Corporate Governance

Build-A-Bear Workshop names American Eagle executive as COO
St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. has named Chris Hurt as COO. Hurt has more than 20 years of retail experience in senior leadership roles and most recently held the position of senior VP of North America at American Eagle Outfitters Inc.

Hurt will lead the Build-A-Bear Workshop retail and operations teams to drive sales and profits, while promoting ongoing growth for the business. He will oversee all business operations, including the corporate strategy and structure for stores. He will report to Sharon Price John, CEO.
Report: Target close to breach settlement with MasterCard
Minneapolis – Target Corp. is reportedly nearing a $20 million settlement with MasterCard to cover costs related to the retailer’s 2013 data breach. According to the Wall Street Journal, the settlement would pay for the cost of reissuing payment cards and some fraud that resulted from improper use of consumer data.

Sources indicate Target and MasterCard have been negotiating for months. TJX paid a similar sum to MasterCard to settle costs from a 2008 data breach.

Long John Silver’s names McDonald’s, Einstein Noah veteran as COO

Louisville, Ky. - Long John Silver's has named Brian Unger as COO. He joins the organization with more than 30 years of experience in the food service industry.

Unger's restaurant operations experience began as a manager trainee at McDonald's, where he moved on to promotions and international leadership positions in the Caribbean and Latin America. He achieved the positions of senior VP of McDonald's USA and VP of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada.
RILA supports data security bill

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is publicly supporting the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2015.

In advance of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s markup of the bill, RILA released a statement saying retail and grocery industries have long been in support of a federal data breach notification and data security law that sets a single national standard.
Smart & Final underwrites offering of 10 million shares

Commerce, Calif. - Smart & Final Stores Inc. is pricing an underwritten public offering of 10 million shares of its common stock at $18.50 per share. The shares are owned by certain stockholders of the company, including affiliates of Ares Management L.P.
Tommy Bahama doesn’t slack when it comes to loss prevention

Seattle - Specialty vertical apparel retailer Tommy Bahama promotes relaxation with its brand image, but is not taking it easy when it comes to loss prevention (LP). Tommy Bahama has selected March Networks' comprehensive retail solution to gain faster, more robust LP capabilities, improve recovery and apprehension rates with higher-quality video evidence, and better safeguard customers and employees at 130 stores worldwide.
JD.com challenges Alibaba, partners with EBay

Beijing, China – Chinese direct sales company JD.com Inc. is launching JD Worldwide, its new cross-border e-commerce platform that directly challenges Alibaba. JD Worldwide provides Chinese consumers with authentic imported products.

In a coup over Alibaba, JD.com is also launching of "Best of EBay Deals," a pilot program on the new platform in partnership with EBay. EBay’s channel on JD Worldwide will showcase a variety of merchandise from select EBay sellers in the U.S.
Coming Attractions: Six new stores in the works

New concepts are the lifeblood of retailing. Here are six new stores — three homegrown formats and three imports — that are currently in the works:
Everything Happens On The Floor In A Retail Space

It’s important to balance not only the flooring product selection but also color consistency across materials, employee and customer comfort, risk management, slip-and-fall issues, branding, sustainability and more. Meet Mark Bischoff with Tarkett, as he discusses what it means to marry design and safety in a space as well as how Tarkett manages national and international rollouts.
Walmart buying what Waltons are selling

Walmart’s share price will be under pressure in the coming years as a holding company created decades ago by the Walton family to control their ownership of the company prepares to unload as much as 6% of Walmart’s outstanding shares.
Babies are ‘biggest winner’ from Kmart effort

Kmart is taking its long-running affiliation with March of Dimes to a new level this year with the help of America’s fiercest fitness expert.
Former Macy’s and Target merchant joins Evine Live

Evine Live, the digital commerce company formerly known as ShopHQ, named Penny Burnett senior vice president and chief merchandising officer.

In her new role, Burnett will report to Mark Bozek, CEO of Evine live, a digital commerce company that offers customers multiple ways to shop and interact via television, online and on mobile devices in merchandise categories such as home, beauty, health and fitness, fashion and accessories, jewelry and watches and consumer electronics.