Corporate Governance

“Ongoing investigation.” “Forensics and law enforcement continue to investigate.” For now, it is a bit too early to write the “Lessons Learned” piece about the Target/Neiman Marcus/Michaels data breach incident. But there are a few things that were known before these latest payment card/database breaches occurred and should be put into context in light of what we are currently investigating.

New York -- Rick Caruso, founder and CEO of Caruso Affiliated has launched a new blog on LinkedIn Influencers, an exclusive blog site for influential thought leaders. To read his inaugural post, visit post, ”The Indoor Mall is Dead, But Physical Retail Thrives.”

Paramus, N.J. — Vornado Realty Trust has announced an agreement to sell the 1.1 million-sq.-ft. Broadway Mall in Hicksville, Long Island, N.Y., for $94 million to an unknown buyer. The company purchased the mall in 2005 for $152.5 million.

In April 2012, the company announced its intention to reduce exposure to the enclosed mall business and to sell some of its other categories of retail shopping centers. This sale, Vornado’s last shopping center on Long Island, represents a continuation of that policy.

Dallas — SRS Real Estate Partners has appointed Will Majors senior VO and market leader. Majors will focus on tenant and landlord representation. He will also be responsible for signing new clients and recruiting qualified brokers.

Majors brings more than 12 years of experience in the retail real estate industry to his new post. Previously, he worked at Endeavor Real Estate Group where he was responsible for more than 2 million sq. ft. of transactions.

PCMS, a supplier of software and IT consulting services, has named retail technology executive Andrew Winans as CEO of its Americas operation.
 

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS MinuteClinic will switch to the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) called EpicCare. MinuteClinic currently uses its own proprietary EMR.

EpicCare will support MinuteClinic's evidence-based model of care and facilitate connectivity with health care providers nationwide that currently use Epic, including many major health systems, hospital networks and physician groups currently affiliated with MinuteClinic. MinuteClinic's full deployment of EpicCare is expected to take 18 months.

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open its first store in Oakland, Calif. on March 8, bringing the total to more than 250 stores in California, the retailer’s largest state. The new location will be in Foothill Square in Oakland.  

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate approximately 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Facebook has reached an agreement to acquire WhatsApp, a cross-platform mobile messaging company, for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares. The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will vest during four years subsequent to closing.