Corporate Governance

By Kris Bjorson, JLL

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has appointed George Fairweather, formerly group finance director of Alliance Boots, as executive vice president and global chief financial officer, effective Feb. 20.

Fairweather will succeed Timothy McLevish, who served as Walgreens CFO since August 2014, where he advanced the company’s completion of its merger with Alliance Boots to form Walgreens Boots Alliance and served as the initial global chief financial officer of the combined companies.

New York -- Uniqlo will enter Canada in the fall of 2016, opening a store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Toronto, and one at the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Uniqlo currently operates some 1,500 stores, with locations in Japan, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the United States.

With the Internet of Things (“IoT”) comes yet another technology-driven advancement that challenges businesses with promising opportunities and potentially vexing responsibilities. In particular, manufacturers and retailers who plan to sell (or are already selling) IoT devices increasingly face consumer questions about data security and privacy.

The PGA TOUR Superstore only operates 22 locations but it just signed a deal with the Golf Channel that should do wonders for brand awareness in a category that has proven challenging for mass market retailers.

New York -- Michael Kors is pleased to announce that it will open its largest Japanese flagship store this fall, in Tokyo’s Ginza district. The store will be the first in the world to carry every category offered by the global luxury lifestyle brand.

Macy’s plans to quadruple the size of a central California distribution facility that has played a key role in the execution of the retailer’s omnichannel strategy.

The company plans to relocate its West Sacramento, Calif., direct-to-consumer fulfillment center to a larger facility in a nearby location in Sacramento County to support continued sales growth driven by Macy's omnichannel strategy.

Cupertino, Calif. – Mickey Drexler, chairman and CEO of J. Crew and former CEO and president of Gap Inc., is retiring from the board of directors of Apple Inc. as of March 2015. Apple disclosed the impending retirement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Drexler has served on the Apple board since 1999 and is currently its longest-tenured member. No replacement has been announced. Drexler was initially recruited to the Apple board to help the company, which opened its first store in 2001, create a retail strategy.