Strategy

Plymouth, Minn. – The Tile Shop is launching its third retail store in the Boston metropolitan area. The new 15,805-sq.-ft. store will be located in the Worcester suburb of Shrewsbury, Mass.

The new store will join The Tile Shop’s other Boston area stores in Natick and Avon, Mass.

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreens received a perfect score of 100% on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). This marks the ninth year Walgreens earned 100% on the CEI, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Campbell Soup Company begins 2014 with two new executives in key roles as it looks to drive sales in Asia and increase marketing effectiveness in the United States following a difficult first quarter.

Bob Varakian and and Stephen Spitz were appointed to new roles at leading kitchenware and tabletop manufacturer Lifetime Brands.

The company said Bob Varakian will serve as group president over its cutlery/cutting boards and cookware/bakeware divisions effective January 6. He will report to Lifetime chairman and CEO Jeffrey Siegel. The company also named Stephen Spitz to the role of president for the cutlery/cutting boards division and he will report to Varakian.

New York – At least four law firms are investigating the pending purchase of The Jones Group. The law office of Brodsky & Smith, LLC, Vincent Wong, Farugi and Farugi, LLP and Robbins Arroyo LLP are investigating potential claims against the board of directors of The Jones Group, Inc. relating to the proposed acquisition by Sycamore Partners.

For companies across all industries, 2013 brought a number of challenges that significantly impacted supply chains and presented even greater uncertainty around the state of the transportation industry. Shippers were forced to adapt to a slowly recovering economy and increased regulatory mandates, compounded by the continued pressure to cut costs and maintain — if not improve — service performance levels, all while effectively planning for the future.

Seattle — Next fall, REI will open a 23,000-sq.-ft. store at Sun Center in Columbus, Ohio. That store will join a previously announced 23,400-sq.-ft. REI slated to open in the spring at Easton Gateway. The retailer opened its first Ohio store in Cincinnati in 2012.

REI is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative with 5.1 million active members and 132 stores.

Consumer electronics retailer HH Gregg is looking for a new chief financial officer after Jeremy Aguilar resigned from the company to accept a similar role elsewhere.

Aguilar spent eight years with the Indianapolis-based operator of 228 stores. His resignation is effective as of January 31 at which time SVP of finance Andrew Giesler will assume CFO responsibilities on an interim basis.