Marketing

Beaverton, Ore. - John Donahoe, 54, president and CEO of EBay Inc., has been appointed to the board of directors of Nike Inc. Donahoe joined EBay in 2005 as president of EBay Marketplaces, and was appointed president and CEO in 2008.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, will open its first store in New Jersey, in the town of Ewing, on June 28.

Including this new location, dd’s Discounts will operate approximately 140 locations in 11 states. The company is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

Together, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Former AutoNation CFO Michael Short will become the new CFO at Toy’s “R” Us on June 23 to replace Clay Creasey who left the retailer after eight years.

Nike has promoted Reenie Benziger to VP of its global apparel business. Benziger moves from her current role as VP/GM of global young athletes.

“Reenie’s deep consumer knowledge and experience in the global apparel industry will continue to position Nike as an innovative brand with consumers,” said Jeanne Jackson, president of product and merchandising.

Carl Grebert, a 17-year Nike veteran, replaces Benziger as VP/GM of global young athletes. Grebert most recently served as VP/GM of Nike Japan.

Walmart continues to press on the mobile phone front with an exclusive deal with Virgin Mobile. As of Saturday, June 21, Virgin Mobile’s payLo will offer customers domestic unlimited voice or unlimited texting for $20 per month.

For budget-conscious consumers who don’t need a smartphone, payLo offers affordable devices and value-driven monthly plans. Customers who purchase a Kyocera Kona or Samsung Montage in participating Walmart stores or at Walmart.com can choose between two exclusive $20-per-month offers:

In 1975, when I started what would become Rexall Sundown, the world was a very different place. Gerald Ford was in the White House, there was no social media and the TV universe was limited to three networks and a few local channels.

The company behind leading sporting goods brands Bauer and Easton went public on January 19, offering sports enthusiasts and investors an opportunity to get in the game.

Performance Sports Group, trading under the symbol PSG on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, offered roughly seven million shares priced at $15.50 which generated gross proceeds of $110 million. In conjunction with the offer, the company changed its name to Performance Sports Group from Bauer Performance Sports.

Mark Phillips was elevated to the role of VP of pharmaceutical merchandising at Walmart after previously serving as the retailer’s senior director of merchandising for small formats.

Suburban Atlanta will be home to Keurig Green Mountain’s new manufacturing facility used to produce new cold products resulting from its new partnership with Coca-Cola.

Just two weeks after Family Dollar adopted a “poison pill” shareholder’s rights plan, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who recently disclosed he has a 9.4% stake in the discount retailer, has fired back.

In an open letter to Family Dollar chairman Howard Levine, Icahn demanded that the company be put up for sale immediately. Icahn also said in the letter that he wants three of his representatives added to the Family Dollar board immediately and will take his proposal for a sale directly to shareholders if management doesn’t support it.