OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. announced the appointment of R. David Minnix, Jr., as senior VP and head of boutiques, effective  July 8.  

New Delhi, India – Wal-Mart Stores In. has reportedly opened an e-commerce site to serve the small retailers that shop at its members-only cash-and-carry stores in India. According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart is piloting the site for small retailers located in the cities of Hyderabad and Lucknow, with full rollout across India planned in January 2015.

Houston - Elaine D. Crowley, 55, was appointed to the Stage Stores Inc. board of directors. Her appointment brings the board’s membership to 10 directors.

New York -- Instacart, the same-day grocery delivery service, has raised $44 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The San Francisco startup currently operates in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and seven other U.S. cities. With its new funding, it Instacart expects to expand into 17 cities by the end of 2014.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Domino's Pizza, in conjunction with Nuance Communications, is launching voice ordering for its iPhone and Android apps.

Secaucus, N.J. — The Children’s Place Inc. has named Susan Sobbott to the board of directors as a Class II director to serve for a three-year term expiring in 2017. Sobbott currently holds the position of president of Global Corporate Payments, a global division of the American Express Company. From 2004 to early 2014, she was President and General Manager of American Express Open. The addition of Sobbott expands the company's board of directors to eight.

Seattle — Customers at Starbucks will soon be able to charge their smartphones while getting their afternoon pick-me-up. The coffee giant announced Thursday that it would begin a nationwide rollout of Duracell Powermat wireless charging stations after the success of a pilot program. The rollout will begin in the Bay Area, with plans to nationwide in 2015. Initial pilots in Europe and Asia are expected within the year.

Boston — A joint committee of the Massachusetts state House of Representatives and Senate has filed a bill to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage from its current hourly rate of $8 to $11. The increase would occur in stages until reaching $11 in 2017.