Corporate Governance

With Chinese-made products suspected in the deaths of more than 1,000 dogs it’s no wonder Petco has removed Chinese-sourced food products from its 1,300 stores.

Petco announced it has completely removed all China-made dog and cat treats from shelves nationwide, including at Unleashed by Petco stores and online at Petco.com. Petco said the move makes Petco the first national pet specialty retailer to complete this transition.

Leonard Lieberman, former chairman and CEO of Supermarkets General, which owns Pathmark, died at his home in Hoboken, N.J., on Jan. 2, according to an obituary on NJ.com. He was 85.

According to the obituary, his wife, Arlene, said the cause of death was heart failure.

It didn't take long for former Walmart de Mexico executive Scot Rank to land a new job.

Mexican dairy company Grupo Lala has appointed Rank, the former chief executive officer of Walmart de Mexico, as its new chief executive to replace retiring top boss Arquimedes Celis, the company said.

Celis, who served as CEO for 14 years, will retire on June 30 but continue as a board member at the company, one of Latin America's largest dairy producers.

A 3.7% same store sales increase during the holidays has JCPenney feeling good about the continued growth of its business.

The retailer said same store sales during the nine week period from November through December increase 3.7%. That figure was on top of a 3.1% gain during the same period the prior year and was toward the high end of the company’s guidance range which envisioned comp growth of two percent to four percent.

Seattle -- Amazon is not a company to shy away from touting its success. On Monday, the online giant announced that third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace sold a “record-setting” more than two billion items worldwide in 2014, and that the number of its sellers adopting the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service grew more than 65% year-over-year worldwide.

Seattle -- Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Ambassador Town Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The 25,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2016. The more than 425,000-sq.-ft. Ambassador Town Center is a joint development of Stirling Properties and CBL & Associates Properties.

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced that Jennifer Safavian has joined the association as executive VP for government affairs, effective Jan. 5. As RILA’s top lobbyist, Safavian will oversee RILA’s federal and state advocacy, guiding an agenda that includes cyber security, e-Fairness, tax reform and other critical issues facing the retail industry.

Austin, Texas -- Epicor Software Corporation announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately held ShopVisible, a provider of cloud retail order management and digital commerce solutions.

Lafayette, La. -- Ambassador Town Center, a joint venture between Stirling Properties and CBL and Associates Properties, will launch construction this month in Lafayette, Louisiana, on a 58-acre site at the corner of Ambassador Caffery Parkway and Kaliste Saloom Road.

Chicago -- Commercial real estate services firm DTZ announced that Cassidy Turley and DTZ are now operating as a single global firm following the completion of the acquisition of Cassidy Turley by the private equity investment consortium backed by TPG Capital, PAG Asia Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.