Corporate Governance

A veteran Nordstrom executive has been named COO of DSW.    The footwear retailer appointed Michele Love as executive VP and COO, effective May 1, 2017. With responsibility for marketing and digital, she will oversee all aspects of customer engagement, driving messaging across all touchpoints.  

Duluth Trading Co. has hit a milestone of sorts.   The Belleville, Wisconsin-based clothing retailer has opened its 20th location, in Warwick, Rhode Island.    “Opening our 20th retail store in Warwick is a milestone for Duluth and it is also the fourth location in the eastern U.S. to serve our largest concentration of customers,” said Stephanie Pugliese, CEI Duluth Trading.   

Although Amazon's sales advanced by a respectable 23% over the quarter (do link to our story yesterday), the pace of growth at the online behemoth remains much slower than it was over most of the prior fiscal year. Some of this is the result of a less favorable exchange rate diluting contributions from the international business. However, some is also down to a more challenging demand environment in North America which has limited spending uplifts on products within Amazon's core territory.  

Samsung Pay is expanding its breadth.   Besides launching in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the digital wallet also kicked off an early access program in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The launches in UAE and Sweden are Samsung Pay’s first introduction in the Middle East and the Nordics respectively, Samsung said.   Samsung Pay users in Sweden and the UAE can also integrate loyalty and membership cards within their mobile wallets.  

After growing its store base through an acquisition last year, Weis Markets is investing $90 million in its growth in 2017.    The budget includes new stores and remodels of existing locations. It also calls for supply chain improvements and continued information technology upgrades.    

Albertsons’ Jewel-Osco division has a new executive at the helm.     The company has named Doug Cygan division president, effective immediately, overseeing 186 stores in Ill., Ind. and Iowa. Cygan was most recently Jewel-Osco’s VP marketing and merchandising. He joined the company in April 1980 as a part-time clerk, staying with the chain as he completed his education and worked his way up through the ranks.  He became VP marketing and merchandising in 2011.   

Target Corp. is extending its progress to renewable energy and making progress on its goal to have 500 buildings with rooftop solar panels by 2020.   

A Chicago-based fund manager has acquired BeachWalk on Highway 101 in Solana Beach, California, for $33.25 million.   "True coastal retail projects like BeachWalk seldom come to market,” said John Read of CBRE’s National Retail Partners West unit, which represented the seller, the Orange County-based Muller Company. Solana Beach is north of San Diego.