Marketing

WAYNE, N.J. — Gerald Storch, is vacating his role as CEO of Toys"R"Us after seven years of service. He will retain his title of chairman of the board and will continue as CEO until a successor is found.

Storch joined Toys'R'Us in February 2006 after spending more than 10 years at Target in roles of increasing seniority. At Target, Storch helped develop the Super Target concept and grow the company's grocery business. Prior to joining Target, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, specializing in retail and financial services.

New York — Findings released Tuesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that top-performing companies typically have demonstrated strong collaboration between the corner office and the CIO.

According to PwC’s Digital IQ survey, companies with strong, collaborative relationships between the CIO and other c-suite executives are four times as likely to be top-performing companies as those with fragmented relationships.

New York -- The Jones Group Inc. reported a loss of $80.3 million for the three months through Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $21.1 million a year earlier. The company said that marking down the value of some assets widened its loss.
 
Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 8.8% to $971.9 million, better than the $955.3 million Wall Street was expecting.

For the year, Jones Group lost $56.1 million, versus a profit of $50.7 million in 2011. Annual revenue rose to $3.8 billion from $3.79 billion.

CHICAGO — Former Sam's Club exec, Linda Hefner Filler, has joined Claire’s Stores, as North America president, effective March 1. She will report to Jim Fielding, CEO.

In her role as resident, Hefner Filler will be responsible for all operational and strategic initiatives for the Claire’s business in the approximately 1,500 Claire’s stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The board of directors of VF Corp., a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel and footwear, has elected Matthew Shattock as a director.

Shattock is the president and CEO of Beam Inc., one of the world’s leading premium spirits companies. He has led Beam since 2009, first as an operating unit of Fortune Brands and since October 2011 as a standalone public company. 

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe announced plans to open 16 restaurants in six counties in the greater New York City area as part of a recent multi-unit agreement with CBCWSNY. The group of restaurant operators plans to open its first restaurant in 2013 and the remaining sites over the next six years.

Corner Bakery Cafe opened 20 new cafes and signed another 125 cafes in 2012, raising the total to 147 open cafes and 288 cafes under development, as the company moves forward on its goal to double its U.S. footprint by the end of 2015.

Stamford, Conn. -- GE Capital Retail Bank, a consumer lending unit of General Electric Company (GE), has renewed its private label credit card program with J.C. Penney Co.

The JCP consumer card program provides credit to millions of consumers who shop at more than 1,100 J.C. Penney stores in communities across the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as online at JCP.com.

STAMFORD, Conn. -- GE Capital Retail Bank, a consumer lending unit of General Electric Company (GE), has renewed its private label credit card program with JCPenney.

The JCP consumer card program provides credit to millions of consumers who shop at more than 1,100 JCPenney stores in communities across the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as online at JCP.com.