Houston — Mattress Firm, Inc., the nation’s largest specialty mattress retailer, has announced that Ken Murphy will step down as CEO and president and Steve Stagner, executive chairman and chairman of the board, will assume the additional responsibilities of CEO effective March 1.
retailers
Warren, Mich. — Art Van Furniture has unveiled a new flagship store in Canton, Mich., its first showroom in Michigan to be built from the ground up in two decades. The Midwestern furniture and mattress retailer is ushering in a new look and a new era in its home state with the two-story, 70,000-square-foot showroom, located on Ford Road opposite IKEA.
Wayne, N.J. — Toys“R”Us, Inc. plans to close 182 Toys“R”Us stores in the U.S. as part of a company-wide reinvention of its brands. In addition, the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer will convert a number of locations into co-branded Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores.
Scottsdale, Ariz. — Vixxo, a leader in technology-enabled facility and asset management solutions, has expanded its client roster with the addition of 7-Eleven owned Sunoco stores. Through this partnership, Vixxo will provide maintenance services to more than 500 Sunoco locations on the East Coast.
Seattle — Amazon.com Inc. has opened the first location of Amazon Go, an 1,800-square-foot mini grocery store in Seattle that allows customers to shop without waiting in checkout lines. The store was open exclusively to Amazon employees for the past year.
Laval, Quebec — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (Couche-Tard), one of the world’s largest convenience store retailers with over 15,000 stores globally, has announced new full-service franchise opportunities with its Circle K brand in Canada. The expansion marks the first time the Circle K brand will be franchised in Canada with the offer initially targeting the Ontario province.
Berlin, N.J. — A.C. Moore has appointed Anthony Piperno as president of the arts and crafts specialty retailer. He assumed responsibilities on January 16, succeeding long-time leader and industry pioneer Pepe Piperno, who will remain actively involved in the company as chairman and CEO.