Corporate Governance

New York -- Walgreens’ net zero energy store in Evanston, Ill., was selected as Sustainable Store of the Year in Chain Store Age’s 32nd annual Retail Store of the Year design competition. The store, designed and built to produce energy equal to or greater than it consumes, will be highlighted during a special session at Chain Store Age’s 50th annual SPECS conference, March 9 -12, in Grapevine, Texas.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market has acquired leases from Safeway Inc. for seven locations formerly operated as Dominick's stores. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Philadelphia -- Five Below will enter the state of Tennessee, with plans to open up to five new stores in the market by spring of this year. With this new market, Five Below will operate stores in 20 states.

Hong Kong – Global luxury retailer Michael Kors increased net income during the third quarter of fiscal 2014 77% to $229.6 million from $130 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Retail net sales grew 51.3% to $503.4 million, driven by a 27.8% increase in same-store sales and 98 net new store openings since the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

Corpus Christi, Texas - Steve DeSutter, president and CEO of Susser Holdings’ retail segment, is leaving the company, effective Feb. 28, 2014, to accept an opportunity to lead a significant company outside the convenience store industry. That segment will now report directly to Sam L. Susser, chairman and CEO of Susser Holdings, on an interim basis.

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreen Co. is reportedly suing CVS Caremark Corp., Rite Aid Corp. and Shopko Stores Inc. for allegedly infringing on a patent for using mobile phone scanners to refill prescriptions. According to Bloomberg, Walgreens filed a complaint in federal court in Wilmington, Del., saying the three competitors are violating a patent it received in January 2013.

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, opened more than 50 non-traditional U.S. locations in 2013, at airports and other mass transportation terminals, casinos and resorts, military bases, and colleges and universities around the country.  

Dunkin' Brands currently has more than 600 non-traditional locations in the U.S.

Dallas - Corner Bakery Cafe has awarded its first multi-unit development agreement of 2014, and plans to open nine new restaurants in the Central Valley area of California with new franchise partner C&L Cafe, LLC. The group of veteran restaurant operators plans to open its first cafes in 2014 and the remaining sites over the next five years.

Pleasanton, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., will relocate its Arlington, Texas, store on Feb. 8. The newly relocated store is in Four Corners Shopping Center.

Overall, DD’s Discounts operates 131 locations in 10 states, including 25 in Texas.

Aplharetta, Ga. - Catavolt, Inc., a provider of enterprise application mobility solutions, has launched the Catavolt for AirWatch app in the AirWatch Marketplace and Apple’s App Store. Catavolt’s cloud platform will enable AirWatch customers to rapidly and securely create new mobile apps that seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise systems.