This week in retail: New Outfox CEO, DOL rule goes into effect, and Ulta earnings

Welcome back, everyone. Before our next edition comes out, St. Patrick’s Day will have come and gone, so we hope everyone who celebrates has plenty of green beverages.

In new hires: Today, Outfox Hospitality, which owns Foxtrot Market, has a new CEO—Rob Twyman, who took over for Liz Williams. Williams stepped into the CEO role for El Pollo Loco, also effective today. In November, Foxtrot merged with Dom’s Kitchen & Market, and now Twyman will oversee the company’s day-to-day operations and regional growth.

• Twyman spent many years at Whole Foods, including as EVP of global operations and a regional president. He was most recently CEO of Daily Table, a nonprofit grocery company.

“Rob is a visionary in the grocery retail space having transformed the consumer food and beverage supermarket experience for over three decades,” Jay Owen, Dom’s Kitchen & Market co-founder, said in a statement.

In new rules: In January, the Department of Labor issued a final ruling on who’s classified as an independent contractor, per the Fair Labor Standards Act. The ruling, which goes into effect today, assesses the relationship between employers and workers, and the DOL considered six components when determining that relationship:

• Workers’ opportunity for profit or loss.
• Investments made by workers and employers.
• The level of permanence in the relationship.
• Nature and degree of control over performance of the work.
• The level to which the work is key to the boss’s business.
• Use of the worker’s skills and drive.

In earnings: Ulta Beauty reports its earnings Thursday and is looking to build on a strong Q3 bolsters by skincare and fragrances. As Retail Brew previously reported, skincare was Ulta’s quickest growing category and saw double digit growth in mass and prestige.

• Wall Street anticipates Q4 revenue will be $3.5 billion, a 9% YoY increase.