Trading Partners

Walmart Canada has begun following through with a June announcement it would gradually stop accepting Visa payments.   On June 11, the retailer issued a release stating it would stop accepting Visa payments across Canada, starting July 18 at stores in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Multiple media reports indicate that as of July 18, Walmart Canada is no longer taking payments via Visa-branded cards at three stores in Thunder Bay.  

Target Corp. has named Don Liu as executive VP, chief legal officer and general counsel, effective Aug. 22, 2016.   Liu will oversee all legal, corporate governance and government affairs matters for the company. He will report to chairman and CEO Brian Cornell and serve as a member of Target’s leadership team.  

As their merger enters the home stretch, Delhaize Group and Ahold have reached agreements with buyers to divest 86 U.S. stores.   The two international companies announced their intent to combine forces back in June 20115. The merger is set for completion at the end of July, pending final approval by the Federal Trade Commission.  

Bob Mariano, CEO of the Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. division of The Kroger Co., will retire effective Sept. 1, 2016.   After retiring, Mariano will serve as strategic adviser to Kroger and Roundy's for two years. Don Rosanova, president of Mariano's, and Michael Marx, president of Roundy's Supermarkets Wisconsin, will continue to serve in their current roles leading the two supermarket divisions.  

Nordstrom remains in expansion mode with its Nordstrom Rack division.   A 26,000-sq. ft. Nordstrom Rack is scheduled to open in spring 2017, at CityPlace, a 100-acre, master-planned development in Woodbury, Minn.   The property is owned and managed by Elion Partners, a Florida-based real estate investment firm.     

Today, when it comes to adding new members to your board of directors, creating a balance between industry experience and innovation is extraordinarily important. Filling board seats with industry veterans and compliance experts may feel comfortable in the short term, but to adapt to today’s savvy and demanding consumer, companies must be more forward thinking.

We’ve all witnessed the recent evolution of the C-suite — companies bringing in new, young talent, often from other industries, to modernize a brand, enhance the store experience or to leverage technology.

Wal-Mart Stores, which filed suit against Visa in May over debit card authorization, is getting taste of its own medicine.  

It’s the end of an era for Belk Inc.   The retailer announced that Tim Belk will retire as CEO of the company in July 2016. Lisa Harper, CEO of Hot Topic, will succeed Belk as CEO, effective July 5.     The news comes less than a year after Belk, which operates 293 stores in 16 Southern states, was acquired in a $3 billion deal by Sycamore Partners. The private equity firm also owns Hot Topic.        

Walmart Canada has appointed Lee Tappenden, COO, Walmart Canada to the position of president and CEO, Walmart Canada, effective Aug. 15.   Tappenden joined Walmart in 1996 and has held a number of global leadership roles with the company, including chief merchandising officer with Walmart Japan and VP of merchandising for the international division.  

Michael O’Hanlon, who has been an executive with Wayfair Inc. for a decade, is transitioning to a new role with the company.   O’Hanlon has been named VP of government and industry relations. Previously Wayfair’s VP of corporate and business development since September 2006, O’Hanlon will now spearhead government relations strategy and ongoing collaboration with legislators, policymakers, regulators and other industry leaders at the federal, state and local levels.