Corporate Governance

GARNER, N.C. — Butterball has moved to diversify its product portfolio with the acquisition of family-owned and operated Gusto Packing Co., located in Montgomery, Ill.

Gusto Packing Co. offers six basic product lines: Hickory & Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Bone-In Smoked Pork & Turkey Products, Smoked Boneless Hams, Cooked Hams, Pork & Turkey Deli Meats and Spiral Sliced Hams.

Long Beach, Calif. -- Epson America announced that Barry Wise, a long-time Epson consultant and retail industry leader, passed away on December 28, 2012.

"Barry was a one-of-a kind visionary who made an indelible mark in the retail technology industry," said Mike Helm, director of sales for Epson's business systems division and long time colleague of Wise. "Barry was passionate and insightful about how technology could make a difference to retailers. Epson has lost a dear friend and a valuable partner.

New York -- Two directors of Best Buy Co.  have resigned from the board of the retailer, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

G. "Mike" Mikan, who served as Best Buy's interim CEO in the wake of CEO Brian Dunn’s resignation last April, has left the board to become president of ESL Investments Inc., the hedge fund run by Sears’ Edward Lampert. Mikan, whose appointment is effective Jan. 1, will report to Lampert, the firm said today in a statement.

New York -- Starbucks Coffee Co. is one of seven bidders for Tully's Coffee, according to The Seattle Times. The bids were filed on Thursday as part of an auction process for Tully's, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October.

The report said that Starbucks’ offer is for about half of the Tully’s stores. Tully's currently has 47 company-operated stores.
 

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in South Portland, Maine.

The approximately 30,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open this spring at Maine Crossing Shopping Center and will be the retailer's first location in the state. It will occupy the former Old Navy space. 

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement in response to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandate proposed rules filed Wednesday in the Federal Register.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Dollar Tree has announced that it intends to expand its distribution center in Marietta, Oak., by an additional 400,000 sq. ft. More than 100 full time positions will be created as a result of the expansion.

The facility in Marietta opened in 2003 and is currently 603,000 sq. ft. This facility supplies products to stores across eleven states, including all of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, and portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation on Wednesday welcomed an agreement reached between the White House and Congress on a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff. The agreement was approved by the Senate early this morning and could be considered by the House as soon as today.


SEATTLE -- Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it has completed its acquisition of Teavana Holdings has formally closed, making Teavana a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starbucks. Teavana has some 300 locations, primarily in 300 shopping malls across the nation.  

The acquisition is the the latest addition to Starbucks emerging brands portfolio, which also includes Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Tazo.

WASHINGTON — LG Electronics USA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plan to collaborate on a number of environmental stewardship programs.