Corporate Governance

Coupons.com, a leading provider of digital printable coupons, digital paperless coupons and mobile promotions, has acquired Yub. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yub allows consumers to link digital offers and promotions to payment cards for instant savings when they use the cards for in-store purchases. Merchants, retailers and restaurants can easily track offers from online clicks to offline purchases. Coupons.com plans to bring its scale, affiliate network reach and merchant base to the Yub platform to increase consumer adoption.

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.”

Generic drug introductions at Walgreens had a negative impact on total comparable sales, but the company still reported net sales of $7.2 billion, an increase of 7.2%, and a comparable-store sales increase of 6.1% in December.

Calendar day shifts positively impacted total comparable sales by 170 basis points, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months negatively impacted total comparable sales by 70 basis points. December 2013 had one additional Tuesday and one fewer Saturday compared with December 2012.

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.

New York City-based home furnishings retailer Gracious Home has named Rob Morrison as its new chief operating officer. The former Lumber Liquidators executive begins his new role Jan. 6.

At Lumber Liquidators, Morrison was senior VP of stores and operations, a position he held since January 2006. He was also president of Artistic Tile from 2004 to 2005.

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.

An omnichannel transformation initiative underway at department store retailer Belk is being executed with the aid of Accenture following a recent agreement between the operator of 300 stores and the global management consultancy.

Accenture has worked with Belk previously, but the recently announced agreement brings the consultant and retailer closer together as Belk looks to improve on its ability to provide customers a more seamless experience as part of its wide-ranging Omnichannel Transformation Initiative.

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.