News Briefs

TGI Fridays has named a new chief executive for the second time in less than a year.

The casual dining chain appointed board member Weldon Spangler as CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Brandon Coleman, who has resigned for personal reasons. Coleman, who joined TGI Fridays in 2022 as global chief marketing officer, was promoted chief executive at the end of August. 

Spangler, a TGI Fridays board member since 2019,  brings extensive background in the restaurant industry with over 30 years of experience, that includes seven years at Dunkin’ Brands and 12 years at Starbucks. He also served as CEO of Papa Murphy’s International, from 2017 to 2019. Most recently, he was senior VP of market operations at Subway. 

 Spangler will lead implementation of the company’s new strategic growth plan to revitalize the iconic brand on a global scale. There are currently 700 TGI Fridays restaurants in 51 countries.

Rohit Manocha, co-founder of private equity firm TriArtisan Capital, the controlling shareholder of TGI Fridays, will continue to collaborate closely with   Spangler and the dedicated team at TGI Fridays in his role as “active” chairman for the company.

"I thank Rohit and the board for their trust in me and look forward to working closely with the board on executing on our new growth-oriented business plan focused on revitalizing TGI Fridays,” Spangler said. “We are a well-loved brand around the world, which is a strong foundation on which to build our business and brand."

Publix is on track for a banner year. 

The grocery retailer reported that its net earnings rose 111.4% to $833 million in the third quarter, ended Sept. 30.  Earnings per share more than doubled, increasing to $0.25 per share from $0.12 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales rose 7.2% to $14 billion. Comparable store sales increased 4/3%. 

On a nine-month basis, net earnings rose 93.4% to $3.2 billion. Sales increased 8.1% to $42.4 billion. Comp sales were up 5.6%.  

Publix’s stellar results come as it continues to expand its footprint.  The company recently opened stores in Maryville, Tenn.; Irondale, Ala., and Greenville, S.C. 

“Our associates make a difference in the lives of our customers and communities every day,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “I’m proud of their efforts and commitment.”

Effective Nov. 1, 2023, Publix’s stock price increased from $14.75 per share to $15.10 per share. (Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.)

Publix, which is employee-owned-and operated,operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.

Jack in the Box is entering new markets as its continues to grow its footprint. 

The quick-service restaurant chain has opened its first location in Kentucky, in the Louisville market. The site offers dine-in, drive-thru, mobile ordering options and will be open 24 hours per day. 

The opening represents Jack in the Box’s second new market entry in the past three months, joining Salt Lake City. 

The brand also announced a new agreement, signing a group of veteran Jack in the Box franchisees to open six new restaurant commitments in the Louisville market.

“We’re pleased to announce the opening of our first Jack in the Box location in the state of Kentucky,” said Tim Linderman, chief development officer. “This marks a significant milestone for our brand as we continue to expand our presence across the country."

In May, Jack in the Box  signed its first new development agreement in Mexico in more than 30 years, a 22-unit commitment in four northern Mexican States. The signing came on the heels of the brand’s recent announcements for expansion into the new markets of Orlando (Florida) and Arkansas, along with additional commitments in Hawaii, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, and California.

Jack in the Box Inc., headquartered in San Diego, California, operates and franchises Jack in the Box, which has more than 2,180 restaurants across 21 states, and Del Taco, the second largest Mexican-American QSR chain by units in the U.S. with approximately 600 restaurants across 15 states.  

The world’s largest sporting goods retailer is enhancing its digital product creation capabilities as part of a broader enterprise transformation.

Decathlon, a France-based global sporting goods chain with a U.S. e-commerce operation, is deploying the Centric Software product lifecycle management (PLM) technology and Visual Boards digital touchscreen boards as part of a digital transformation effort. Leveraging the Centric Software PLM solution, Decathlon intends to more effectively plan, design, develop, source, price and sell products.

The retailer sought an extended technology solution to support innovation and impact initiatives while driving value for all product lines, from apparel and footwear to sports equipment.  

Of particular importance to Decathlon was Centric’s end-to-end digital product creation functionality via 3D design and development, as well as an enhanced visual experience. In addition, the retailer selected the vendor for its global support offering.

As a a vertically integrated company, Decathlon researches, designs, manufactures, markets and retails its own branded apparel, equipment, and related sports merchandise. This means the company has to manage logistics, inventory, labeling and tracking of the products it produces.

In addition to implementing new PLM technology, Decathlon has also taken innovative product management steps such as adopting Electronic Product Code (EPC)-enabled Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to uniquely identify every product in its portfolio, worldwide. 

Headquartered in Villeneuve d'Ascq, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, Decathlon operates more than 1,700 stores in 60 countries around the world, as well as a U.S. e-commerce site.

Shein continues to expand its global reach.

In its second big deal in a week, the Singapore-based online retailer of value-priced fashions has acquired British fast-fashion brand Missguided from the Frasers Group. Missguided items will be made available to Shein’s 150 million global users as an independent brand via Shein sites, as well as on missguided.com, according to Shein.

The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, comes on the heels of Shein’s new agreement with Authentic Brands Group under which it will design, manufacture and distribute a line of Forever 21 apparel and accessories for men and women.  

As part of the Missguided deal, Shein has entered into an agreement to license the British brand’s intellectual property to Sumwon Studios, a joint venture between Shein and Missguided founder Nitin Passi.  The brand’s products and collections will be manufactured through Shein’s on-demand production model and sold on Shein sites.

"The joint venture we have entered ushers in a new format of partnerships for Shein as part of our unwavering commitment to meet customer demand" said Donald Tang, executive chairman, Shein. "Shein aims to reignite the Missguided brand, capitalising on its unique brand personality, and fuelling its global growth through Shein's on-demand production model, unparalleled e-commerce expertise and global reach."

According to its release, Shein has reimagined the fashion industry's traditional production model, by building an agile and responsive ecosystem that leverages real-time insights for on-demand production. 

“This enables the reduction of production waste at the source and a much lower level of excess inventory, by responding with increased production only when there is actual market demand,” the company said.

Disney is kicking off the holiday season with an experiential pop-up village.

The company will open an immersive pop-up marketplace, called Mickey & Friends Holiday Village, in Los Angeles on Nov. 4 and 5. The shoppable experience will feature products from over 70 collections, including from such brands as Forever 21 and Baublebar.  It will be open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. (PT).  

The holiday village is designed to  transport guests into a wonderland full of Mickey & Friends-inspired gifts, treats and photo-ready backdrops. 

 The attractions will include:

•Mickey's Magic Post Office, a seasonal interactive experience that will come to life with light and sound, alerting guests of a holiday mail delivery;

•Mickey & Friends' Holiday House, where visitors can stop and pose for a shareable Disney Holiday themed-postcard with friends; 

 •A hands-on demo of the 2D platform adventure game featuring Mickey & Friends, Disney Illusion Island; and

• Mickey & Friends wintery chalets, which will showcase the latest collections from select brands including Baublebar, Forever21, Loungefly, shopDisney and more.

Disney's Mickey & Friends Holiday Village is a limited-capacity event located at 606 Venice Boulevard, Venice, Calif.  Registration for the experience, which is free, is strongly encouraged at DisneyHoliday.com/Village.  A stand-by line will be available open during operating hours on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Guests that can't attend in person can visit the village online, where they can shop hundreds of holiday products. The digital shopping experience is inspired by the in-person Disney's Mickey & Friends Holiday Village.