Corporate Governance

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens reported Wednesday that sales for the month of March increased 2.3% to $6.2 billion.

Total front-end sales increased 5.4% compared with the same month in fiscal 2012, while same-store front-end sales increased 4.2%. Front-end sales will have benefited from a March 31 Easter — last year Easter sales fell in April. As a result Walgreens said it will report combined comps for March and April with its April sales results.
 

Hilton Head Island, S.C. -- Joint-venture partners Kroger Real Estate and Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial announced Wednesday the launch of construction on the Shelter Cove Towne Centre, a 42-acre mixed-use development on Hilton Head Island, featuring the debut of Kroger Marketplace on the Island.

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Wednesday by PriceGrabber found that 54% of consumers expect to receive a tax refund this year. And, the majority plans to use the money for purchases.

According to PriceGrabber’s poll of 5,655 U.S. online shopping consumers, 24% anticipate a bigger refund than last year and 26% expect about the same amount. Thirty-two percent anticipate receiving less compared to 2012, and 18% aren't sure how much money they will receive.

Minneapolis -- Supervalu president and CEO Sam Duncan announced Wednesday some major changes to his executive leadership team.

CFO Sherry Smith will leave the company, effective May 30, and no replacement has yet been named. Smith is a 26-year veteran of the company and has served as EVP and CFO since December 2010.

General counsel Todd Sheldon will also leave the company, effective May 30, to be replaced by Karla Robertson, who has been named EVP for legal, effective immediately.

New York -- Staples named former Walmart.com CEO Raul Vazquez to serve on its the board of directors.

Vazquez currently serves as CEO and a director of Progreso Financiero, financial services firm focused on serving the needs of "under-banked" Hispanic customers. The election of directors at Staples will take place at the company’s annual meeting on June 3.

By Greg Munves, [email protected]

If you’re like many mid-level or tier one retailers, online or brick-and-mortar, you’ve probably made a significant investment in Big Data, capturing and analyzing customer buying patterns across your business. You may not realize, however, that this huge IT investment can actually be a profit center, if you sell your data back upstream to your suppliers.
 

NEW YORK — Totsy, a leading private sale site of children's goods has named Lisa Kennedy as CEO.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has elected former Johnson & Johnson CEO William Weldon to serve on its board of directors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Weldon is the former chairman of the board and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, having served in those positions from 2002 until his retirement as CEO in April 2012 and his retirement from the board in December 2012. Weldon previously served in a variety of senior executive positions during his 41-year career with J&J.

Supply chain solutions provider Park City Group has named Bruce Christiansen and Sage Horner to new roles.

HAMPSTEAD, Md., — JoS. A. Bank Clothiers reported that its net sales for the fiscal year were $1.05 billion, representing a 7.1% gain as compared with net sales of $979.9 million in fiscal year 2011. Comparable-store sales decreased 0.5% during fiscal year 2012, while direct marketing sales increased 22.7%. Combined comparable-store and Internet sales in fiscal year 2012 increased 2% when compared with fiscal year 2011.