Marketing

As a result of its definitive agreement to acquire CytoSport Holdings, maker of Muscle Milk products, Hormel Foods has promoted three of its executives to leadership roles with CytoSport, based in Benicia, California.

Tyson reached an agreement to acquire Hillshire Brands in deal valued at $8.55 billion that includes Tyson paying a $163 termination fee to Pinnacle Foods, a company Hillshire was in the process of acquiring.

Tyson said it will pay $63 a share for Hillshire in an all cash deal that makes the world’s largest protein producer an even more dominant player on the global food stage.

For the second consecutive year, PepsiCo has named Sunsweet Growers as Hot Fill Co-packer of the Year for exhibiting superior achievements in quality and overall effectiveness across PepsiCo's beverage supply chain.

This marks the fourth time Sunsweet is recognized as Co-Packer of the Year. The three previous awards were for the Yuba City, California, facility in 2007 and 2012 and the Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, facility in 2008.

Overstock.com is offering free Club O loyalty program memberships to active police officers, full-time firefighters, paramedics and certified emergency medical technicians.

Former Amazon operations executive Jeff Helms has joined crowdsourced same-day delivery start-up Deliv as head of delivery operations.

Helms spent three years at Amazon in operations management and productivity improvement roles. Prior to Amazon, he spent four years as a professor of military science at Arkansas State University. The West Point graduate also served in the military.

Less than a month after former Walmart.com CEO  Joel Anderson joined Five Below as president, the discount retailer’s EVP of merchandising Jeffrey Moore has resigned.

Five Below, which bills itself as the leading retailer of trend-right, high-quality, extreme-value merchandise for pre-teens, teens and beyond, spoke highly of Moore who is leaving to spend time with his family.

Seattle -- REI will set up shop in two new locations next spring. The national outdoor retailer will open in Princeton, New Jersey. REI is also extending its presence in the Atlanta area, with a 24,000-sq.-ft. store in Alpharetta, Georgia.

REI’s 23,000-sq.-ft. store in Princeton will be located at Mercer Mall.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and retail and distribution leader, about the expanding role of the CFO in retail organizations:

How has the role of the CFO in retail organizations changed?

Hamilton, Bermuda -- Signet Jewelers Ltd. on Tuesday announced that Theo Killion, CEO and president of its newly acquired Zale division, has resigned, effective July 31.

Killion had been tapped to lead Zale as a separate division within the company, Signet said when the deal closed in late May. George Murray, Signet's current chief integration management officer, has been promoted to president of the Zale division and will succeed Killion upon his departure.

Meriden, Conn. -- Vestis Retail Group, made up of the East Coast-based Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, has signed an agreement to acquire Los Angeles-based Sport Chalet.