News

Former Walmart apparel merchant Dottie Mattison and Sephora head merchant Margarita Arriagada will be among those honored next week at the 35th annual Outstanding Mother Awards.

NEW YORK — Former J. Crew executive Arnold P. Cohen has been named EVP and CMO at Cache, a specialty chain of women’s apparel stores.

GLENVIEW, Ill. — Crystal Light, a leading beverage mix brand, is launching an e-commerce platform, Shop.CrystalLight.com. 

"For years we have heard from some of our most loyal fans that they want easier access to the flavors they love, especially Crystal Light Pure," said Adam Butler, senior brand manager for Crystal Light. "This new e-commerce platform enables us to make a wide variety of unique flavors and varieties readily available to fans anywhere in the country."

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky told shareholders at the company's annual shareholder meeting that its consumer healthcare business would reclaim its prominence in the U.S. marketplace. But OTC growth will be greatest outside of the U.S.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar has announced that EVP of supply chain Charles S. Gibson will leave the company to pursue other interests.

“Charlie has overseen the growth and development of our supply chain network and has been a valued part of our team,” said Howard R. Levine, chairman and CEO. “We appreciate the contributions Charlie has made to the company’s success, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

PORTLAND, Ore. — Columbia Sportswear Company has appointed Shawn Cox as SVP of retail, a newly created position that will report directly to president and CEO Tim Boyle.

In his new role, Cox, 49, will be responsible for leading the company’s brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce operations in the U.S., Europe and Canada.

Cox has 24 years of experience developing, managing and improving profitability of branded retail networks with operations in the U.S., Europe, South America, Middle East and Asia.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Global appliance leader Whirlpool Corporation has launched a line of smart appliances with 6th Sense Live technology. 

The company’s flagship Whirlpool brand is making smart home management a reality in the Chicagoland area with the release of a suite of smart appliances along with a free mysmartappliances app, which is already available in the iTunes app store.

FORT WORTH, Texas — RadioShack is teaming up with Beats By Dr. Dre, the popular brand of headphones and HD sound systems, on a new advertising campaign featuring recording artist Robin Thicke's hit single "Blurred Lines" and the Beats by Dr. Dre Pill portable Bluetooth speaker.

The 30-second commercial ties into a special in-store offer that will allow RadioShack customers and music fans to download an exclusive remix of "Blurred Lines" with the purchase of any qualifying product.

Robert Edwards will replace Steven Burd as CEO of Safeway, the company announced Monday evening.

Edwards, 57, currently serves as Safeway’s president and will assume CEO responsibilities on May 14 when Burd resigns as CEO and chairman. Filling the chairman role will be lead independent director T. Gary Rogers who will become non-executive chairman.

New York -- Consumer confidence dropped in April to a three-month low amid discouraging economic indicators, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.  

The index fell 2.8% in April to 76.4 from 78.6 a month earlier. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey was 73.5 after a preliminary April reading of 72.3.

The Michigan survey’s current conditions index, which measures Americans’ view of their personal finances, fell to 89.9 in April from 90.7 last month.