Labor & Employment

Lubbock, Texas -- United Supermarkets has completed a transaction to acquire Llano Logistics. Llano has operated United’s two distribution centers – in Lubbock and Roanoke – since their opening.

The deal closed May 31 and means Llano, which had been owned by Exel, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL, is now owned by United.

It is the company’s third subsidiary operation in addition to its 52-store supermarket/ convenience store chain. United purchased R.C. Taylor Distributing in 2007 and added Praters Foods in 2009.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has promoted Marty Amschler to senior VP of franchise.

Amschler, who has been with RadioShack since 2009, will continue overseeing dealer franchise operations and also provide senior leadership to the company's commercial sales division and B2B sales team. He has close to 40 years of retail executive experience and previously held sales and franchise positions at companies including Kinney Shoe Corporation, The Athlete's Foot and NexCen Brands.

New York – Law firm Harwood Feffer LLP is launching an investigation into claims against the board of directors of rue21 Inc. regarding the proposed purchase of the company by Apax Partners. On May 23, rue21 announced a definitive agreement for Apax to buy it, with stockholders receiving $42 in cash per share.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. has appointed Sharon Price John, 49, as CEO, effective immediately. John, who previously served as president of Stride Rite Children’s Group, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, succeeds company founder Maxine Clark, who is retiring as CEO. Clark will remain on the board of directors.

Three Scotts Miracle-Gro board members resigned following the delivery of a unanimously supported reprimand of CEO Jim Hagedorn that stemmed from the use of inappropriate language. 

Hagedorn apologized in a statement.

"While I have a tendency to use colorful language, I recognize my comments in this case were inappropriate and I apologize," Hagedorn said. "I, along with the rest of our board members, consider the matter resolved and I have made a personal commitment to prevent a future recurrence."

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — QVC, a global leader in video and e-commerce retail, has appointed former Hershey’s executive Ted Jastrzebski as the company’s new CFO. Jastrzebski will oversee QVC's financial operations, and will report to president and CEO Mike George.

St. Louis -- Brown Shoe Co. said Monday that president and CEO Diane Sullivan has been named chairman of the board, effective Feb. 2, 2014.

Current chairman Ron Fromm will step down but remain a member of Brown’s board.

Sullivan joined Brown Shoe in 2004 as president.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, June 7, including an executive update by president and CEO Mike Duke.

As many as 14,000 global Walmart associates are also attending the event, most arriving in time for elaborate pre-meeting activities. "Our success is only possible because of the hard work and dedication of our 2.2 million associates around the world,” said Susan Chambers, executive VP global people, at Walmart.

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. plans to open a two-level shop in Moscow’s GUM department store, the city’s leading luxury shopping destination, located in Red Square. The 4,520-sq.-ft. space is the jeweler’s first wholly owned retail business in Russia, and is expected to open in the first quarter 2014.

ST. LOUIS — Brown Shoe Company’s president and CEO Diane Sullivan will have new shoes to fill as chairman of the board, effective Feb. 2, 2014, once Ron Fromm steps down as chair. Fromm will remain a member of the board.