Corporate Governance

Wayne, N.J. – Toys “R” Us, Inc. announced that it has named Michael J. Short executive CFO, effective June 23.
 
Short, 53, a seasoned finance executive with broad retail and corporate development experience, was most recently executive VP and CFO of AutoNation for seven years.
 

Beaverton, Ore. - John Donahoe, 54, president and CEO of EBay Inc., has been appointed to the board of directors of Nike Inc. Donahoe joined EBay in 2005 as president of EBay Marketplaces, and was appointed president and CEO in 2008.

Brussels – Major multinational retailers such as Starbucks and Apple will have to start paying higher taxes in Europe, thanks to a move by the European Union (E.U.) to end certain tax breaks it has now defined as “state aid,” which is prohibited by E.U. bylaws. These breaks, which member nations including Ireland, Luxembourg, and Netherlands have used to allow some types of profit to be classified as tax-deductible debt, had come under fire from other E.U. nations and the U.S.

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, will open its first store in New Jersey, in the town of Ewing, on June 28.

Including this new location, dd’s Discounts will operate approximately 140 locations in 11 states. The company is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

Together, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

New York -- As part of a strategic move towards achieving seamless inventory management in an omnichannel retail environment, eco-friendly outdoor apparel retailer and wholesaler Patagonia has extended its partnership with 7thonline to support merchandise and assortment planning for its brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce channel.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Big Data pricing solution vendor Clear Demand is partnering with competitive price intelligence provider 360pi. Under this joint initiative, 360pi’s real-time price intelligence is fed into Clear Demand’s pricing platform, which in turn alerts retailers to competitive price changes, including compliance with product-line and pricing rules, and helps manage competitive price strategy.

Matthews, N.C. – Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, who recently engaged in a high-profile effort to force EBay to separate its PayPal business, is now demanding that Family Dollar sell itself. Icahn, who recently disclosed he has a 9.4% stake in the discount retailer, sent an open letter to Family Dollar chairman Howard Levine saying that it is imperative the company be put up for sale immediately.

The U.S. economy has undergone significant financial and social upheaval over the past five years, with companies seemingly invincible to the vagaries of the financial markets disappearing overnight. Many companies have been forced to contract by closing unprofitable stores, laying off employees, reducing spending, deferring research and development, or have been acquired by more profitable companies. With few exceptions, those companies that have survived have done so by cutting costs to the bone.

Former AutoNation CFO Michael Short will become the new CFO at Toy’s “R” Us on June 23 to replace Clay Creasey who left the retailer after eight years.

Nike has promoted Reenie Benziger to VP of its global apparel business. Benziger moves from her current role as VP/GM of global young athletes.

“Reenie’s deep consumer knowledge and experience in the global apparel industry will continue to position Nike as an innovative brand with consumers,” said Jeanne Jackson, president of product and merchandising.

Carl Grebert, a 17-year Nike veteran, replaces Benziger as VP/GM of global young athletes. Grebert most recently served as VP/GM of Nike Japan.