Marketing

CVS Health has named Mary Langowski EVP for strategy, policy and market development, effective Oct. 14.

Langowski will join CVS Health from international law firm DLA Piper where she serves as the chair of the Health Care Policy and Regulatory Practice and the co-chair of the Food and Beverage Sector.

Starboard Value CEO and chief investment officer Jeffrey Smith has resigned from the Office Depot board, effective immediately. The company’s nominating and governance committee plans to start a search for a replacement.

This year, Nestlé Toll House is celebrating its Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsel’s 75th birthday.

Nestlé credits Ruth Wakefield Toll House with inventing chocolate chips. Wakefield ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts. She broke a bar of Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate into tiny pieces and added them to dough expecting to create a chocolate cookie. Instead, the semi-sweet pieces held their shape and softened to a creamy texture. Wakefield's "Toll House Crunch Cookie" recipe was published in a Boston newspaper.

GameStop has teamed up with Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS), a leading global data-driven marketing and loyalty programs provider, to deploy a GameStop-branded private label credit card program.

Chico’s FAS has enlisted Borderfree — a leading operator of an international technology and services platform — to help the omnichannel specialty retailer expand its e-commerce capabilities globally.

As a result of the partnership, the retailer will now be able to transact with shoppers in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide in more than 60 global currencies.

According to Lands’ End president and CEO Edgar Huber, the company is well positioned to continue executing against its strategic initiatives to drive long-term sales and earnings growth.

The retailer, which completed its separation from Sears on April 4, has achieved double digit year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth for more than four consecutive quarters as of the second quarter of fiscal 2014.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly planning to do away with its Wal-Mart Express banner. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, an internal corporate memo indicates that Wal-Mart will rebrand its 21 Express stores, which average about 12,000-sq.-ft., to its larger 45,000-sq.-ft. Neighborhood Market banner in the next few months.

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. on Tuesday reported second quarter net income of $10.3 million, down from $14.6 million in the year-earlier period. Earnings and sales both fell short of estimates. The retailer also lowered its earnings outlook for the year.

Net sales rose 9% to $97.3 million, driven largely by new openings. Total apparel sales increased 14%, accessories sales increased 14%, and gift sales increased 25%. The gains were offset by a 12% decrease in jewelry sales,

Same-store sales fell 7%.

Merrimack, N.H. – Brookstone has named Blue Wolf Communications as an agency for public relations, social media and event marketing.

The relationship launches with major initiatives for the 2014 holiday season, the announcement of high-profile spokespeople, the introduction of many new products, and high-impact events for fall and winter.

Canton, Mass. – Baskin-Robbins is expanding its footprint in Southern California with both existing and new franchisees from San Diego to Bakersfield, California. Existing Baskin-Robbins shops also are available throughout Southern California.