Corporate Governance

Minneapolis – Target Corp. reportedly thinks having a range of organic products matters. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Target has selected 31 new brands to participate in the second year of its “Made to Matter” program, which promotes new sustainable, organic and natural goods.

Essen, Germany – Global discount supermarket retailer Aldi Inc. is thinking big when it comes to Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Aldi sees potential for as many as 450 stores in the Lone Star State.

This would be part of a larger expansion program, announced in November, that would grow Aldi’s total U.S. store count by 650 units to about 2,000 by 2018. Southern California is another major growth target for the chain.

Atlanta – Expense from a pension settlement and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs drove Havertys into the red for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported a net loss of $10.19 million, compared to net income of $9.68 million the same period a year earlier.

San Jose, Calif. – Almost all retail IT decision-makers feel vulnerable to insider data security threats. According to the 2015 Insider Threat Report from enterprise data security provider Vormetric, 93% of U.S. retail respondents reported they were "somewhat" or more vulnerable to insider threats.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit store development agreement with a new franchise group, Donut World, LLC, to develop two Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and one combination restaurant with its sister brand Baskin-Robbins, in Columbia and Jefferson City, Missouri. The group's first restaurant is planned to open in Columbia this summer and the remainder will open in 2017.

Norcross, Ga. - Waffle House Inc. is partnering with mobile app-based shipping platform to become the first official “Roadie Roadhouse.” Roadie connects people with items to send with drivers who are already heading in the right direction.

Waffle House will offer Roadie drivers free food and beverages at its more than 1,750 restaurants in 25 states, and provide a meeting location for drivers and senders. Roadies get a free waffle upon downloading the app and a free beverage when they're making a delivery.

New York -- Atlanta-based The Home Depot reported a strong fourth quarter performance, with sales up 8.3% to $19.2 billion, and fourth quarter net earnings up 36.1% to $1.38 billion.

Comp-store sales for the quarter were positive 7.9%, and positive 8.9% for U.S. stores. Home Depot CEO Craig Menear pointed to a number of factors responsible for the growth.

“We had a strong finish to the year, as strength across the store, the recovering U.S. housing market and solid execution aided our business in 2014,” he said.

Home Depot posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter performance, but warned that a strong dollar could hurt its results for the year.

The retailer posted an 8.3% increase in sales to $19.2 billion, and fourth quarter net earnings were up 36.1% to $1.38 billion. Same store sales for the quarter were positive 7.9%, and positive 8.9% for U.S. stores.

Office Depot posted a larger profit in the fourth quarter, but the retailer says currency pressures, market challenges and its tentative merger with Staples could negatively affect sales in 2015.

Office Depot reported a profit of 7 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of 5 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of four cents a share on revenue of $3.91 billion.

Dillard’s CEO credited an improved assortment and top-notch service with the company’s best sales performance of 2014 in the fourth quarter.

The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $130.5 million, up 9.5% from $119.1 million. Same-store sales rose 3% to $2.136 billion. Dillard's took in $2.18 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, up from $2.08 billion during the same period last year.