Corporate Governance

If Yahoo’s data breach announcement yesterday is any indication, cyber-attacks are more prevalent than ever — and gaining momentum.  

CVS Health shoppers have to wait a few more days for curbside pickup.   On the eve of launching its new ‘CVS Curbside Pickup’ service, the chain postponed the launch date due to technical difficulties.    The drug chain was ready to kick-off its app-based curbside pickup service across is 4,000 locations nationwide on Thursday, Sept. 22. However, due to overuse during the company’s soft-launch, the app became sluggish and orders began piling up.   

Washington, D.C., is gaining a new grocery delivery service — one that is powered by rolling drones.   With municipal regulators approving the use of rolling delivery drones for urban deliveries, these bots will deliver groceries to mainly single- or double-occupant households, according to TechCrunch.com.  

A “Rally at the Rack” party is planned for Oct. 6 in downtown New Orleans for the opening of Nordstrom Rack’s store at The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk.   Nordstrom Rack will anchor the south side of the center, which owner Howard Hughes Corporation bills as the nation’s first downtown outlet location. Among the 75-or-so retail brands already doing business there are Guess Factory Store, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Neiman Marcus Last Call Studio, Reebok Outlet Store, and Wilson’s Leather.  

The Finish Line Inc. on Friday posted Q2 sales that topped analysts expectations and announced a quicker-than-planned transition for its executive chairman   The athletic goods retailer reported a profit of $22.1 million, or 53 cents a share, in line with expectations, down from $25.9 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier.     Consolidated net sales for the quarter, ended Aug. 31, rose a 5.4% to $509.4 million, better than expected. Same-store store sales increased 5.1%, also topping forecasts.

dd's Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, will open its first store in Colorado on Sept. 24.   The new 20,000 sq. ft. store is located at University Square Plaza in Greeley, Col. It is part of the company's 2016 expansion plan to add approximately 20 dd's locations nationally throughout the year.  With the opening, dd's will operate 193 locations in 15 states.  

Target Corp. is putting the kibosh on what probably sounded like a good idea, but turned into what some shoppers called a nightmare.   In a pilot program that started in August, the discounter rolled out mini-shopping carts for kids in approximately 70 stores. But some kids apparently went wild with the little red carts, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported, crashing them into other shoppers, dumping merchandise into them and bruising their ankles and shins. Complaints about the kiddie carts went viral.  

Springfield, Illinois-based Jared Commercial has acquired the Chippewa Center in St. Louis from an investment partnership controlled by Pace Properties. The purchase price was $10.6 million.   The 147,920-sq.-ft. center is located in the densely populated Shrewsbury neighborhood of St. Louis. Chief tenants are Shop ‘n Save, Value City Furniture, and Dollar Tree.   The deal was brokered for Jared Commercial by Mid-America Real Estate.

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As the battle between Walmart Canada and Visa over interchange rates rages on, Walmart Stores is making more strategic moves with Chase.    Walmart will now process credit and debit payments on ChaseNet, the bank's closed-loop network, across its 5,000-plus Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S., and on the Sam’s Club e-commerce site. Chase already processes payments for Walmart’s e-commerce channel.  

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. reported second quarter earnings below expectations amid lower sales. But it reaffirmed its profit forecast for the year.   The chain earned $167.3 million, or $1.11 a share, in the quarter, compared with $201.7 million, or $1.21 a share, in the year-ago period.   Sales inched down 0.2% $2.98 billion, down from $2.99 billion a year ago. Same-store sales fell 1.2%.