Retail

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores said Thursday it has elected James F. Gooch to its board of directors and as chair of the audit committee.

Gooch had served as president and CEO, as well as CFO, of RadioShack Corp.
 

New York -- An SEC filing on Friday revealed that the total compensation for CVS Caremark Corp. CEO Larry Merlo jumped 44% last year to $20.3 million.

Merlo’s base salary rose slightly but the major increases came from stock and option awards and nonequity incentive-plan compensation.

Seattle -- Amazon.com announced that it has agreed to acquire social site Goodreads, an online book recommendation community that has more than 16 millions around the globe. The financial terms of the deal, which enhances Amazon's already significant clout in the book publishing world, were not disclosed.

Tampa, Fla. -- Burger chain Burger 21 – founded by the owners of The Melting Pot® Restaurants – announced the signing of two new multi-unit franchise agreements in Florida. Seven new restaurants will be developed over the next several years in the Fort Myers - Naples corridor, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Davie and Pembroke Pines.

To date, Burger 21 has six restaurants open in Florida and 18 franchised locations in development along the East Coast.

Mahwah, N.J. -- Crossroad Cos. announced Thursday that it has named Carlo J. Caparruva as EVP of leasing services, charged with overseeing all leasing activities related to Crossroads’ development projects and existing portfolio, as well as third-party real estate services.

San Jose, Calif. -- Forty percent of retailers have no online fraud prevention in place, despite the fact that 85% consider online fraud prevention a high priority, according to a survey by ThreatMetrix, a provider of integrated cybercrime prevention solutions.

The study, “The ThreatMetrix 2012 State of Cybercrime Study,” was conducted by Info-Tech Research Group and surveyed U.S. business managers and IT executives within retail and financial services organizations on the level of cybersecurity solutions they have in place.

Carlisle, Pa. -- Ahold USA announced Friday it has appointed Paul Scorza as chief information officer for the company, effective April 1.

Scorza, a 30-year veteran of IBM, will oversee Ahold USA information management functions, with a focus on systems and business processes to improve efficiency, effectiveness, controls and operations.

The U.S. subsidiary of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, operates the Stop & Shop, Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service.
 

New York -- British grocery giant Tesco is moving closer to selling off its U.S. Fresh & Easy division, with Tesco CEO Philip Clarke traveling to the United States next week to try and strike a deal, according to a report in the British newspaper, The Telegraph.

Tesco has held discussions with Trader Joe’s and others about selling Fresh & Easy, but a break-up of the business is considered the most likely option, the report said. Other options include closing the business and selling off assets.