Corporate Governance

Atlanta -- PGA Tour Superstores announced three new store openings in 2014 and an ambitious growth strategy that will more than double its current retail footprint,  adding one million square feet of new golf retail space over the next five years.

As part of its growth plan, the mega-golf retailer will open new interactive retail experience stores this fall in Orlando, Florida; North Scottsdale, Arizona; and Southlake, Texas.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to open at a Nordstrom Rack at The Shops at River Walk in Bakersfield, Calif. The approximately 35,000-sq-ft. store is scheduled to open in spring 2015.

The new Nordstrom Rack will be the company's first location in Bakersfield.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark Corp. agreed to pay $20 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misled investors in 2009 during a debt offering and by accounting improperly for an acquisition.

The SEC said CVS failed to disclose while marketing $1.5 billion of bonds in September 2009 having recently lost significant Medicare and contract revenue streams in its pharmacy benefits manager business.

Washington, D.C. – In a statement submitted to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on April 8, the National Retail Federation (NRF) urged Congress to address what it sees as an increasing threat to retailers: patent trolls. Patent trolls are entities that purchase overly-broad patents with the sole intent of suing retailers and other end-users of technology that allegedly infringe on those patents.

Salisbury, N.C. – Delhaize America has entered into a multi-year agreement for Revionics Life Cycle Price Optimization solutions, which include Revionics Price Optimization, Revionics Promotion Optimization and Revionics Markdown Optimization. The agreement also includes Revionics Advanced Analytics services: key value item (KVI) analysis, item clustering and market basket analysis.

Reston, Va. – Clarabridge, Inc., a provider of intelligent customer experience management (CEM) solutions, is acquiring Market Metrix, an enterprise feedback management platform in the leisure and hospitality industries. Market Metrix will complement and extend Clarabridge’s analytics and measurement-focused CEM offerings with the addition of a robust, results-oriented feedback management platform.

Cambridge, Mass. – Retail visual merchandising solution provider RBM Technologies has named E.Y. Snowden its new president and CEO. Snowden was previously CEO of Boston Communications Group and president of APC/Sprint Spectrum.

In addition, RBM has closed a $9.5 million round of growth equity financing led by Spring Lake Equity Partners. RBM plans to use the financing to enhance its products and enter the international mobile market and new retail verticals.

Dayton, Ohio – Walmart is the most valuable retail brand in North America, with a brand value estimated at $131.8 billion, according to Interbrand's "Best Retail Brands" report. The retail powerhouse maintains its number one spot and, even with a 6% decline in brand value, it retains an enormous margin over its closest competitor Target, whose brand value is put at $27.1 billion, an 8% increase over 2013.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reportedly plans to open an additional 40 to 50 wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India during the next four years and also launch an Indian e-commerce operation. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart will begin e-commerce sales in India during summer 2014 with one wholesale store offering goods online and delivering them for pickup at other local retailers up to about 25 miles away.

Washington, D.C. -- Import volume at major U.S. retail container ports is expected to increase 6.1% in April 2014, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.26 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in February 2014, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available.