OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Seattle -- Nordstrom Inc. revealed Thursday that it is leading a $16.4 million investment round in online men’s apparel brand Bonobos. The announcement follows last year’s purchase of online private sale site HauteLook, giving Nordstrom another leg up in the e-commerce arena.

Nordstrom is selling the Bonobos label's clothing at its stores and online. Bonobos is the largest apparel brand launched on the internet in the United States.

Minneapolis -- A Thursday report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune said that Best Buy’s investigations into former CEO Brian Dunn’s personal conduct includes allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.

According to the newspaper, Dunn is said to have used company resources in the course of the relationship. It quoted an unnamed source as saying “the company is investigating multiple complaints that Dunn behaved inappropriately with a female subordinate.”

San Francisco -- A new study released Thursday by MarketTools found that 63% of shoppers say they have changed their shopping habits in the past six months, with the majority reporting changes to seek more value.

According to the study, to save money on grocery bills, respondents reported that they buy items with coupons (80%); buy store brands instead of name brands (62%); use store loyalty cards that offer discounts (62%); buy items only when they are on sale (58%); and buy more large-sized products (43%).

Houston -- ATM owner Cardtronics said Thursday that it been named the exclusive provider of ATM services to all 7-Eleven convenience stores in Canada.

Washington, D.C. -- Figures released Thursday by the Labor Department showed that more Americans than forecast filed applications for jobless benefits last week, reinforcing concern that the labor-market recovery will be slow to develop.

Consumer confidence, however, has held up, as the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 32.8 in the period ended April 8, second only to the prior week’s minus 31.4 as the highest since March 2008.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group announced that Joshua Schulman has been appointed president of Bergdorf Goodman, effective May 7.

Schulman, 40, joins Neiman Marcus from Jimmy Choo where he was CEO. In this role, he oversaw the international expansion of the brand and the growth of jimmychoo.com. Prior to Jimmy Choo, Schulman was president, Kenneth Cole New York, and managing director, international strategic alliances, Gap, Inc.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe's Cos. announced that Michael K. Brown, executive VP and CIO, will retire after almost 28 years with the company. The company has begun a search for a replacement. Brown will continue to serve in his present role for a period of time to assist with the transition.

Brown was named CIO in 2011 after a 26-year career in store operations and merchandising. He joined the company in 1984.

New York -- Modell’s Sporting Goods announced the promotions of two members on the company’s executive team.

Charles Castaneda has been promoted to executive VP -- planning, allocation, replenishment and e-ccommerce merchandising. Castaneda joined Modell’s in December of 2010 as senior VP – planning, allocation and replenishment.

Todd Smyth has been promoted to VP/GMM of the licensed product division. He has been with Modell’s for the past 12 years.