Nike, Inc.

Academy Sports + Outdoors plans to open four new stores next year in Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Waterford Lakes and Melbourne. Although the sports, outdoor and lifestyle retailer is no stranger to Florida — with an established presence in Jacksonville, Pensacola and Tallahassee — these four new stores are the first in the Orlando area.

In addition, Academy has entered into a multi-year agreement with the Univ. of Central Florida.

Washington, D.C. - The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), the standards and technology division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), has released the Compliance Audit Interchange. The CAI is a specification that allows organizations to share compliance audit results securely with other companies who source from the same supplier location.

Plano, Texas – Mindy Grossman, the chief executive of HSN Inc., reportedly declined an offer to become CEO of J.C. Penney Company in May 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, Grossman had been in advanced negotiations with Penney to take the reins as CEO but discussions ended for an unspecified reason.

Sports Authority held its first-ever Sports Authority Football Field Day on Sunday for more than 2,000 attendees in partnership with USA Football’s Heads Up Football initiative. The free, on-field football training camp and vendor expo were open to the public and took place at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Players from 32 countries have poured into Brazil for a month-long contest of extraordinary soccer skill, known as the Copa do Mundo, the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Cheering them is expected to be a total of some 3.7 million fans and tourists, adding an astonishing $3.3 billion USD ($6.7 billion Brazilian Real) to this nation’s economy. According to Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, the average foreign visitor will attend four Copa do Mundo matches and spend approximately $2,488 during their stay.

The Sports Authority enlisted the aid of current and former San Francisco 49ers greats to promote awareness of 18 stores it remodeled recently in the Bay Area.

Grand re-opening festivities were scheduled for the 18 stores beginning on Saturday, June 28. Each of the remodeled stores features an intuitive design and specialty sport shops with products from top brands like Nike, Under Armour, Adidas and The North Face, according to the company.

Beaverton, Ore. - John Donahoe, 54, president and CEO of EBay Inc., has been appointed to the board of directors of Nike Inc. Donahoe joined EBay in 2005 as president of EBay Marketplaces, and was appointed president and CEO in 2008.

Nike has promoted Reenie Benziger to VP of its global apparel business. Benziger moves from her current role as VP/GM of global young athletes.

“Reenie’s deep consumer knowledge and experience in the global apparel industry will continue to position Nike as an innovative brand with consumers,” said Jeanne Jackson, president of product and merchandising.

Carl Grebert, a 17-year Nike veteran, replaces Benziger as VP/GM of global young athletes. Grebert most recently served as VP/GM of Nike Japan.