Events

HANOVER, Pa. — Synder’s of Hanover is using the 30th anniversary of National Pretzel Day to create a series of nationwide events to engage with consumers.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — During the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting today, the association elected the new officers, two new executive committee members and four new board of directors members for the coming year. The NACDS Foundation also announced the addition of five new members. 

Robert Narveson, president and CEO of Thrifty White Pharmacy, was elected as the new NACDS chairman of the board of directors, succeeding Gregory Wasson, president and CEO of Walgreens.

Chairman, president and CEO of Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai is among the 2013 Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

Yanai was the only retail and CPG company executive to make the list. Other notables with a connection to the retail industry included Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon, Paypal co-founder Elon Musk and fashion designer Michael Kors. The complete list will appear in the April 29 issue of Time, available now.

New York -- Uniqlo will be the exclusive, multi-year, corporate sponsor of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Museum’s Friday night free admission program, which provides free access to the public to the Museum and all exhibitions from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., every Friday, throughout the year.
 
“Uniqlo Free Friday Nights” will launch on May 3. That evening, the first 1,000 visitors will receive a special Uniqlo tote bag. Also in May, the Museum will begin extending its public schedule to seven days per week.

Cleveland -- Forest City Enterprises said that, as its Short Pump Town Center celebrates 10 years in the Richmond, Va., market, it has launched a “Drawing Board” on Popularise, an online crowdsourcing and community engagement tool that focuses on real estate development.

I recently attended Chain Store Age’s 49th annual Store Planning, Equipment, Construction and Facilities Services Seminars (SPECS) in Dallas, Texas. While SPECS always gives me plenty to think about, this year was especially interesting thanks to the debut of a new segment on Real Estate Development. In addition to other workshop “tracks” like Facilities, Business Strategies, and Planning & Design, the inclusion of Real Estate Development to the mix really brought new (and important) perspectives.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark will join the Boston business community to support The One Fund Boston, established by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to raise money for victims and families who have been affected by the Boston Marathon tragedy.

The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, the private foundation of CVS Caremark, will donate $100,000 to The One Fund Boston, which is also accepting online donations from the public at Onefundboston.org.

Washington, D.C. -- Grocery retailers, wholesalers and food industry state association executives representing more than 30 states assembled in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to urge Congress to act on pro-business reforms that impact their industry.

Clarksburg, Md. -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers and Peterson Cos. said Wednesday that the pair will develop an upscale outlet center in Clarksburg, Md.

The new outlet center, currently in the pre-development stage, will be branded as Tanger Outlets and located 27 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. and 36 miles west of Baltimore.

New York -- Fairway Group Holdings Corp., operator of the Fairway Market grocery chain, said Wednesday that it raised $177.5 million in its initial public offering after pricing the shares above the marketed range.

Fairway sold 13.65 million shares for $13 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, after offering them for $10 to $12. At the offering price, the company has a market value of about $536 million.

The shares, which represent a 33% stake, will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FWM.