Corporate Governance

New York City - In not-unexpected news, Family Dollar has delayed its shareholder vote on a potential acquisition by Dollar Tree; the vote is now slated for Jan. 22, and analysts say this could bode well for a potential deal with industry giant Dollar General.   Family Dollar convened as planned on Tuesday and, based on insufficient votes, subsequently adjourned its Special Meeting of Stockholders on the proposed transaction with Dollar Tree.  

A search is underway for a new CEO at Walgreens following the resignation of president and CEO Greg Wasson as the retailer moves toward creation of a new holding company ownership structure and complete its largest ever acquisition.

Washington, D.C. – More than 160 national, state and local trade associations and organizations, representing the interests of the global supply chain and local communities, wrote to President Barack Obama Dec. 23 to urge the administration’s immediate involvement in the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association. The ILWU and PMA have been negotiating a new labor contract, which covers dockworkers at the 29 West Coast U.S. ports.  

Teen and pre-teen retailer Five Below landed two senior executives from Walmart.com and Ascena Retail Group for key roles as it looks to accelerate an already rapid pace of growth.

Walmart.com president and CEO Joel Anderson will join Five Below as president in July to oversee all aspects of merchandising, stores and marketing. Eric Specter, most recently EVP and chief integration officer for Ascena, will serve as Five Below’s chief administrative officer and oversee supply chain, information technology and real estate.

New York - Retail sales worldwide, including both in-store and Internet purchases, will total nearly $22.5 trillion this year. According to new figures from EMarketer, the global retail market will see steady growth during the next few years, and in 2018, worldwide retail sales will increase 5.5% to reach $28.3 trillion.  

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Business accelerator Plug and Play Tech Center and Simon Properties are hosting an event, “Silicon Valley Retail CMO Summit 2015,” Feb. 4-6, 2015 at Plug and Play’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The event is open to chief marketing officers and other digital marketing decision-makers in the retail industry, and features expert speakers, a networking dinner, and an afternoon of themed start-up presentations.  

Deerfield, Ill. – Cost synergies from its ongoing merger with U.K. drugstore chain Alliance Boots GmBH helped boost net earnings at Walgreen Co. 16% to $809 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $695 million the same quarter a year earlier. The combined synergies for Walgreens and Alliance Boots in the first quarter were approximately $140 million and remain on track to reach at least $650 million in fiscal 2015.

Sales rose 7% to $19.6 billion from $18.33 billion. Same-store sales increased 5.7%.

Walgreens said stronger sales from established stores helped it trump analyst expectations for the first quarter, even as the company's acquisition of European retailer Alliance Boots remains on track to close this month.

Walgreens reported a 16.4% lift in quarterly profit to $809 million that was credited to the 222 million prescriptions filled for the first quarter ended Nov. 30.