Corporate Governance

Washington, D.C. - Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is returning to normal levels as officials prepare to count votes on ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement. According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, the ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a record-high 1.73 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in March 2015.

For generations, hair and beauty services were exclusively operated as “commission salons,” where owners collected a percentage of fees paid to stylists. About 30 years ago, the booth rental model began to gain traction, where stylists paid a flat fee to occupy a chair in a salon. Not long after the first booth rental model came into being, the first salon suite concept debuted.  

Cedar Hill, Texas - Trademark Property Co., the operating partner for Uptown Village at Cedar Hill, has announced a new name for the 610,000-sq.-ft. shopping center: Hillside Village. The new name and corresponding new brand were selected to reflect the garden-like look and feel planned as part of a multi-million dollar property renovation.  

Mississauga, Ontario - Walmart Canada has reached agreements to acquire one distribution center, 12 store leases and one owned property formerly held by Target Canada, for an aggregate of approximately $165 million Canadian ($136.3 million).
 

London – British shoe retailer Soletrader sees delivery of an excellent customer experience across all retail channels as crucial to company growth while also providing competitive edge. Soletrader selected MNP Retail’s Order Management System to serve as a real time-inventory, order, and customer data hub.

This has enabled Soletrader to scale growth by way of digital stores and click and collect in-store tablet solutions.

Leaders from the toy and baby products industries came together with celebrities in New York City to celebrate the 2015 Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund Gala and raise an astounding $4.6 million for kids.

Emmy and Tony Award-winning comedian Martin Short hosted the event, which also featured a performance by four-time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz.

Orlando, Fla. – Customer needs and expectations are rapidly changing, and woe to the retailer who does not keep up. This was the key message delivered by participants in a panel discussion, “Engage Customers Through Omnichannel Opportunities,” at SAP’s annual Sapphire conference.

Steve Fournier, executive VP and chief customer officer of Discount Tire Co., said his company realizes it cannot afford to lag behind customer demand.

Toronto -- Canada’s Loblaw Companies Ltd. said it will pull its Joe Fresh brand from J.C. Penney stores in the United States at the beginning of next year as it looks to concentrate on freestanding Joe Fresh stores and e-commerce.