Strategy

By Tracy Knippenburg Gillis, [email protected]

The Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh on April 24 that killed roughly 1,000 garment workers exposed a serious risk to the safety of workers in low-wage countries and to the reputations and bottom lines of retailers dependent on outsourced global supply chains.  

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — JoS. A. Bank has appointed Byron "Bud" Bergren to the company’s board of directors. Bergren will also serve on the audit committee.

Bergren was formerly chairman of the board at Bon-Ton Stores from February 2012 to June 2013. From 2002 to 2011, he served as president and CEO of Bon-Ton, where he led the company's acquisition of Saks Northern Department Store Group. Bergren received a B.S. degree from St. Cloud State University. He served on the board of directors of the National Retail Federation from 2008 to 2012.

Palo Alto, Calif. — A subsidiary of General Growth Properties has partnered with Deliv, a company that provides national multichannel retailers with low-cost same-day delivery through crowd-sourced drivers. The initiative aims to meet evolving consumer demands for swifter delivery.

MIAMI — Perry Ellis has appointed Stanley Silverstein as president of international development and global licensing. In this role, Silverstein will be responsible for driving the company's footprint globally across its brand portfolio. 

Silverstein joins the company from PVH Corporation where he was responsible for driving Warnaco's international expansion during his 29-year tenure. He will report directly to George Feldenkreis, chairman and CEO, and Oscar Feldenkreis, president and COO of the company.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe continues to expand as it moves forward on its goal to more than double its U.S. footprint in the next three to four years. The company announced plans to expand in several areas, including Northeast Florida, Tampa, and San Diego.

Corner Bakery Cafe said it will open as many as ten new restaurants in Northeast Florida as part of a new multi-unit restaurant franchise agreement with Lee-Wesley Group. These will be the first Corner Bakery Cafes in the Northeast Florida area.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgian international food retailer Delhaize Group announced that Roland Smith, CEO of Delhaize America, and Pierre-Olivier Beckers, CEO of Delhaize Group, are leaving the company.

New York -- Drugstore operator Duane Reade in late August passed an important milestone: It surpassed 1 million Twitter followers. The drugstore chain, which is owned by Walgreens, is most-followed retailer on Twitter in the food, drug and mass arena.

Duane Reade has garnered five times more Twitter followers than its parent company Walgreens (180,390 followers), the second-most followed drug store retailer. CVS/pharmacy, No. 3, is followed by 117,931 Twitter followers.

Nashville, Tenn. - Harwood Feffer LLP is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Genesco Inc., concerning whether the board has breached its fiduciary duties to shareholders. On August 29, 2013, Genesco disclosed that it may be forced to restate certain financial statements due to potential violations of generally accepted accounting principles.