Marketing

New York City -- Apparel giant VF Corp., whose brands include Wrangler, The North Face, and Nautica, said it has agreed to buy Timberland Co. for approximately $2 billion. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, values Timberland at $43 a share, a 43% premium to Friday's closing price of $29.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Laval, Quebec -- Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of Circle K Stores, has signed an agreement to acquire up to 322 sites, plus an additional 65 reseller contracts, in Southern California, from ExxonMobil Corp. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“These stores are high volume, high impact locations,” Tim Tourek, Couche-Tard’s VP of operations for the west coast division, said in a statement. “They would significantly strengthen our overall footprint in this important market.”

CINCINNATI — Kroger has named Reuben Shaffer chief diversity officer, effective immediately. Shaffer will report to Kroger's chairman and CEO, David Dillon.

Shaffer, 60, has been serving as the VP retail operations for the Cincinnati/Dayton division. He began his career with Kroger in 1988 and has held various leadership positions in the organization.

SAN FRANCISCO— Williams-Sonoma announced that it will offer international shipping for its Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma brands. The company already offers international shipping for its PBteen brand through a partnership with FiftyOne Global E-commerce.

New York City -- A Superior Court in Pennsylvania on Friday upheld a $187.6 million class action award against Wal-Mart Stores on allegations that its Pennsylvania employees were not properly compensated for off-the-clock work and missed rest breaks.

A panel said there was sufficient evidence at trial to conclude there had been a breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violations of state labor laws, the Associated Press reported.

Cary, N.C. -- Convenience-store operator The Pantry is selling 114 locations located in nine states throughout the Southeast. The properties are a combination of owned and leased locations. All are operating convenience stores with gasoline, except for one standalone store.

NRC Realty Capital Advisors, Chicago, is assisting The Pantry in the sale. As of May 9, The Pantry operated 1,659 stores in 13 states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner.

All board members were re-elected by an overwhelmingly large margin, however some shareholders expressed a dislike for Anne Mulcahy as she drew the largest number of negative votes by a wide margin.

Mulcahy is probably best known as CEO of Xerox from 2001 to 2009, and she also served as chairman of the company’s board from 2002 to 2010. She currently chairs the board of trustees of the Save The Children Foundation and serves as a director of The Washington Post Company and Johnson & Johnson. She is a past director of Citigroup.

GREENSBORO, N.C. and STRATHAM, N.H. — VF Corp., owner of the Wrangler, Lee, 7 For All Mankind, among other big name apparel brands, has added another apparel juggernaut to its ranks. The company announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with The Timberland Company. VF will pay Timberland shareholders $43 per share, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $2 billion net of cash acquired. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors.