Personnel Updates
• A Wireless announced it has appointed George Sherman as its new CEO.
• Amazon.com Inc. announced it has hired Jamil Ghani, who was previously Senior VP Strategy and Innovation at Target Corporation, as its VP Membership Amazon Prime International.
• Conn’s HomePlus has named Coleman R. Gaines as President and COO, Casey Chung as VP Logistics and David Hutchinson as VP Service.
• Office Depot Inc. has announced Gerry P. Smith will join the company as CEO and Joseph Vassalluzzo will be appointed Chairman, effective February 27.
• Ross-Simons Inc. has appointed James Speltz as President. Additionally, the company announced the retirement of Exec VP and COO Robert Simone who will remain with the company through the second quarter of 2017.
• Target Corporation has promoted Rick Gomez to the position of Chief Marketing Officer and Exec VP.
• Tiffany & Co announced Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as CEO. Michael Kowalski will serve as interim CEO.
• Toys “R” Us Inc. announced Diane Preston was promoted to Exec VP, Supply Chain and Kevin Macnab was promoted to President, International. The retailer also announced that Carla Hassan will join the company as Exec VP, Chief Marketing Officer, effective February 20, 2017.
• Walmart Stores Inc. and Jet.com, Inc. announced multiple personnel changes. Liza Landsman was promoted to President of Jet.com. Scott Hilton was promoted to Senior VP and Chief Revenue Officer overseeing digital store operations across Walmart.com and Jet.com. Jeremy King was named Exec VP and CTO. Jordan Sweetnam is now Walmart’s VP Customer Experience. Seth Beal is assuming a new role as Senior VP Strategic Partnerships. Tony Rogers was named Director Marketing over Walmart’s stores, Walmart.com and Jet.com. Nate Faust, co-founder and formerly COO at Jet.com, is now taking on the role of Senior VP E-commerce and Supply Chain for Walmart. Clay Johnson joins Walmart for a newly created role of Enterprise CIO. Neil Ashe no longer works for Walmart. Michael Bender, Walmart’s COO is leaving the company. Karenann Terrell will depart her role as CIO on February 24.
Financial Focus
• Marbles: The Brain Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to close all of its stores.
Mergers and Acquisitions
• L Catterton has announced it will acquire Leslie’s Poolmart Inc.
• The Pep Boys has purchased Just Brakes adding 130 stores to its portfolio. Pep Boys plans to convert all Just Brakes locations into Pep Boys Service & Tire Centers.
Industry Insight
• Dollar General Corp. has introduced its new small-format store concept, DGX, in an effort to appeal to Millennial shoppers. The 3,400 sq. ft. store includes a curated selection of goods and a coffee station.
• Walmart Stores Inc. announced a partnership with online automotive retailer CarSaver as part of its new efforts to join forces with car dealerships and begin vehicle sales.
Real Estate
• Amazon.com Inc. is planning its ninth Texas fulfillment center. The 1 million sq. ft. facility, which will be in Coppell, TX, will create 1,000 full-time positions. The company is also breaking ground on its first fulfillment center in Colorado. The 1 million sq. ft. facility being constructed in Aurora is expected to create more than 1,000 new full-time jobs.
• The Andersons Inc. announced it is closing all four of its stores in the second quarter of 2017.
• Apple Inc. is more than doubling the size of its store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, from about 32,000 square feet to 77,000 square feet.
• Dollar General Corp. is planning to open 1,000 new stores and a distribution center in Jackson, GA in 2017.
Technology News
• Target Corporation plans to introduce mobile payment features to one or more of its own apps.
• Yankee Candle Company announced it is deploying the TCxWave system, a new POS with gesture touch-based screen functionality.
