Corporate Governance

Deerfield, Ill. - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has named George Fairweather, formerly group finance director of Alliance Boots, as executive VP and global CFO, effective Feb. 20. Fairweather will succeed Timothy McLevish, who served as Walgreens CFO since August 2014, where he oversaw the merger with Alliance Boots to form Walgreens Boots Alliance and served as the initial global CFO of the combined companies.

New York – Investment fund Trian Fund Management LP has reportedly reduced its stake in Family Dollar Stores Inc. from 7% to a little more than 2%. According to the Wall Street Journal, the fund, headed by activist investor Nelson Peltz, had publicly supported the Family Dollar-Dollar Tree merger.

Triad has an executive on the Family Dollar board. The SEC has confirmed Family Dollar shareholder approval of the Dollar Tree merger.
 

Arlington, Va. - The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) will testify Tuesday, Jan. 27 at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade hearing, “What are the Elements of Sound Data Breach Legislation.” In his testimony, Brian Dodge, executive VP at RILA, will focus on retailers’ priority of supporting a strong preemptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

Boston - ShoeBuy, a global online retailer of shoes and clothing, is expanding into footwear manufacturing. The company has acquired a minority stake in Boston Boot Company.

Now, the complete Boston Boot Company product line is available at ShoeBuy.com, bringing the brand to millions of shoppers. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Stockholm, Sweden – Stockholm, Sweden-based EPiServer and Nashua, New Hampshire-based Ektron have merged to create a new global digital experience provider of scale. The combined company is backed by technology-focused private equity investment firm Accel-KKR.

The combined company, which will operate under the EPiServer name and continue to use the Ektron and EPiServer brands, has more than 8,800 customers in 30 countries backed by a network of more than 880 partners.

An extra week of sales and accelerating food inflation helped Delhaize Group, the owner of Food Lion stores, post profits that beat analyst estimates.

The company reported that fourth quarter U.S. revenues were $5.23 billion, a 12% increase from $4.67 billion the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales rose 3.6% in the U.S., but fell 6.9% in Belgium and 2.2% in Southeastern Europe.

Prepaid payment provider Blackhawk Network has created a new division dedicated to providing customized engagement, incentive and rebate programs for consumers, employees and sales channels.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) says retailers support a strong pre-emptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

In testimony this week before Congress, Brian Dodge, executive VP at RILA, will focus on retailers’ priority of supporting a strong preemptive federal data breach law that allows for reasonable and clear notice triggered by potential customer harm.

The National Retail Federation reiterated its support Jan. 27 for a federal data breach notification standard as a congressional panel held a hearing on this issue, saying legislation should provide consumers with notice whenever a data breach occurs. 

Less than a week after getting shareholder approval to sell itself to Dollar Tree Inc., Family Dollar said fewer discounts led to increased December sales.

For the month ended Jan. 3, Family Dollar said its sales increased 3.6% to $1.21 billion from a year earlier. Same-store sales increased 1.2%, compared with a 3% decline last December.