Corporate Governance

Jackson, Miss. – Newk’s Eatery is planning franchise growth in new markets stretching across the South. Expansion will occur in markets including Savannah, Georgia and Orlando, Florida, to Lubbock and Midland-Odessa, Texas, with Washington, D.C, Richmond and Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Oklahoma City in between.

Food has always been an important part of the shopping experience at Ikea, and the retailer is doubling down on that strategy by unveiling a new menu.  

Ikea announced it will be adding more nutritious and sustainable food options to its restaurants, bistros near the checkout, Swedish food markets and co-worker restaurants. The new food strategy highlights how important food is to the chain.

Mountain View, Calif. – Google is reportedly planning to launch a service that will compete with Amazon Home Services later this spring. According to BuzzFeed, Google will integrate a new product into its core search functionality that will directly connect users searching for service providers such as plumbers and electricians to the providers.

Walmart is beginning to raise wages for workers in several states as part of its employee initiative for fiscal 2015.

Rite Aid said higher prescription sales and stronger cost control helped the drugstore chain report a profit surge for the fourth quarter.

Matthews, N.C. – Profits slid at Family Dollar Stores Inc. during the second quarter of fiscal 2015 compared to last year, but still beat Wall Street predictions. The discounter reported net income of $76.7 million, down 18% from $90.9 million.

Goleta, Calif. – Deckers Brands has appointed Wendy Yang as Teva brand president, effective May 1. In this role, Yang will design and lead Teva's global brand strategy and report directly to Dave Powers, president of Deckers Brands.  

Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. is reportedly planning to close and rebrand some stores operating under the Harris-Teeter banner in Tennessee. According to the Nashville Tennesseean, Kroger will close four Harris-Teeter stores it operates in Nashville by June 2015.

Three of those stores will reopen under the Kroger banner. Kroger previously closed a Harris-Teeter location in Nashville, but has not yet rebranded any Harris-Teeter stores. Kroger purchased the Harris-Teeter grocery chain for $2.4 billion in January 2014.