Corporate Governance

The Wendy’s Company is in the spotlight for dramatically reducing energy usage.    The company received two environmental awards from the 2016 Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) campaign. Wendy’s was recognized for the largest absolute number of facility upgrades and highest percentage energy savings in a retrofit of a parking lot.   

The retail industry saw an increase of 10,000 jobs in September over August, according to the National Retail Federation.   The gains came as the Labor Department announced that the U.S. economy overall gained 156,000 jobs.  

Target Corp. is partnering with a hip design magazine on its new home collection.   The retailer will launch Modern by Dwell Magazine at select stores and online beginning Dec. 27. The collection will include more than 120 items, including furniture, décor, tabletop and home accessories, with products separated into indoor and outdoor collections.       Prices will range from $49.99 to $399.99 for furniture and $16.99 to $99.99 for décor, tabletop and accessories.

The mainstreaming of Manhattan’s once seedy Alphabet City continues apace with the promised arrival of Target on 14th Street and Avenue A.   RKF announced it has concluded a deal for Target to lease 27,000 sq. ft. in one of two seven-story buildings being constructed by Extell Development Company at this location. The mass retailer will occupy 17,700 sq. ft. in the lower level and 9,649 sq. ft. on the ground floor.  

Chico's FAS announced that Diane Ellis has been appointed president of its Chico’s brand, effective November 1, 2016.      Ellis joins Chico's from The Limited, where she has served as CEO and president since 2013.       Prior to The Limited, Ellis spent six years as president and COO of Brooks Brothers, where she led the stores, ecommerce, IT, HR, sourcing, product development, finance, supply chain and planning functions in support of the global operations of the brand.

Target Corp. is planning to test an agricultural process that involves growing plants indoors in precisely programmed conditions.   The discounter plans to test vertical farms within select U.S. stores, according Business Insider. The idea grew out of the Food + Future CoLab, a collaboration between Target, Ideo and the MIT Media Lab.  

Starbucks Corp. has opened its 1,000th LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) location.    The store, in Ames, Iowa, uses LED lighting to decrease energy use by 30%. Water use was reduced by more than 50% due to low flow sinks and other equipment.    

Walmart has gone into high gear in its fight to challenge Amazon.   The chain is on track to double the number of warehouses dedicated to online sales to 10 by the end of 2016, according to a report on nbcnews.com.