Retail

New York -- The former chief marketing officer of Kohl’s, Julie Gardner, has joined the board of Cardtronics, which operates more than 80,000 ATMs at locations throughout the United States and internationally.

Gardner spent 14 years at Kohl’s and most recently served as executive VP and chief marketing officer. Prior to Kohl’s, Gardner was with the Eckerd Corp., a regional drugstore chain that was eventually acquired by CVS.

Starbucks Corp. unveiled its new retail format, Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar, with the debut location opening on Manhattan's  East Side. The store features a wide variety of hot brewed and iced teas, tea fusion beverages and  tea-related merchandise. It also offers a range of food items, from salads to flatbreads to pastries and other baked goods, with a bakery-like presentations.

Petco has opened its first store in Mexico and announced plans for continued expansion in Mexico and Latin America through a previously announced joint venture with Grupo Gigante of Mexico. Together, the companies plan to open as many as 50 Petco stores in Mexico and Latin America by 2020.

Atlanta -- Among the affluent households, the average expenditure for December holiday gifts in 2013 is estimated to be $2,175 down 2.8% from 2012, according to a new survey of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households by the American Affluence Research Center. However, affluent households spent in 2012 almost 7% more than they had anticipated in the 2012 survey, supporting the premise that people often tend to spend more for gifts than they had planned.
 

Mike Graen has left his position as director of innovations and supplier collaboration at Walmart to assume a new role with leading merchandising and marketing services company Crossmark.

Grain will serve as managing director of the Crossmark Center for Collaboration currently under construction adjacent to Walmart’s headquarters on Southwest 8th Street in Bentonville, Ar.

New York -- Lane Bryant has announced the opening of three new stores and one relocation of an existing store.

The specialty apparel retailer plans to open a new store in the Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville, Pa., on Oct. 25, with the grand opening running through the weekend.

Lane Bryant also plans to open a new store at Rushmore Crossing in Rapid City, S.D. on Oct. 25, with the grand opening continuing through Sunday.

Shanghai, China -- The Walt Disney Co. announced plans to open its first store in mainland China, in Shanghai. The 53,000-sq.-ft. Disney Store, expected to open in early 2015, will be the company’s largest store to date.

The store will be located in Shanghai's financial hub. It will feature an approximate 10,800-sq.-ft. retail space, and a Disney-themed outdoor plaza area that can be used to host outdoor events. The surrounding area has foot traffic of more than 40 million visitors a year.

The Walt Disney Company said it would enter China in 2015 with a new retail location planned for Shanghai that measures 10,800-sq.-ft. on a 53,000-sq.-ft. site in the heart of the city’s financial district.
Disney currently operates 340 worldwide locations but until this week’s announcement in Shanghai had steered clear of opening stores in mainland China.