News

West Palm Beach, Fla. — Ballard Designs has chosen West Palm Beach, Fla., as the location of its inaugural Interior Design Studio concept store, and this month opened a newly renovated 2,500-square-foot space to become Ballard’s 17th retail location nationwide. “We’re so excited to launch our first ever Design Studio in this area because our 40+ years of client buying trends and business data tell us that the people of West Palm Beach love Ballard Designs,” says Dominic Milanese, vice president of retail for Ballard Designs. The new retail studio …

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Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc., parent company of Great American Cookies and 16 other restaurant concepts, has opened the first converted Great American Cookies from Nestlé® Toll House® Café by Chip® in Las Vegas. The opening follows the May 2022 announcement of FAT Brands’ acquisition of the franchised chain of stores. Two additional converted stores are also set to open in Las Vegas by the end of 2022, furthering Great American Cookies’ presence in the city. “Over the last several months, we have been working with …

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Brentford, UK — Cineworld Group, parent company to Regal Cinemas among other international theater brands, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. While a specific plan regarding the company’s real estate was not announced, Cineworld expects to pursue an “optimization strategy” regarding its locations across the U.S. as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. The company is engaging in discussions with its landlords on improving cinema lease terms in hopes of further positioning Cineworld for long term growth in the …

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Sioux Falls, S.D. — Slim Chickens, a leading fast-casual franchise in the better-chicken segment, is expanding its presence throughout eastern South Dakota and northwest Iowa. Existing franchisee Todd Porter of TNT Chicken is spearheading this expansion. Porter is well-versed in the restaurant industry. In late 2017, he added Slim Chickens to his portfolio alongside several restaurant concepts, including local staples Chevys Fresh Mex and Johnny Carino’s. Porter also has experience in the full-service restaurant sector, as he owned and operated multiple Applebee’s locations throughout South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. His …

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Menlo Park, Calif. — Dragonfruit AI, retail’s first massively scalable video AI platform, has named Ray Cooke — most recently senior vice president at Hanwha Techwin America — as its new vice president of business development. Dragonfruit’s Frontier was custom-built for Retail Loss Prevention/Asset Protection (Video Summaries, ORC Investigations, OSHA Compliance, Slip/Fall, Liquid Spill), Store Operations (Checkout Metrics, Point-of-Sale Analysis with Video Verification) and Marketing/Merchandising (In-store Commerce Funnels). Designed from the ground-up for multi-location retailers, Frontier provides the flexibility for retailers to start solving their most pressing needs and add …

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New York City — Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, has appointed Matt O’Toole as executive vice chairman. In his new role, O’Toole will work in tandem with ABG’s leadership team on new brand acquisitions, driving strategic initiatives, as well as supporting the global expansion of Reebok. “We are thrilled to welcome Matt O’Toole to ABG’s leadership team,” says Jamie Salter, founder, chairman and CEO, ABG. “Matt brings over 30 years of leadership experience in the footwear, apparel, equipment and sports marketing business. For …

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Tampa, Fla. — api(+) is providing branding, design and architecture services for a new Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar flagship, a freestanding, 300-seat fine dining concept to be located near Bloomin’ Brands’ headquarters in Tampa, Fla. api(+) was selected for its creative expertise in creating flagship and prototype concepts in the foodservice and food retail industries, and for its understanding of the Tampa Bay marketplace. The flagship is slated to open in summer 2023. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. is one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies whose four founder-inspired …

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Minneapolis — Target Corporation has announced that Brian Cornell has committed to remain as CEO and lead the company for approximately 3 more years. Additionally, Arthur Valdez, executive vice president and chief supply chain and logistics officer, will retire from Target. He will be succeeded by Gretchen McCarthy, senior vice president, global inventory management, effective immediately. “In discussions about the company’s longer term plans, it was important to us as a board to assure our stakeholders that Brian intends to stay in his role beyond the traditional retirement age of …

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Atlanta — Church’s Texas Chicken® has hired QSR industry leader Tim Waddell to take on the role of executive vice president of international business, effective September 6. Waddell brings extensive experience in the areas of global development, sales, marketing, operations and P&L management that will support the brand in its continued growth. “Tim’s expertise globally and within his category will help us propel our growth internationally. Tim is an accomplished, high-impact business leader with over 20 years of proven international development experience and has an outstanding reputation as someone who …

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Union, N.J. — According to Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Gustavo Arnal, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the company, passed away on September 2, 2022. The entire Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. organization is profoundly saddened by this shocking loss. “I wish to extend our sincerest condolences to Gustavo’s family. Gustavo will be remembered by all he worked with for his leadership, talent and stewardship of our company. I am proud to have been his colleague, and he will be truly missed by all of us at …

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