Corporate Governance

Ex-Walgreens CFO joining ConAgra board
A former chief financial officer of Walgreens is joining the board of directors at ConAgra Foods as the company deals with the interest of activist investors.
Four Trending Retailers to Watch
New York -- Blue Apron. Dollar Shave Club. Real Real. Honest Company. All start-ups, all relative newcomers to the retail scene, and all generating big buzz and sale increases — enough to place them among the top 20 fastest-growing e-retailers in a recent survey. What’s more, they are all pure players (at least for now).

Here’s a brief snapshot of these four up and comers:

Target’s New CIO: Five Questions

Target Corp.’s Bullseye blog has posted a Q&A with the company’s new chief information officer, Mike McNamara. The British native arrived at Target in February 2015, after 15 years with Tesco PLC.

Here is the Bullseye Q&A with McNamara:
CVS Health quitting Chamber of Commerce over tobacco stance

Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS Health is reportedly withdrawing its membership from the United States Chamber of Commerce over the chamber’s stance on smoking, according to The New York Times.
Sally Beauty goes high-fashion

Denton, Texas -- Sally Beauty Holdings is partnering with Lifetime show Project Runway as part of a broader initiative by the chain to update its brand.
NRF: Back-to-school demand boosts imports

Washington, D.C. – Kids may be unhappy about back-to-school season, but importers are surely thrilled.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 7.3% in July 2015 month from the same time last year as retailers stock up for the busy back-to-school season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
Spotlight on Men's Wearhouse CEO

The menswear market is hot. Men’s apparel sales in the United States rose 2% in 2014 to $61.3 billion, up from $60.8 billion in 2013.

And Men’s Wearhouse — one of North America’s largest menswear specialty retailers with 1,758 stores — has been taking note.
Dunkin’ Donuts expands in Virginia and West Virginia

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts is making a big expansion effort in the mid-Atlantic area.

The coffee chain has signed multi-unit store development agreements with seven franchise groups to develop 51 new restaurants in Virginia and West Virginia during the next several years.

The seven franchise groups and their development plans include:
Alibaba stays busy with e-commerce partnerships

Hangzhou, China – Nobody can accuse Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. of sitting back and resting on its past success.

The global e-commerce giant is constantly making investments and launching new businesses, and in the past 24 hours has made two new business moves of significant interest to its online retailing competitors.
Havertys Q2 sales grow

Atlanta – Home furnishings retailer Havertys is on a roll. Sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 7% to $187.7 million from $175.1 million a year earlier, and the company plans to open a new store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the third quarter.

Same-store sales for the quarter increased 4.8%. Total written sales increased 5% and written same-store sales increased 2.4%. Havertys also plans to complete two store renovations in the third quarter.
LVMH says A-OK to AT&T

Paris – Luxury retail group LVMH has re-appointed AT&T as its global supplier for advanced communications services. In a four-year, multi-million-dollar agreement, AT&T will connect more than 4,500 LVMH sites in more than 100 countries.
More retailers dump Trump

New York – Retailers are continuing to cut ties with real estate developer and Republican presidential primary candidate Donald Trump in the wake of his recent disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants.

Following in the footsteps of Macy’s, off-price retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have said they will no longer sell branded Trump apparel and accessories. And that’s not the end of it.