Corporate Governance

Arlington, Va. – With the deadline to resolve the union contract negotiations at West Coast closing in, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) on Friday said that undertaking essential measures to avoid work stoppage and preserve reliable channels for retail supply chains should be the top priority.

RILA issued the following statement, which it attributed to Kelly Kolb, VP government affairs:

New York -- Trader Joe’s continues its expansion in South Florida with fall openings planned for three stores in Palm Beach County, the Sun Sentinel reported.

The grocer will open locations in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton, all in September, the report said.

Los Angeles -- Drybar, the leading blowdry-only salon concept, has received a $20 million investment led by SPK Capital and existing investor, Castanea Partners.
 

Fort Myers, Fla. -- Chico's FAS announced that it has appointed Todd E. Vogensen as senior VP, CFO, replacing Pamela Knous, who has left the organization to pursue other interests.

Prior to his appointment as CFO, Vogensen had been the Chico’s senior VP finance. He has served Chico's in numerous roles over the past five years. Previously, Vogensen held multiple positions of increasing scope and responsibility with Michaels Stores.

St. Louis -- Schnuck Markets announced that Robert Hardester has been appointed the company's new CIO. Hardester succeeds Mark Zimmerman, who recently announced that he would be leaving the company.

Hardester most recently served as a VP corporate systems at Express Scripts, where he was responsible for application development. He previously held the position of CIO at Furniture Brands International and at General Electric.

Columbia, Md. - Micros Systems Inc. and global payments provider Elavon have integrated their respective gateway and security products to deliver encryption and tokenization for the food and beverage industry, facilitating a secure environment throughout the payment transaction cycle. Integration has been provided for the Micros Payment Gateway and Elavon's Fusebox gateway solution.

Benefits of the integration include streamlined PCI compliance, as well as consolidation of multiple interfaces and certifications for electronic payment processing.

Chicago -- Stego Industries, a provider of in below-slab moisture vapor protection, has launched an ambitious new company-level initiative to eliminate the carbon emissions of its business operations.

The initiative, Stego’s Carbon Footprint Project, took another step toward this goal at the American Association of Architects (AIA) National Convention in Chicago last week by purchasing carbon offsets for all of the company’s air travel in 2013 — some 115 metric tons — through the TerraPass Carbon Balanced Business Program.

Rite Aid’s store in Beverly Hills, California, has completed a major remodel that reflects the latest evolution of the drugstore retailer’s “wellness store” format.  

Irving, Texas -- Michaels Cos. has raised $472 million in an initial public offering. The arts-and-crafts retailer priced 27.8 million shares at $17 each, which was at the low end of its predicted range. It plans to use the IPO's proceeds to pay down its debt.

The chain, which operates stores under its namesake banner and Aaron Brothers, could raise up to $543 million if underwriters use their option to buy additional shares. 

The stock was expected to start trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the symbol "MIK."