Corporate Governance

  Goleta, Calif. - Deckers Brands has appointed Nelson Chan, chairman of the board of directors of Redbox and Coinstar parent company Outerwall, to the company's board of directors. Maureen Conners will step down from the Deckers board at year-end to pursue other activities.  

Grand Rapids, Mich. - Meijer made the holidays very merry for 213 unsuspecting customers recently when those shoppers received a big surprise upon checkout – their entire shopping cart filled with gifts and groceries given to them as a holiday gift.

During the “Very Merry Meijer” event, one customer at each of the retailer's 213 stores across the Midwest was randomly selected on Dec. 13 to receive their purchases free.

Camp Hill, Penn. – Rite Aid Corp. beat Wall Street expectations with net income of $104.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, a 46% increase from $71.5 million the same period a year earlier. The improvement in net income resulted primarily from an increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and a lower last out, first in (LIFO) charge, partially offset by a higher loss on debt retirement.  

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, plans to add between 410 and 440 net new U.S. Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants five to 10 net new Baskin-Robbins U.S. restaurants in 2015. Globally, the company expects to open between 615 and 750 net new units in the coming year.  

Cary, N.C. – Canadian convenience store conglomerate Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which operates stores under the Circle K banner in the U.S., has agreed to purchase The Pantry Inc., operator of the Kangaroo Express convenience/fuel chain, for $1.7 billion. Purchase price includes $861 million in cash and about $840 million in assumed debt.  

Two men were arrested after they faked a heart attack in order to steal toys at a Walmart in Central Florida.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Tarus Scott and Genard Dupree teamed up to steal expensive toys, including a motorized Barbie car, a Barbie Glam vacation house and a Leap Frog tablet. But it's how they stole $369 worth of toys that makes this story a little different.

Rite Aid is raising its guidance for 2015 after a big jump in same store sales lifted the company in the third quarter.

The company reported third-quarter revenues of $6.7 billion, an increase of 5.3%, driven primarily by same-store sales. Same-store sales for the quarter ended Nov. 29 were up 5.4% overall, including a 1.6% lift in front-end same store sales and a 7.2% increase in pharmacy same store sales.

Meijer has made the holidays a lot merrier for 213 very special customers.

The retailer picked 213 customers at random to get a big surprise at checkout: their entire shopping cart filled with gifts and groceries was given to them as a holiday gift.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. says that CEO Tony Vernon plans to retire later this month, and the company has named Chairman John Cahill as his successor.

Vernon will retire on Dec. 27, the last day of the company's fiscal year. He will stay on as a senior adviser through March 31 and as a director until the company's next annual meeting in 2015.

Looking to capitalize on the crafting craze, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is partnering with the Craft Retail Group to launch TV programming dedicated specifically to crafting.

The “TV shopping experience” with daily featured shows is scheduled to launch Dec. 29.