Marketing

Hubert Joly, chairman and CEO of Best Buy, denied a report that has him taking the helm of a European retailing giant.    A report by Reuters, which cited Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico, said that Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, had identified Joly as a replacement for its current CEO, Georges Plassat, whose term ends in May 2018.     

Starbucks Corp. is upgrading its U.S. paid parental leave plan as it seeks to hire and retain workers in an increasingly competitive labor market.    Effective Oct. 1, eligible store associates who are birth mothers will be entitled to six weeks of paid leave at 100% up from 67% average pay previously, and 12 weeks of unpaid leave.   Store associates who are non-birth parents (including fathers, spouses and foster and adoptive parents) can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.    

Target has made a key addition to its executive team.    The discounter has promoted Rick Gomez to the position of executive VP and chief marketing officer, effective Jan. 29. Gomez, currently senior VP of brand and category marketing, has been with Target since 2013. He replaces Jeff Jones, who left Target last summer to become president of Uber.   

What better place is there for global exposure than the Olympic Games?   At least, that is what Alibaba is counting on now that it struck a deal to become a top sponsor of the Olympic Games through 2028. The sponsorship, which is worth $800 million, pits the brand among giants like Coca Cola Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., according to Bloomberg.  

Trion Properties, which is in the business of acquiring and turning around distressed properties, has sold its Valencia Town Center Plaza outside of Los Angeles for $9.8 million.   The 21,186-sq.-ft. Santa Clarita center was less than 50% leased when Trion acquired it for $6.8 million in 2013, according to Managing Partner Max Sharkansky, and now is near full occupancy. He said the center “presented an opportunity for us to increase net operating income through aggressive leasing and cosmetic upgrades.  

Though General Growth Properties has long been most commonly known as GGP in the retail industry, the big mall owner has now made it official.   Effective Jan. 27, the big mall owner with 126 properties in 40 states, officially changes its name to GGP. Founded in 1954 to develop grocery-anchored strip centers, GGP evolved into one of the largest providers of A-level mall space.  

Nine West Holdings has entered into an agreement to purchase a 30-years plus women’s apparel company.     Nine West said it has used the net proceeds from the December 2016 sale of its Easy Spirit wholesale business to purchase the Kasper Group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.        The Kasper Group's apparel is sold under its flagship Kasper and other well-known brand names.    

A Wireless, which operates more than 1,140 Verizon-branded stores in 46 states, has appointed 26-year retail veteran George Sherman as its new CEO.   Most recently, Sherman was president and also served as interim CEO for Advance Auto Parts. Prior to that, he was senior VP, global services and president, Best Buy Services for Best Buy from 2009 until 2013.  

Supervalu has appointed Anne Dament to senior VP of retail, merchandising and marketing, effective immediately.   Dament is a 25-year retail veteran who began her career at Supervalu. She most recently served as senior VP, president of merchandising for Target Corp., where she oversaw food merchandising for its grocery business, including perishables, non-perishables, food service and private-label brands.  

Macerich is offering retailers a promotional connection to smartphone shoppers at 22 of its properties.   Shoppers will be able to access the StepsAway app via mall Wi-Fi and search for products by category or individual retailer. Macerich tenants can create and deliver promotional offers through a cloud-based platform installed at the company’s headquarters.