Corporate Governance

Fresh & Easy, the former Tesco-owned grocery format, is testing a dramatically new look at seven-plus stores in the Las Vegas market.

The stores have been remodeled with a more modern feel and layout and a greater emphasis on ready meal solutions, with such features as a “Fresh to Go” hot food bar, a pizza oven, a coffee bar and made-to-order sandwiches. There's also a revamped product selection with lower fixtures and a more abundant selection of fresh food. 

Meijer is responding to a need from food pantries for nutrition education resources by publishing a cookbook that features recipes using ingredients frequently found in food pantries.

The retailer has distributed English and Spanish versions of Simply Cook to its food bank and pantry partners across the Midwest. During the holiday season, food banks see a tremendous increase in demand of free meals per day.

Struggling retailer Francesca's has named specialty retailing veteran Michael W. Barnes as president and CEO.

Greg Brenneman, chairman of the board since 2010, was named lead director.

Barnes had been CEO at Signet since 2011 and led Signet’s $1.46 billion acquisition of Zale Corp. Before that, he spent more than 25 years at the fashion company Gossip Group Inc., becoming president and chief operating officer in 2007.

Genesco detailed succession plans for its CFO on a day that the company also reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fiscal third quarter and lowered its outlook for the full year.

As the acquisition of Family Dollar moves closer to resolution, would-be acquirers Dollar Tree and Dollar General maintain widely differing views on the superiority of their respective offers and the opinion of federal regulators.

A cruise industry executive is the newest member of the board of directors for Sears Holdings Corp.

"I am very pleased to welcome Kunal S. Kamlani to our board," said Sears Holdings Chairman and CEO Edward S. Lampert. "His broad-based financial services expertise coupled with leading a company with a strong focus on its customers make him a great fit for our board as we continue our transformation to a member-centric company that leverages Shop Your Way and Integrated Retail."

A former Walmart and Sears financial executive and a former Federal Reserve bank executive are the newest members of the board at gift card and financial services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings.

Blackhawk announced on Dec. 5 that Jane J. Thompson and Richard H. Bard were elected to its board of directors effective Oct. 6.