Marketing

Melville, N.Y. – EconsumerServices, an online mediator between unsatisfied customers and e-commerce retailers, has signed JoTo PR as its public relations agency. JoTo PR will assist EConsumerServices in reaching its mass market of online consumers and making industry opinion leaders and government officials aware of the issue of fraud-related chargebacks.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. has named retail veteran Mark Cosby as president, North America. Cosby, 55, most recently served as president of pharmacy at CVS Caremark. He will be a member of Office Depot’s executive committee and leadership team and report to Roland Smith, chairman and CEO of Office Depot.

Cosby joins Office Depot following a 30-year career at a number of leading retail chains. Prior to CVS, Cosby spent five years at Macy’s Inc., where he served in a number of executive roles, including president, stores.

New York - Michael J. Kowalski, CEO of Tiffany and Co., will retire from the company effective March 31, 2015. Kowalski, who has been with Tiffany for 30 years and a member of the company’s board of directors since 1995, will continue to serve on the board in the role of non-executive chairman.

Tiffany has named Frederic Cumenal, currently the company’s president, to succeed Kowalski as CEO effective April 1, 2015. Kowalski, 62, joined Tiffany in 1983, became CEO in 1999 and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 2003.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Stores opened 23 Ross Dress for Less stores and seven DD’s Discounts locations across 17 states in June and July. These new locations are part of the retailer's plans to add a total of approximately 75 Ross and 20 DD’s Discounts stores during 2014.

Ross believes that future growth opportunities include almost doubling its store count from its current 1,194 stores to 2,000 stores, and also growing DD’s Discounts from 144 stores to 500 stores.

Toronto - Loblaw Companies Ltd., owner of the Joe Fresh brand, has promoted Mario Grauso to president of Joe Fresh. He was previously COO of the brand.

In his new role, Grauso oversees business strategy, operations, marketing, international development, merchandising, sourcing and design functions at Joe Fresh.

Mahwah, N.J. - Dirk Montgomery, executive VP and CFO of Ascena Retail Group Inc. since January 2013, has accepted a position with a healthcare-related company based in Florida. Ascena has initiated a search process for a new CFO.

Montgomery has agreed to remain through the end of the summer. Randy Pearce, a member of Ascena’s board of directors, chair of the Audit Committee, and former CFO of Regis Corp. from 1998 to 2011, will increase his involvement in overseeing the company’s finance department during the transition.

Former CVS, Macys and Sears executive Mark Cosby has a new role at Office Depot where he will serve as president of the company’s North American business.

Ross Stores is in the process of opening 23 Ross Dress for Less and seven dd's Discounts stores across 17 different states. The new locations are part of the off-price retailer's plans to add a total of 75 Ross and 20 dd's Discounts stores during 2014.

"These latest openings reflect our ongoing expansion strategy to fill in our presence in existing markets while also increasing penetration in our newer Midwest region where we added another eight Ross locations in July,” said Jim Fassio, president and chief development officer.

Loblaw, owner of the Joe Fresh brand, has promoted Mario Grauso to president of Joe Fresh. He was previously chief operating officer of the brand.

Grauso will continue to report to Joe Mimran, president of Joseph Mimran & Associates and creative director of Joe Fresh. In his new role, Grauso oversees business strategy, operations, marketing, international development, merchandising, sourcing and design functions at Joe Fresh.

Tiffany’s long-standing CEO Michael J. Kowalski will retire from the company March 31, 2015. Kowalski, who has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 1995, will continue to serve as non-executive chairman.

The board has tapped Frederic Cumenal, currently the company’s president, as Kowalski’s successor; he will step up to the CEO role April 1, 2015.

Kowalski joined Tiffany in 1983, became CEO in 1999 and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 2003.