Corporate Governance

Rite Aid's 'Innovation Challenge' yields unique DME product
Rite Aid on Monday selected the Tri-Tip Walking Cane, an ergonomic walking cane, as the winner of the first-ever Innovation Challenge and will develope and sell the Tri-Tip Walking Cane in Rite Aid stores and online.
Lumber Liquidators taps Lowe’s veteran as COO
Lumber Liquidators on Monday announced the appointment of Dennis Knowles as COO, effective March 1, 2016.

Knowles has served in store operations leadership roles at Lowe's Companies since 2001, most recently as chief store operations officer, and prior to that as senior VP of store operations support and specialty sales and its senior VP of store operations for Lowe's West and South Central Divisions, respectively.

Jet.com travels in new product direction

Online retail marketplace Jet.com is making a big move in the home goods market.

Jet.com is purchasing Omaha, Nebraska-based online home products retailer Hayneedle for an undisclosed sum. The sale was announced in tweets on the official Hayneedle Twitter account. In addition, Jet.com founder, chairman and CEO Marc Lore and Hayneedle president and CEO Jon Barker confirmed the acquisition in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald.
Lumber Liquidator woes continue in Q4

Things were worse than expected for Lumber Liquidators in the fourth quarter, which experienced decreased customer activity that was likely due to cancer-related concerns over its laminate flooring.

Net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015 were down 13.7% year-over-year to $234.8 million, including a comparable store net sales decline of 17.2% that was based on a 15.6% decrease in customer count and a 1.6% decrease in the average sale.
Ahold Delhaize petitions to add 'Royal' to its moniker post merger

Ahold on Monday announced that the King of the Netherlands has honored its request to use the predicate “Koninklijke” (“Royal”) after its intended merger with Delhaize Group.

Upon completion of the proposed merger, the statutory name of the combined company will be “Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.”
A Children’s Place's Ezra Dabah returns with online shopping service for young girls

Young girls are notoriously picky about what they wear, and a new online shopping service founded by the former chairman and CEO of A Children’s Place is looking to do something about it.
Target looks to Amazon for new logistics chief

Target Corp. is hiring Arthur Valdez, a 16-year veteran of Amazon.com, as executive VP, chief supply chain and logistics officer.

Valdez will lead Target’s supply chain transformation including planning, distribution and transportation. He will report to Target’s executive VP and COO John Mulligan.
Inland honored as one of InformationWeek’s Elite 100

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Real Estate Investment Corp. has been named a finalist of this year’s InformationWeek Elite 100, a list of the top business technology innovators in the U.S. Inland Investments has also been selected as a finalist for a Business Innovator award in the category of Cloud Services.
Another online brand gets serious about offline expansion

An online brand known for its retro-inspired Indie fashions has brought on new executives to help it move into physical retailing and build an international presence.
Whole Foods is rolling out a food truck

Whole Foods Market is launching a new format that aims to cater to the downtown business crowd, only this time there's no bricks-and-mortar involved. The grocery chain is launching a food truck in Austin, Texas, in March, according to the Austin Business Journal. The retailer plans to offer sandwiches and salads at first and likely expand the menu eventually. [Austin Business Journal]
A sparkly fourth quarter for Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers attracted large numbers of Christmas shoppers over the fourth quarter as the parent company of Zales, Kay and Jared posted a jump in same-store sales.

The world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry reported that for the period ended Jan. 30, same-store sales increased 4.9%. Diluted earnings per share grew over 20%. Adjusted EPS increased over 18% and ahead of the guided range.
Starbucks to finally open in ultimate coffee market

Photo: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at Milan’s Duomo Cathedral