U.S. operations that account for 60% of Belgium-based retailer’s annual sales of $28 billion.

Brussels – Major multinational retailers such as Starbucks and Apple will have to start paying higher taxes in Europe, thanks to a move by the European Union (E.U.) to end certain tax breaks it has now defined as “state aid,” which is prohibited by E.U. bylaws. These breaks, which member nations including Ireland, Luxembourg, and Netherlands have used to allow some types of profit to be classified as tax-deductible debt, had come under fire from other E.U. nations and the U.S.

Latham, N.Y. -- After announcing the realignment of corporate management earlier this month, DWM Facilities Maintenance announced its newly developed Service Enhancement Plan (SEP) to better serve the needs of its existing clients and drive long-term growth. In this strategic shift, DWM will expand the Client Lead role and add multiple account manager positions.