News

Fort Myers, Fla. — Chico’s FAS Inc. is reportedly considering taking itself private. According to Financial Times, the women’s apparel retailer has been holding talks with several private equity firms in recent weeks.

Salt Lake City — Mindshare Technologies, which acquired Empathica in September 2013, announced that the two companies have united under a new corporate entity known as InMoment. InMoment provides a cloud-based customer experience optimization platform, the Experience Hub.

Lowe's has named Paul D. Ramsay as chief information officer, effective immediately. Ramsay, who has been serving as acting CIO since March, will report to Richard D. Maltsbarger, who was himself appointed chief development officer. 

Ramsay is responsible for day-to-day operations of Lowe's IT organization, including the continued development of a technology portfolio designed to seamlessly support the operations of the company's stores, distribution network, e-commerce platforms and future business technology needs. 

New York — Sycamore Partners announced Monday that it bought the going-out-of-business Coldwater Creek brand and other intellectual property through an affiliate company during the  apparel chain’s  bankruptcy proceedings.  The private equity firm said it plans to re-launch Coldwater Creek as an independent portfolio company, but it did not give a timeline for the launch.

Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed.

Kellogg’s has teamed up with New York Times bestselling author, Emmy-nominated TV personality and board-certified emergency medicine physician Dr. Travis Stork in a campaign that touts the importance of breakfast and positions the brand as a valuable source of protein grains.

The company plans to promote various cereal brands such as All Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Raisin Bran and Special K Original by pointing out how much protein and other essential nutrients can be found in one serving plus one cup of skim milk.

Activist investor Carl Icahn on Friday reported a 9.4% stake in Family Dollar, making him the company’s largest shareholder and prompting concerns of a hostile takeover.
 
Family Dollar has responded by adopting a one-year shareholder rights plan with a 10% trigger that would prevent any investor from gaining a controlling interest of the company without board approval.
 

Seattle — Amazon.com is reportedly entering the online payment arena.

According to Reuters, Amazon.com will offer a service where for a fee, registered customers can use credit card information stored on Amazon.com to pay for services such as utilities or digital subscriptions.

Ulta Beauty has announced that Vanessa Wittman, SVP and CFO of Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility, has been appointed to its board and as a member of its audit committee.