Corporate Governance

San Jose, Calif. – Consumers appear to have been feeling a seasonal hangover after what some analysts have called a relatively strong 2014 holiday season. According to the monthly Retail Performance Pulse for January 2015 from RetailNext, store sales and traffic both declined 7.7%

New York -- Companies are losing as much as 25% of online revenues an average per respondent of $92.3 million per year – to mobile fraud, according to a study by RSA and TeleSign, a provider of mobile identity verification solutions. Nearly one-third of organizations lost as much as 10% and up to 25% of revenues due to mobile fraud.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale, a premier regional mall in Broward County, Florida, has added France-based YellowKorner, a limited edition photo gallery, to its mix of more than 100 specialty retailers. YellowKorner is located across from Dillard’s upper mall entrance and next to Natuzzi in the nearly one million-sq.-ft. mall.

Coach's efforts to regain its upscale brand identity received a boost this month with the addition of a veteran luxury goods retailer to its board of directors.

“We are extremely pleased that Andrea Guerra has agreed to join our board,” said Victor Luis, CEO at Coach Inc. “As Coach continues its transformation into a modern luxury lifestyle brand, Andrea's extensive exposure to a wide variety of best-in-class brands and his broad retail and international experience will prove valuable to our team."

Cincinnati – Post-holiday returns serve as a way to ensure the stress of the holiday season lasts into the New Year. According to a survey of about 1,200 adults by loyalty program provider LoyaltyOne, one out of every two U.S. shoppers (51%) say that returning gifts adds to their post-holiday stress.

Atlanta -- Rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s saw its profit drop 35% in 2014 amid declining traffic and weak sales. The company, which operates some 2,100 stores, was also impacted by hurt by various charges related to restructuring and the acquisition of Progressive Leasing.

Aaron’s reported net earnings of $78.2 million for 2014, compared to $120.7 million in 2013.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. founder and CEO — and currently Time Magazine cover boy — Howard Schultz has lots of opinions about politics and the national agenda, but he is not interested in running for president in 2016.

“I don’t think that’s a solution. I don’t think it ends well,” Schultz told Time in a wide-ranging interview its Feb. 16 edition.   

Los Angeles -- BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in acquiring and repositioning challenged or distressed commercial real estate properties, has announced the promotion of Steven Jaffe to chief investment officer and principal of the firm. In this role, Jaffe is responsible for overseeing the acquisition and disposition strategy of the company as well as the company’s overall growth.

Jaffe has been with BH Properties for 11 years, previously holding the title of executive VP and general counsel.