Louisville, Ky. — Yum! Brands, Inc.’s board of directors has unanimously elected David Gibbs as chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2020, and appointed him to the company’s board, effective November 1, 2019. Gibbs, who currently serves as Yum! Brands’ president and chief operating officer and oversees the global KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell divisions, will succeed Greg Creed, who has decided to retire at the end of 2019 after a successful 25-year career with the company. “I’ve had the privilege of partnering with our franchisees to grow the …
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Deerfield, Ill. — Walgreens plans to close approximately 200 stores across the U.S. starting this fall as part of a cost-management program. Specific store locations have not been disclosed, but the new closures represent less than 3% of Walgreens’ U.S. footprint. The announcement was made in a Walgreens Boots Alliance regulatory filing the first week of August. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company had previously unveiled plans to close 200 stores in the United Kingdom. Currently, Walgreens operates more than 18,500 stores in 11 countries. SOURCE: REBusinessOnline.com
Louisville, Ky. — Pizza Hut will close as many as 500 dine-in stores over the next 24 months as part of a broader strategy to bolster its delivery and carryout services, company executives said during the second-quarter earnings call. Food Business News first reported the announcement. Pizza Hut, which is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based YUM! Brands, operates about 7,500 locations across the United States and 18,000 worldwide. In the United States, roughly 6,100 of the company’s locations are dine-in restaurants. The remaining locations are express units, which feature limited menus …
Los Angeles — California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) has appointed Scott Hargrove as executive vice president and global chief marketing officer. Since joining CPK earlier this year, Hargrove is leading marketing and growth efforts of the 240+ unit worldwide restaurant brand including brand and performance marketing, culinary innovation, social media, loyalty, communications and community engagement. Along with recent strategic team additions in data insights and digital, Hargrove’s role will be instrumental in delivering a new era of guest experience at CPK, driving growth through amplified brand building and digital-based marketing that …
New York City — On August 9, 2019, Foot Locker opened a community-based Power Store in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights. The new store features a full suite of immersive capabilities for consumers to experience, including an activation space on the second floor. The 9,000-square-foot store is also the first among Foot Locker stores to showcase Nike App at Retail digital technology, bringing consumers digitally-led experiences and services in-store through the Nike App. “The launch of the Washington Heights Community Power Store serves as an opportunity for us …
Troy, Ohio — Foodservice industry leaders Vulcan, Wolf and Berkel of the ITW Food Equipment Group have launched new websites. The redesigned sites feature major user experience improvements and buying tools to assist in product selection. The clean, intuitive designs enable quick navigation and help guide buying decisions with educational content and tools, supporting the company’s mission of delivering innovative solutions to their customers. “Today, digital channels are the foodservice industry’s main source of information when researching products for purchase. We want to make sure our websites are providing the …
Austin, Texas — Tabulate, an all-in-one financial software, business intelligence and bookkeeping service for restaurants, has appointed Monte Beck as chief executive officer. He brings over 25 years of c-level experience to Tabulate and will lead the team as it prepares to accelerate and scale its growing business. Founded in 2014, Tabulate has built a reputation for leveling the playing field for independent bars and restaurants. The Tabulate technology was built exclusively for the needs of restaurateurs looking for financial and performance data that is accessible, affordable and useful. “The …
New York City and London — Barnes & Noble, Inc. has been successfully acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited. Elliott’s acquisition of Barnes & Noble, the largest retail bookseller in the United States, follows its June 2018 acquisition of Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the United Kingdom. Barnes & Noble serves 627 different communities across all 50 states, where it remains the Number 1 bookseller in the United States. Elliott seeks to build upon this strong foundation as it addresses the significant challenges facing the brick-and-mortar book retail space …
New York City — Bona Design Lab, a global retail design and consulting firm based in New York City, has been recognized by the Retail Design Institute for the store design it created for ENEX, the licensee for Shell brand fuels and lubricants in Chile and operator of service stations as well as convenience stores under the Upa! and Upita! brands. The design was one of the finalists in the “Class of 2018 Winners” named by the Retail Design Institute in its 48th annual Store of the Year competition. The …
Chicago — Potbelly Corporation, a neighborhood sandwich shop concept, has signed three new franchise agreements. Over the last 6 months, the company signed franchise agreements that, when fully built out over the coming years, will nearly double its franchise footprint with multi-unit development deals for a total of 38 units spanning Las Vegas; Tampa, Florida; and the Carolinas. In addition, Potbelly has opened a number of franchise stores this year that are driving brand penetration across several areas of the country, including recently opened shops in Irvine, Calif.; Odessa, Texas; …