Trading Partners

Dollar General has announced that Raj Agrawal and Adrian Jones have resigned their spots in the company’s board of directors, effective Dec. 5. Agrawal, a member of KKR & Co., and Jones, a managing director at Goldman, Sachs & Co., have served as directors of Dollar General since 2007.

Boston -- Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors announced that Robert E. Grosskopf and Richard P. Edwards have been appointed co-presidents of the retail division. They will jointly assume responsibility for the division's growth strategy while overseeing all client engagements and daily operations.

Dallas -- Corner Bakery Cafe announced the company has signed two new multi-unit franchise agreements to open new restaurants in Arizona and introduce its first restaurants in Wisconsin beginning in 2014.

The fast-casual brand's new franchise partners include Blue Mountain Cafes, which plans to open 13 restaurants in Phoenix over the next seven years and Neo Fourno Inc., which plans to open ten new restaurants in Madison and Milwaukee over the next five years

Ace Hardware reported somewhat mixed results for its third quarter with 8.9% growth in revenues compared to 2012, and profits that were essentially flat compared to the prior year quarter.

The hardware cooperative netted $1 billion in revenues for the quarter, an increase of $84.4 million over the same quarter in 2012.

Meanwhile, net income came in at $34.4 million, little changed since 2012's figure of $34.3 million.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corporation announced the resignations of Raj Agrawal and Adrian Jones as members of its board of directors effective Dec. 5. Agrawal, a member of KKR & Co. (LP), and Jones, a managing director at Goldman, Sachs & Co., have served as directors of Dollar General since 2007.

New York -- Starbucks Coffee Company said it would pay Kraft Foods $2.79 billion to settle a dispute over the coffee-shop chain’s bagged-coffee business.

The payment, ordered by an arbitrator, consists of $2.23 billion in damages and $557 million in interest and attorneys’ fees. The company said it has adequate liquidity, both in the form of cash on hand and borrowing capacity, to fund the payment and will book it as a charge to its fiscal 2013 operating expenses.

New York -- The Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers saga continues with reports that Men’s Wearhouse will review a previously rejected merger with Jos. A. Bank Clothiers.

Eminence Capital LLC, Men's Wearhouse largest single shareholder, said the retailer is still exploring its strategic options, including a possible merger with Jos. A. Bank, the Associated Press reported. The New York-based hedge fund has urged the retailer to quickly engage with Jos. A. Bank over the merger offer that Men's Wearhouse turned down in October.

New York -- Version 3.0 of the PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) has been published and will become effective on January 1, 2014.

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global forum for the development of payment card security standards, published version 3.0 to its website, but version 2.0 will remain active until Dec. 31 to ensure adequate time for organization to make the transition.