OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

L’Oreal USA reduces CO2 emissions
New York - L'Oreal USA is announcing the first measured results of its global sustainability program, Sharing Beauty With All. By 2020, the company pledges that 100% of products will have an environmental or social benefit and 100% of strategic suppliers will be evaluated on their social and environmental performance.
Fresh Market expands board
Greenboro, N.C. – The Fresh Market Inc. has elected Michael D. Casey, CEO and a director of Carter’s Inc., and Robert K. Shearer, formerly CFO of V.F. Corp, and currently a director of Church & Dwight Co. Inc., as independent directors. With these additions, The Fresh Market’s board has nine directors, eight of whom are independent directors.

Report: Arizona outlaws local plastic bag bans

Phoenix – Local communities in Arizona reportedly can no longer ban plastic bags. According to the Associated Press, the Arizona state legislature has voted to make it illegal for cities and town to forbid the use of plastic bags, as well as Styrofoam containers or other disposable products, within their limits.

The state law also restricts local communities from requiring businesses to report energy usage.
Bartell Drug names REI veteran as CEO

Brian Unmacht (left) and George D. Bartell
Kroger to build 11 new stores, 16 gas stations, training center in Indiana

Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. plans to build 11 new stores and remodel 22 existing stores in the Indianapolis area. Kroger will spend $464.6 million in a four-year plan that actually started in 2014.

The plan includes constructing seven 125,000-sq.-ft. Kroger Marketplace stores in Fishers, Franklin and Indianapolis counties. Those stores will cost $141 million and create 1,350 permanent jobs.
Tim Horton’s releases 2014 sustainability results

Oakville, Canada - Tim Hortons has released its fifth annual Sustainability and Responsibility Report, highlighting the company's 2014 performance results. Key accomplishments in 2014 include:

• Introduced Calorie Aware menu boards across Canada to highlight breakfast products under 350 calories.

• Increased the number of farmers who participated in the Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership Projects to a total of 4,830 farmers.
Target names Ecolab CEO as lead independent director

Minneapolis – Doug Baker, CEO of environmental technology firm Ecolab, has been named by Target Corp. as lead independent director of the Target board. Baker, who already serves as an independent director for Target, will replace current independent director Jim Johnson, who is retiring from the board in June after almost 20 years.
Rachel Comey complies with EMV, Apple Pay

New York – Omnichannel specialty fashion retailer Rachel Comey is now accepting payment via EMV-compliant, chip-based payment cards, as well as Apple Pay, in its New York store. Rachel Comey is using EMV- and Apple Pay-enabled, cloud-based mobile POS devices from Highline Software.
NRF supports ‘patent troll’ legislation

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation today welcomed bipartisan patent reform legislation introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck E. Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Patrick J. Leahy, D-VT, that seeks to protect retailers and other businesses from overly litigious patent trolls.
Wal-Mart to build 115 new stores in China by 2017, upgrade 50 this year

Beijing, China -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled plans to countermand slowed growth in China with 115 new stores in the country by 2017 and creating some 30,000 jobs. The announcement adds about 35 new stores to the retailer’s building plans as Wal-Mart previously targeted 480 total stores in China by 2016, up from around 400 now.

CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that "China is a key strategic market for Walmart. Over the next three years we will increase investment across our diverse business operations in China.”