Corporate Governance

Boston – Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe’s, reportedly plans to open a pilot store that will charge reduced prices for food that is damaged or expired, but still safe to eat. According to the Boston Globe, The Daily Table will open in the urban Dorchester neighborhood of Boston during 2014 and offer services that are a mix of features offered in supermarkets and restaurants.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens had December sales of $7.20 billion, an increase of 7.2% from $6.72 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Indianapolis -- For the third fiscal quarter of 2014, Hhgregg estimates net sales to be approximately $707.1 million, a decrease of approximately 11.6% as compared to net sales of $799.6 million reported for the third fiscal quarter of 2013.

Las Vegas – Zappos is reportedly instituting a radical overhaul of its management structure that will eliminate traditional managers and flatten the corporate hierarchy, even eliminating internal job titles. According to the Washington Post, this management structure is known as a “holacracy.”

Seattle – Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, reportedly had to be flown from the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador on Jan. 1, 2014 for emergency treatment of a kidney stone attack. According to NBC News, the Ecuadorian navy flew Bezos by helicopter from a cruise ship to his private jet, which then took him to the U.S. treatment.

Amazon.com sources indicated that Bezos did not require surgery and is doing well.

Salt Lake City – Overstock.com plans to appeal the tentative ruling of a California trial court, which prohibits the company from comparison price advertising unless done in conformity with new court-mandated practices, which the company says diverge widely from industry standards.

Minneapolis – Caribou Coffee has launched its new loyalty program, Caribou Perks. Customers can register by text or online.

Fremont, Calif. – The latest chapter in the continuing rivalry saga of The Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. has opened with Men’s Wearhouse making a hostile cash tender offer of $57.50 per share for Jos. A. Bank. The offer, which expires on March 28, 2014, is worth about $1.6 billion.

Overstock.com is starting 2014 with plans to appeal the tentative ruling of a California trial court prohibiting it from comparison price advertising unless done in conformity with new court-mandated practices which, according to the online retailer, diverge widely from industry standards.

Spindle, a leading provider of mobile commerce solutions, has acquired Los Angeles-based Yowza!!, a leading provider of mobile couponing technology. As a result of the transaction, Spindle will integrate its MeNetwork mobile marketing services with the Yowza!! mobile couponing solution to deliver an end-to-end mobile commerce service.

The new mobile commerce offering will have an existing user base of nearly 2 million consumer downloads, and approximately 95,000 merchant locations.