Supply Chain & Merchandising

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens reported Friday that sales for the month of December dipped 4% to $6.71 billion, from $6.99 billion in the year-ago period.
 
Total front-end sales fell 1.3% and same-store front-end sales decreased 2.3%.
 
Total same-store sales fell 6.1% in December.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it has created a new executive position to oversee new store formats in international markets.
 
Lev Khasis, who joined the company in 2011 after working in Russian retail, was named president and CEO of new formats for Wal-Mart International. He built up Russia’s largest food retailer X5 through acquisitions into a market leader before resigning to join Wal-Mart Stores.
 

New York -- Winick Realty Group said that Hale & Hearty has signed a lease for its latest location at 177 Madison Avenue, between East 33rd and East 34th Streets.
 
The tenant will occupy 2,500 sq. ft. on the ground floor and 2,500 sq. ft. in the basement.
 
Hale & Hearty Soups currently has 28 locations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island.

Office Depot on Friday announced that Kevin Peters had resigned from his role as president of the retailer’s North American division effective immediately.

Office Depot said Peters was leaving the company after five years to become CEO of an unidentified industrial distribution company.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. on Thursday announced the acquisition of two prime power centers for $151 million during the fourth quarter.

DDR purchased Carolina Pavilion, located in Charlotte, N.C., from Blackstone Real Estate Partners for $106 million. The 94% leased, 852,000-sq.-ft. center is anchored by Target, Kohl's, Nordstrom Rack, Ross Dress for Less, Buybuy Baby, Bed Bath & Beyond, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores and AMC Theatres.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Coinstar, a leading provider of automated retail solutions, has appointed its current CFO J. Scott Di Valerio as new CEO, effective April 1. At that time, Di Valerio will also be appointed to the Coinstar board of directors.

Di Valerio succeeds Paul Davis, who is retiring on March 31, and will remain a member of the board until then.

Di Valerio has been CFO at Coinstar since 2010, and has overseen Coinstar's corporate information technology and supply chain functions.

Despite solid sales trends at Family Dollar during the company’s first quarter ended November 24, margins contracted and profits were less than expected.

New York -- The hunt is on for a new chief executive at Safeway following the resignation of longtime chairman and CEO Steve Burd.

Burd, 62, is scheduled to retire at the company’s annual stockholders meeting on May 14 and will aid in the search of his successor that is said to include internal and external candidates. Burd joined Safeway in October 1992 as president and was appointed CEO in May of the following year.