Strategy

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Borders Group executive VP and chief merchandising officer Michele Cloutier has resigned, Borders said in a late afternoon Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It is the latest in a string of high-level departures from the bookseller as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

On Thursday, the company received a deadline extension until mid-October to file a plan to restructure. An attorney for Borders said parts of the company could be sold in as quickly as two weeks.

New York City -- Office Depot has reached an agreement with Colorado’s attorney general to offer a refund to about 115 Colorado governmental agencies and nonprofits in connection with the sale of office supplies between January 2006 and March 2009, the Denver Business Journal reported.

The agreement calls for the chain to refund customers as much as $189,000.

Thinking of opening a store on Manhattan’s Fifth Ave? Be prepared to shell out some hefty rent. The average rent for space along Fifth Avenue’s prime stretch from 49th Street up to 59th Street hit $1,900 per square foot in the first quarter, according to the latest CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Global Retail MarketView. The second-highest U.S. retail market? Los Angeles, with rents of $520 per square foot.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores's board of directors has approved a new program authorizing the company to repurchase $15 billion of its shares, the company announced at its 41st annual meeting of shareholders Friday. This program replaces the previous $15 billion program, announced on June 4, 2010, that had approximately $2 billion of remaining authorization. Under the program, repurchased shares are constructively retired and returned to unissued status.

LEXINGTON, Mass. — The Stride Rite Children's Group announced it will donate a new pair of shoes to Kids in Distressed Situations for each ticket purchased during K.I.D.S. Day in New York, a celebratory event taking place on June 5.

Stride Rite also announced that its president, Sharon John, has been appointed to the K.I.D.S. board of directors as a member of its marketing committee.

Since 2006, Stride Rite has provided more than $3 million in new shoes to over 280 nonprofit agencies in the K.I.D.S. network. 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — After nearly four hours of music, cheering, celebrity appearances and brief presentations by senior executives, Wal-Mart Stores president and CEO Mike Duke wrapped up the company’s annual shareholders’ extravaganza Friday morning by sharing five priorities associated with serving what he called the next generation of customers.

Given all the talk of EDLP at Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting, it was understandable the company chose Maki Nakamura, chief merchandising officer at Walmart Japan, as the recipient of the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Walmart’s Seiyu stores in Japan have been implementing every day low prices for several years, and the company’s patience has finally paid off with improved business results in what has been a challenging market.

TORONTO — McCain Foods announced that it has named Dirk Van de Put as president and CEO and a director of the company, succeeding Dale Morrison, effective July 1.

Dirk  joined McCain Foods from Novartis where he was President of the $3-billion global Over-the-Counter Consumer Health business. Prior to joining Novartis, Dirk held executive positions with Group Danone and Mars Inc. 

ATLANTA — Customer service, glue traps and corporate democracy were among the issues on the table at a wide-ranging Home Depot annual shareholders meeting in Atlanta Thursday.

 Home Depot’s shareholders approved the company's recommendations for its board of directors and executive pay structure. And it defeated a shareholder proposal regarding shareholder control of corporate political gifts.

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