Corporate Governance

Fayetteville, N.C. -- GBT Realty Corporation announced that it has closed on The Shoppes of Fayetteville, a 15-acre site, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for $5 million. The 126,500-sq.-ft. center is in the midst of a $25 million redevelopment scheduled to be completed in summer 2016.

In a retail world focused on omnichannel strategies, product and service innovations, IT investments and technology-enabled stores of the future, winning retailers are taking a new look at their store labor models and budgets. Store associates represent one of the biggest contributors to the success or failure of brick-and-mortar stores. In many ways, they are a retailer’s most powerful asset.

Amazon.com is certainly known for its expertise in integrated fulfillment, and Sears Holdings Corp. is now tapping into that knowledge base.

Sears has appointed Girish Lakshman, who most recently served as VP of worldwide transportation strategy, technology and customer returns at Amazon, as president, fulfillment.

His new role will support the company's continued efforts to fulfill member and customers' needs and advance its integrated retail strategy.

A leading pizza chain is testing beacon technology – in stores in China.

Yum Brands subsidiary Pizza Hut is using devices from global beacon technology provider Sensoro at all 1,471 locations in mainland China through Sept. 23.

Costco Wholesale Corp. is getting down to business on processing payments from small-to-mid-sized business (SMB) customers.

The wholesale chain is extending an existing relationship with payment processing solutions provider Elavon aimed at improving service and security for SMB members.

The payment processing program for Costco’s SMB members includes POS, mobile and e-commerce solutions, all of which adhere to EMV and PCI compliance requirements. Costco members can obtain program services online and in-store.

Ross Dress for Less is expanding its store base in Colorado. The specialty apparel retailer will open a new store in Fort Collins, Colorado on Oct. 10.

The 25,000-sq.-ft. relocation is in the newly renovated Renaissance on the Front Range development (previously Foothills Mall). The opening is part of the retailer’s 2015 expansion program, totaling approximately 70 new locations during the year.

The workforce at Macy’s will swell by 50% in the coming month as the department store retailer looks to elevate service levels during the holiday season.

Macy’s said it plans to hire 85,000 workers, versus 86,000 last year, for temporary positions at its Macy's and Bloomingdale's stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers. The company had roughly 167,000 employees at the end of its fiscal year on Jan. 31, 2015.

A little over a year into his tenure as Target’s chairman and CEO, Brian Cornell has added new responsibilities as a member of the board of directors at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell parent company Yum! Brands.
 
Cornell’s appointment to the Yum board comes 13 months after he was named to the top job at Target and just three months after Target sold its pharmacy business to CVS Health for $1.9 billion. The latter is noteworthy because two executives with strong ties to CVS Health serve on Yum’s Nominating and Governance Committee.
 

Hudson's Bay Co. has appointed Dion Rooney to executive VP, HBC digital. Rooney will be responsible for leading the HBC digital business and delivering online experience across all banners.

Rooney brings more than 30 years of senior experience in the IT field. Prior to joining HBC, Rooney served as CIO of Toys “R” Us, where he was instrumental in building a global state-of-the-art omni-channel offering. He has been developing e-commerce strategies and building digital businesses for more than a decade.

The two biggest specialty pet retailers in the U.S. may merge. According to Reuters, Petco Holdings Inc. is considering a possible acquisition from chief rival PetSmart Inc.