News Briefs

A discount giant has appointed two new tech-focused leaders to its C-suite.

Dollar General has promoted Tom Hutchins to senior VP and chief technology officer, where he will be responsible for driving strategic planning and business integration initiatives. The retailer says he will also expand his oversight across key technology areas to further strengthen enterprise alignment, performance and delivery.

Prior to joining Dollar General in 2024, Hutchins served in a variety of roles at Tractor Supply Company for nearly 15. Most recently, he served as VP of technology & strategy for more than eight and a half years.

[READ MORE: Dollar General kicks off summer with patriotic-themed monthlong sale]

Dollar General has also promoted Travis Nixon to senior VP, chief data and artificial intelligence (AI) officer, now leading Dollar General’s overall AI strategies and delivery functions, including all relevant data engineering and enablement functions. Announced as the company’s newly-established AI officer role in November 2025, Nixon will continue to lead enterprise-wide business process management initiatives, applying AI to identify and drive optimization opportunities across the retail value chain.

Nixon joined Dollar General with more than a decade of experience in machine learning and AI from multiple public technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta and Dropbox.

The appointments come as the discounter recently reported net sales of $10.8 billion for the quarter ended May 1, up 3.4% from $10.4 billion in the prior year period. Same-store sales growth was seen across the consumables, seasonal, apparel and home products categories.

As of May 1, 2026, the company operated 21,055 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and Popshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico.

The prices of key construction materials continued to increase in May.

Overall construction input prices (includes energy, materials and equipment) increased 2.6% in May compared to the previous month, and are 9.6% higher than a year ago, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Commercial construction input prices rose 1.6% month over month and are 8% higher than a year ago.

Prices increased in two of the three energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.8% and unprocessed energy materials increased 6.9%. On the positive side, natural gas prices were down 18.2% in May.

Copper wire and cable prices increased 7.3%, while steel mill products rose 2.1%. Prepared asphalt, tar roofing and siding prices were up 1.8%.

“Construction input prices surged again in May and are now up nearly 10% year over year,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “Oil prices, pushed higher by the ongoing Iran conflict, made a significant contribution to the rise in overall materials prices, yet the greater concern is the continuing price growth in tariff-affected inputs like iron, steel and copper."

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members.

It's never too early to start planning for Halloween — at least if you're Spirit Halloween.

The seasonal retailer is planning its largest hiring season in company history as it gears up to open more than 1,500 stores across the U.S. and Canada, and hire more than 52,000 seasonal associates to staff them. Last year, Spirit aimed to hire 50,000 workers.

The retailer is seeking seasonal sales associates, assistant managers, and regional, zone, and store managers to lead store setup, merchandising, operations and teardown. To attract talent, Spirit is touting competitive hourly wages, seasonal pay incentives and retention bonuses, and a 30% employee discount.

"Spirit Halloween provides a dynamic and fun work environment where associates can be part of something truly special each season," said CEO Steven Silverstein. "Our teams share a passion for all things Halloween, and there's nothing better than transforming our store into a destination where the community can celebrate the season together."

[READ MORE: Retail/hospitality employers most concerned about immigration policy changes]

Founded in 1983, Spirit is a “one-stop destination” for all things Halloween. Stores offer an immersive and interactive experience for shoppers, complete with a wide assortment of costumes and accessories along with exclusive décor and animatronics.

Spirit Halloween and mall retailer Spencer’s Gifts are part of Egg Harbor Township, N.J.-based Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc.

Buc-ee’s expansion continues to take it to new markets.

The Texas-based convenience store operator, known for its mega-size stores (“travel center”) will open its first location in Arizona, in Goodyear, on June 22. With the opening of the 74,000-sq.-ft. store (with 120 fueling positions), Buc-ee’s will operate 56 stores spanning Texas, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, Georgia and Ohio. 

Other upcoming Buc-ee’s locations include San Marcos, Texas; Benton, Ark., and Murfreesboro, Tenn., which is opening later this year. The company also recently broke ground on its first North Carolina location, a 74,000-sq.-ft. store in Mebane.

Based in Lake Jackson, Texas, Buc-ee’s is known for its namesake smiling beaver mascot, massive locations and amenities, which range from its signature “pristine” restrooms and showers to its extensive assortment of specialty food options that include Texas barbecue.

According to a report by USA Today, Buc-ee’s store expansion in 2027 and beyond includes the following locations:

2027

•Ruston, La.

•Kansas City, Kas.

•Gallaway, Tenn.

•St. Lucie, Fla.

•Boerne, Texas

•Monroe County, Ga. 

2028

•Mebane, N.C.

•Lafayette, La.

2029 and beyond

•Ocala, Fla.

•West Memphis, Ark.

•Oak Grove, Ky.

•Hardeeville, S.C.

Pinterest is expanding its Amazon collaboration with a new feature for creators engaging in e-commerce.

The visually oriented social platform is offering Amazon storefront linking, a new tool that enables creators to connect their Amazon storefront directly to their Pinterest account. Once connected, the affiliate link is automatically applied whenever they tag an eligible Amazon product. 

With this feature, eligible creators will see their Amazon storefront handle featured directly on their Pinterest profile. Creators are also now able to feature their Amazon Storefront on their Pinterest profile, rather than just individual product pins. Storefront linking with other partners will be available soon.

“People come to Pinterest with purpose—they’re looking for ideas, and often ready to act on them,” said Lauren Glaubach, VP of global content partnerships, Pinterest. “This means Pinterest sits closer to decision-making than other platforms. That helps creators reach audiences at the moment inspiration turns into action.”

Pinterest has been engaged in a variety of joint social commerce initiatives with Amazon for the past several years. These include shoppable ads placed on the social platform which allow users to complete product purchases with Amazon while remaining in the Pinterest environment.

Amazon also places ads from companies participating in its Sponsored Products program on a number of digital platforms, including Pinterest.

[READ MORE: Pinterest partners with Amazon to launch third-party ad program]

In addition, Pinterest has been integrating third-party promotions from the Amazon Ads program into its site, with a seamless on-Amazon buying experience for consumers, since spring 2023.

In other Pinterest-Amazon integrations, Pinterest recently announced it will invest $4 billion on cloud services from Amazon Web Services, the hosted cloud subsidiary of Amazon, through 2031.

Captain D’s is looking to continue its expansion in Europe after recently making its debut in the United Kingdom.

The quick-serve seafood chain is seeking master franchisees and multi-unit developers capable of supporting approximately 20 restaurants in major metropolitan markets across Spain, Portugal and France. Captain D’s says the targeted countries offer significant tourism traffic and a market opportunity for a scaled fast-casual seafood concept.

Captain D’s senior VP of international operations and development Hair Parra is set to visit the three countries from June 15 through July 1 to meet with prospective franchise partners. The chain is interested in entering major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Paris, Lyon and Nice, France.

Last fall, the chain opened its debut U.K. restaurant at the Westwood Cross Shopping Centre in Broadstairs, England. The opening was part of a 20-unit master franchise agreement to expand across the country.

"Spain, Portugal and France are among the strongest seafood-consuming markets in the world, making them a natural fit for Captain D's," said Parra, who was appointed to the role in early 2024. "We believe our combination of high-quality seafood, operational simplicity and strong franchise economics presents an attractive opportunity for experienced operators."

[READ MORE: Captain D's debuts in NYC as part of Northeast expansion]

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's operates more than 530 restaurants across 23 states and three countries. The chain’s menu features freshly-prepared fried seafood, premium grilled items like shrimp, salmon and whitefish, along with hush puppies and desserts.