Corporate Governance

Chicago - Vera Bradley has implemented ShopperTrak's Perimeter Analytics solution at each of its new U.S. stores in 2014, with plans to roll out the service across all corporate stores in the coming year. Vera Bradley plans to use ShopperTrak Perimeter Analytics for a variety of purposes, including predicting its labor model, understanding peak times for stores and creating a reliable, global platform for consistent data reporting.

Cranbury, N.J. - Carid.com, an automotive parts and accessories retailer, has partnered with the could-based hosting company Rackspace. Carid.com uses an architecture consisting of dedicated database servers connected to multiple cloud Web servers, allowing the company to deliver relevant information, useful online tools and the latest technology, as well as offer users consistent performance with no delays.

Plano, Texas - Rent-A-Center Inc. has named Jana Kelly to VP of inventory management. Reporting to John Butler, senior VP, supply chain, Kelly will lead the forecasting, inventory planning, allocation and replenishment of all domestic store products.

Kelly brings more than 14 years of experience in inventory-management leadership, most recently at MetroPCS Communications, where she led the mobile device supply chain strategy.

Toano, Va. – Lumber Liquidators is promoting Ray Cotton to senior VP, chief compliance and sustainability officer. Cotton, previously VP, chief compliance and sustainability officer, will continue to manage Lumber Liquidators' quality assurance, sustainable sourcing, loss prevention, risk management and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements of global trade.

Beachwood, Ohio – During third quarter 2014, DDR Corp. closed on the acquisition of eight prime power centers and the sale of seven operating assets and two land parcels, totaling $699 million of executed transactions. Seven of the eight power centers that the company acquired were purchased for $377 million at DDR's share from a joint venture formed with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. in August 2013.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in North Florida on Oct. 11. The stores are located in the Lakeland Park Center in Lakeland and Forest Lakes Plaza in Oldsmar.  

These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year.

New York -- Swedish fast-fashion chain H&M was named “International Retailer of the Year” at the 8th annual World Retail Awards dinner in Paris. The awards were presented during the World Retail Congress, which is being held this week in Paris.

Fast Retailing, the Japanese parent company of Uniqlo and other brands, was named “Retailer of the Year.”

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea has begun significant demolition of a 30,145-sq.-ft. building adjacent to its Detroit-area store in Canton, Michigan. Razing of the vacant retail building will make room for the Swedish retailer’s planned expansion of its Canton location. The 311,000-sq.-ft. store, which opened June 2006, will grow nearly 44,000 sq. ft., with the project’s completion by summer 2015.

Coventry, England -- Cummins Allison, a leading provider of coin and currency handling solutions, announced that its customer, British grocery giant Tesco, has deployed self-service coin machines, enhancing customer service and solving a key space problem across multiple store locations in the U.K.

Carle Place, N.Y. -- 1-800-Flowers.com announced the closing of its acquisition of Harry & David Holdings, a specialty retailer and producer of branded premium gift-quality fruit, gourmet food products and other gifts.

“This combination will propel our total annual revenues to more than $1.1 billion and offers numerous opportunities to accelerate our top and bottom-line growth going forward,” said Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com.