News Briefs

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is making changes to its C-suite.

The fast-casual smoothie chain has announced that Jonathan Biggs has been named chief operating officer. He joins the company from Inspire Brands, where he spent more than six years and most recently served as brand head of Baskin-Robbins. Previously, he spent more than 10 years in a variety of roles at Dunkin’ Brands.

Following the retirement of his predecessor, Chris Sasser has been promoted to the role of chief financial officer. He has been with Tropical Smoothie Cafe for nearly six years, and most recently served as chief strategy officer. The chain says Sasser has “played an instrumental role in shaping the company's fiscal strategy and performance.”

Finally, Karen Wickliffe has been promoted to General Counsel, succeeding the brand's previous legal leader, who retired at the end of 2024. Wickliffe will oversee all legal functions and will partner with leadership and business stakeholders on strategic initiatives as the brand continues its rapid expansion. She has spent more than seven years with Tropical Smoothie Cafe, previously serving in various counsel roles.

[READ MORE: Done Deal: Tropical Smoothie Cafe acquired; former Dunkin' CEO named chairman]

"These leadership appointments mark an exciting new chapter for Tropical Smoothie Cafe," said Tropical Smoothie Cafe CEO Max Wetzel, who joined the chain late last year. "Jonathan's operational expertise, combined with Chris and Karen's proven leadership in finance and legal strategy, will strengthen our ability to support franchisees and build on our incredible growth momentum."

Founded in 1997, Tropical Smoothie Cafe operates more than 1,500 locations in 44 states.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average American shopper is planning to spend $188.81 on his or her loved ones this Valentine’s Day--and the nation’s largest mall has its heart set on topping that number.

Mall of America’s popular Log Chute ride has been rechristened as the “Love Chute” through the coming weekend, challenging sweethearts to “ride the waves of love with dreamy décor, romantic music, and a 40-foot drop perfect for holding on tight with their special someones.

A Valentine Swing Night dance will be held in the mall’s Huntington Bank Rotunda on the evening of February 14. Swing dance lessons will commence at 6:30 p.m., and students can practice their Jitterbugging later into the night to music from Katia + the Upswing

The walk-in kaleidoscope at its Museum of Illusions will have a Valentine’s Day theme; M&Ms will present heart-shaped gift boxes to lovers able to imprint the signature candy with special names and messages, and the Wilson sporting goods shop will stock red-and-black pickleball paddles (complete with red pickleballs).

American consumers are expected spend a record of $27.5 billion dollars celebrating Valentine’s Day, according to the NRF.

E-commerce platform Shopify has taken down the website of the online store belonging to Ye (the performer and designer formerly known as Kanye West).

The site sold a single product: $20 white T-shirts featuring a black swastika. Ye promoted the site during a 30-second commercial that aired in some local markets during the Super Bowl on Sunday. At the time the commercial aired, the website was selling a variety on non-branded clothing, but not the T-shirt. However, shortly after the spot aired, the content changed to display (and sell) only the T-shirt with the swastika, Variety reported.

Shopify took down the site, yeezy.com, on Tuesday morning. The site now displays an error message that reads, “This store is unavailable.”

“All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform,” Shopify said in a statement to CBS News. “This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify."

According to Shopify’s terms of service, the platform will act "to restrict products or activities that we deem unsafe, inappropriate, or offensive."

The commercial aired days after Ye professed his love for Adolf Hitler on social media. His X account was later deactivated.

On Monday, the Anti-Defamation League condemned the commercial.

“The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis,” the Anti-Defamation League wrote on X. “It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior.”

In October 2022, Adidas terminated its seven-year — and extremely lucrative — partnership with Ye after he made a series of antisemitic comments.

[READ MORE: Anti-Defamation League urges Adidas to cut ties with Kanye West]

On the heels of a record-breaking year in terms of store growth, Chicken Salad Chick is continuing to expand its footprint.

The fast-casual restaurant chain signed 88 deals in 2024, a 60% increase over the previous year. Known for its Southern-style chicken salad, the brand closed out the year with nearly 40 openings, giving it a total of 288 restaurants — double its count from five years ago — across 20 states.

In 2025, Chicken Salad Chick is aiming to break records with new deals across the United States. Franchise development has identified Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and West Virginia as target growth states with high economic potential.

[READ MORE: Chicken Salad Chick to open first Maryland location] 

The company noted that in 2024, 12 groups of franchisees invested back into the brand for additional markets across the country. In addition, several multi-concept franchisees joined the brand in 2024.

According to the 2024 FDD, Chicken Salad Chick reported over $353 million in system wide sales, a 38% increase over 2021 and grew to record-setting AUV of $1.5 million.

"This year we have seen large multi-concept operators add our brand to their portfolios," said Mark Verges, VP of franchise development at Chicken Salad Chick. "Of course, it speaks volumes when existing franchisees double-down on their initial investment and are hungry to continue growing with the brand in more communities.”

Outdoor footwear brand Merrell has added a new marketing head to its leadership.

Richard McLeod has been named chief marketing officer of the brand, which is a division of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. Reporting to Janice Tennant, Merrell's global brand president, McLeod will be responsible for leading Merrell's global marketing and directing the creation of “modern integrated marketing capabilities.”

McLeod most recently served as VP and chief marketing officer at apparel brand Champion, where he led the development of strategy and "enhanced" Champion's market presence using consumer insights, brand development, storytelling and innovation. 

Prior to Champion, McLeod was senior VP of brand at Canada Goose, where he was responsible for brand evolution, growth and performance. He previously spent four years at Foot Locker in various roles. He also held various positions at Foot Locker, including general manager of Foot Locker Canada, vice president of digital and e-commerce, and VP of marketing at Footaction.

"Rich is widely recognized as a consumer-obsessed leader and builder of talent with a track record of growing brands through strong consumer demand creation and retail execution," said Tennant. "Rich's depth of experience will help position Merrell for long-term growth."

[READ MORE: Wolverine World Wide names its first-ever chief supply chain officer]

Merrell currently operates 49 stores in 28 states. Rockford, Mich.-based Wolverine World Wide’s portfolio includes Merrell, Sperry, Sweaty Betty, Stride Rite, Saucony, Hush Puppies and more.

"I am thrilled to join Merrell, a brand with a rich heritage and global impact," said McLeod. "I look forward to developing world class marketing strategies that inspire more people to embrace the outdoors, connect with the brand, and drive the brand's future growth."

The world’s leading retailer at sea is expanding its reach as it moves onto dry land.

Starboard Group, which operates stores across more than 90 cruise ships, has launched a land-based retail division, Starboard Resort, with Westgate Resorts in Las Vegas as its initial partner. 

The new division has opened three shops at Westgate: Luxe by Starboard, a luxury boutique in the main lobby; The Edit by Starboard, a trendy and edgy fashion outpost; and Baubles by Starboard, which offers fashion jewelry, permanent jewelry and customization options such as on-site engraving. 

The stores are designed to transform the Westgate experience for guests and local visitors alike, creating an experiential retail destination featuring expertly curated assortments, personalized services and highly engaging activations and events, the company said.

“We know from our many decades of curating elevated retail environments for the world’s best cruise lines that vacationers love unique, memorable shopping experiences — but we recognized that guests at vacation resorts were often underserved when it came to retail options,” said Lisa Bauer, president and CEO, Starboard Group. “By launching our first land-based boutiques in partnership with Westgate Las Vegas, we’re taking the first significant steps to close this gap. Our strategic expansion enables us to fully leverage our vacation retail expertise.”

The  launch of Starboard's retail operations coincides with the continued growth of the leisure tourism market. Statista estimates that vacationers will spend more than $7 million trillion globally this year.

"Expanding into land-based retail is a natural evolution for Starboard,” said Stacy Shaw, senior VP, luxury & resorts, Starboard Group. “This launch marks the beginning of an exciting journey as we continue to redefine experiential retail in premier vacation destinations worldwide."