Marketing

Westlake Ace Hardware has entered into a lease agreement and will be opening a new store in Overland Park, Kansas.   Lenexa, Kansas-based Westlake will take possession of the 15,500-sq.-ft. store on July 29. The store is the current location of Dobbels True Value Hardware. It will officially reopen as a Westlake Ace in fall 2016. Dobbels is currently having a going-out-of-business sale.    

Target Corp. is donating $250,000 to the OneOrlando Fund in honor of the retailer's two associates and other victims killed in the nightclub massacre that occurred early Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida.   Target lost two employees, Mercedes Flores and Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, in the mass shootings. Flores was a Target employee for eight years, and Ocasio-Capo for two years. A third Target employee remains in critical condition.   

Brookshire Grocery Co. is expanding with a new neighborhood format.    The Tyler, Texas-based supermarket operator will open 26 locations this summer under its new Spring Market banner. The stores will be on the sites of former Walmart Express stores that Brookshire is in the process of acquiring. (The acquisition is scheduled to close in July.) The locations range from southern Louisiana to west Texas.  

Wal-Mart Stores is undertaking a series of executive changes at its international divisions, starting with a new head for its struggling United Kingdom business, Asda.
 
Andy Clarke, president and CEO of Asda, will step down on July 11, after having worked at the British company for more than 20 years. Asda has been under heavy competitive pressure and has reported seven straight quarterly sales declines.

PGA Tour Superstore opened its 26th store to date — and first store in Minnesota — on June 11.   Located in Minnetonka, in a previous Sports Authority location, the 41,000-sq.-ft. store has 12 interactive simulators, practice hitting bays, a large putting green measuring more than 1,500 sq. ft. and an in-house club-making and repair facility to provide an interactive experience to golf enthusiasts of all levels.  

Quick-serve giant Subway restaurants has launched a new division, Subway Digital, to transform its customer experience.    Created in collaboration with Accenture, the new division has been charged with building a comprehensive omnichannel strategy and implementation support team to enhance engagement and build loyalty.   

L'Oreal USA appointed of Marc-Alexandre Risch to the newly created position of chief retail officer for L'Oreal USA.   The appointments comes as L’Oreal’s retail banners, which include Kiehl’s, are expanding. Risch will responsible for supporting the organization with retail operations leadership and knowledge, developing back-office retail operations solutions, systems and synergies across the company, and helping to establish seamless, omnichannel consumer experiences across L'Oreal USA's brand portfolio.

Quality Solutions, Colwich, Kansas, a leading provider of facilities maintenance and constructions services, has changed its name to QSI Facilities.    The company has also launched a new website and introduced a new approach for overcoming “value leakage” in outsourced facilities services.