Corporate Governance

New York -- Martha Stewart has agreed to reduce her annual base salary by $200,000 to $1.8 million.

Stewart, founder and chairwoman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., also gave the green light to allow the company to reduce her annual licensing fee by $300,000 to $1.7 million, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

The cuts, according to company executives, are “consistent with their plan to return ... to profitability.”

MSLO reported a net loss of $3.27 million for the first quarter ended March 31.

New York -- MPW Engineering provided design and specifications of the refrigeration and refrigeration energy management systems for the newly converted Walgreen’s store in the Empire State Building in Manhattan.

Parsippany, N.J. -- Budget Car Rental and Simon Property Group have combined forces to market to Latin American travelers. When these travelers book a Budget car in Boston, Miami, New York City and Orlando, they will receive a shopping voucher that can be redeemed for a package of coupons, discounts and other special offers at Simon destinations in those cities:

Burlington Mall and Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Boston

Dadeland Mall, The Falls, Miami International Mall and Sawgrass Mills in Miami

Minneapolis – Target has named former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to its board of directors.

Salazar, 58, was a US Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He was named Secretary of the Interior in January 2009 and stepped down in April 2013. Last month, he became a partner for the international law firm WilmerHale. Salazar is the 12th member of Target's board.

Mary Dillon resigned from the board of directors of Target last month after she was named CEO of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid reported a slight boost in monthly same-store sales but a decreased in year-to-date same-store sales. For the four weeks ended June 29, 2013, same-store sales increased 0.7% from the prior-year period. June front-end same store sales increased 0.4%, while pharmacy same store sales increased 0.9% despite the negative impact of generics.  

Austin, Texas – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is filing a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau against Whole Foods Market on behalf of two Spanish-speaking employees.

The employees allege that in June 2013 a Whole Foods store in Albuquerque suspended them for a day for complaining about a company policy they say prevented them from speaking Spanish on the job. Both employees said they are still prevented from speaking Spanish.

Corte Madera, Calif. – Gary Friedman, chairman emeritus of Restoration Hardware, has been named chairman of the board and co-CEO. Friedman, former co-CEO of Restoration Hardware, will serve with co-CEO Carlos Alberini.

Meriden, Conn. – Vestis Retail Group, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), has named James Petty as CEO effective July 8, 2013. Petty most recently served as president of retail stores for Cartier Inc. from 2007 to December 2012 and left the company after it relocated its retail group headquarters from Connecticut to Georgia. He also previously held executive positions at Limited Too and Gap Inc.

Orlando, Fla. – A new e-commerce site dedicated to products manufactured in America, MadeInTheUSA.com, launches July 4. The site will feature nearly 1 million products made in the U.S. across all major categories.

Columbus, Ohio -- Glimcher Realty Trust has announced the appointment and election of Victor Pildes as senior VP development. He will provide leadership in project management and design, strategic planning and overall direction for all new development and redevelopment activities.

With 25 years of development and project management experience, Pildes comes to Glimcher from Centrum Partners LLC, where he served as VP and consultant. He has also served in senior executive positions at Westfield and JMB/Urban Retail Properties Company.