Corporate Governance

New York – The owners of New York City’s famed J&R Music and Computer World, an independent music and electronics store in Lower Manhattan since 1971, have closed the store to redevelop its site.

“J&R will close its doors so we can rebuild this location into what we hope will be an unprecedented retail concept and social mecca,” owners Joe and Rachelle Friedman said in a statement on the company’s website. “The buildings that J&R occupies have to be totally reimagined and developed.”

Tokyo – Uniqlo opens new stores in Berlin, and in three U.S. locations on Friday, April 11. The 2,700-sq.-ft., three-story Berlin store is located on the Tauentzienstrasse shopping boulevard and is Uniqlo’s first German store.

The Berlin store is also the largest Uniqlo store in Europe and features revolving mannequins wearing origami headdresses and LED ticker-tapes listing all the cities where Uniqlo has stores around the world.

Lakewood, Colo. – Natural Grocers Inc. has opened two new stores in Las Cruces, N.M. and Gresham, Ore. The locations are respectively Natural Grocers’ fifth store in New Mexico and seventh store in Oregon.

Natural Grocers stores offer features including a credentialed nutritional health coach, local products, free recyclable boxes and demos, speakers and seminars.

Columbus, Ohio – Lane Bryant opens two new stores Friday, April 11. The stores are located at Burnsville Center in Burnsville, Minn., and Alliance Town Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lane Bryant operates 775 stores nationwide and an e-commerce site.

New York – Retail marketers say social media and digital, customer data and brand awareness are their top three marketing challenges. Findings from a retail marketing survey SAP conducted with University of Arizona students also showed that survey participants said 100% of respondents cited digital advertising among the most important marketing tools for their organization.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. has received a request for additional information and documents from the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") in connection with the FTC's review of the previously announced agreement and plan of merger among Safeway and Albertson’s.

San Diego – PriceSmart Inc. reported increases in net earnings and revenues during the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Compared to the same period a year earlier, net earnings rose 14% to $28.3 million, from $24.9 million.

Revenues climbed 11% to $674.4 million from $607.4 million. The opening of two new warehouse club stores contributed to PriceSmart’s fiscal performance.

New York -- Patrick B. Dorsey, general counsel and secretary of Tiffany and Co. since 1985, has decided to retire from the company effective May 22. On that date, Leigh M. Harlan will be promoted to the position of senior VP, secretary and general counsel with responsibility for the company’s worldwide legal affairs.

Harlan will report to Michael J. Kowalski, Tiffany’s chairman and CEO. Harlan, 37, came to Tiffany in 2012 from Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a New York City law firm, where she practiced corporate, transactional and finance law.

London – Big Data technology provider ECommera has named Kevin Sterneckert as chief marketing officer. Sterneckert, who most recently served as the lead retail analyst for Gartner, brings with him more than 20 years of experience in retail leadership.

In recognition of its support of national defense and the uniformed service community Safeway received the Military Officers Association of America’s highest honor.

Safeway was presented with the organization’s Distinguished Service Award at an event in Washington, D.C., in recognition of its outstanding support as an employer of Guard and Reserve members and veterans. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) ’s highest honor. MOAA was founded in 1929 and has 380,000 members.