News

By John Mulligan, executive VP and CFO, Target

CVS Caremark claimed the healthcare high ground by discontinuing the sales of tobacco products but the move comes with a steep price as the company said it will lose $2 billion in revenue and experienced a 17 cents a share profits impact.
 

Canton, Mass. -- For the eighth consecutive year, Dunkin' Donuts has been ranked number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category by the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Dunkin' Donuts was also ranked number one in customer loyalty in the packaged coffee category for the second consecutive year.

Central Garden & Pet is already starting to see results in the first quarter ended Dec. 28 from an operational strategy it put in place following a disappointing fourth quarter that yielded “unacceptable” financial results.

Deerfield Park, Ill. - Walgreens had January 2014 sales of $6.39 billion, an increase of 3.7% from $6.17 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013. Same-store sales grew 2.9%.

Calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.3 percentage point, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months negatively impacted total comparable sales by 0.9 percentage point. Walgreens opened 12 stores during January, including three relocations, and closed three.

Target CFO John Mulligan ably represented the company in testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday, but the one in the hot seat should have been chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.
 
Recall when the nation’s bankrupt automakers needed a bailout, it was the CEOs of General Motors and Chrysler who appeared before legislators. And when big banks came under fire for their role in the housing crisis it was the financial firms’ CEOs who endured lawmakers pointed questions.

Seattle-based Nordstrom plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Christiana Fashion Center in Newark, Del. The approximately 35,000-sq.-ft. store, which is scheduled to open in fall 2015, is the company’s first Rack location in the state.

The single-level, newly built Nordstrom Rack is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 1, adjacent to Christiana Mall and will be surrounded by a strong tenant mix.

San Francisco-based One Kings Lane, an online destination for the home, has appointed Arun Rajan as chief technology officer.

In his new role, Rajan will lead end-to-end technology delivery, data infrastructure and site operations to support the growth and evolution of One Kings Lane.

Rajan joins alongside chief product officer David Yu, who joined One Kings Lane in mid-2013.