Retail

Atlanta - S. Truett Cathy, founder and chairman emeritus of Chick-fil-A Inc., died at the age of 93 on Sept. 8.

Cathy got his start in 1946, when he opened a diner in a suburb of Atlanta. He invented the Chick-fil-A sandwich in 1964 and opened the company's first restaurant in Atlanta in 1967. Under his leadership, the quick-serve eatery grew into one of the nation’s largest family-owned companies, with annual sales of $5 billion in 2013. Currently, there are more than 1,800 Chick-fil-A restaurants operating in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

By Andrea Morgan-Vandome, Oracle Retail

The Children's Place has appointed Robert Vill as group VP of finance. He will report to Michael Scarpa, chief operating officer and CFO.

"Bob brings to The Children's Place a wealth of financial expertise in the areas of corporate finance, treasury and investor relations," Scarpa said. "I am very pleased to welcome him to our team."

CVS Health has completed the purchase of Miami-based Navarro Discount Pharmacy.

The acquisition includes Navarro's 33 retail locations and Navarro Health Services, a specialty pharmacy serving patients with complex or chronic diseases. The retail pharmacies will retain the Navarro Discount Pharmacy name.

Secaucus, N.J. -- The Children's Place announced the appointment of Robert Vill as group VP, finance, effective Sept. 8. He will report to Michael Scarpa, COO and CFO.

New York – Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that media reports indicate could be worth as much as $24.3 billion, making it the biggest U.S. initial public offering ever.

According to Bloomberg, Alibaba is seeking a valuation as high as $162.7 million, in the upper end of the proposed price range and higher than that of any other public Internet company in the U.S. except Google and Facebook.

As more retailers cope with data breaches, Virtual Piggy, provider of family and teen payment technology Oink, has added Jordan Harris to its team as risk officer.

Harris will be responsible for ensuring that all areas of the Oink offering are protected against payment fraud and ensure that the solution meets applicable laws and regulations. His focus will include working with management to identify and implement enhancements related to the management and monitoring of risk and fraud related functions.

Ottawa, Canada - The retailers who “won” during the holiday season in 2013 were those that offered meaningful discounts on a sizable number of products on Black Friday instead of discounting a small number of door crashers. According to analysis from 360pi and Retail Systems Research, poor financial performance followed those retailers who discounted during the week leading into Black Friday, and those who kept discounts in place following Cyber Monday generally fared better than those who raised prices.