Corporate Responsibility

Minneapolis – Target Corp. laid off 1,700 mostly headquarters employees on Tuesday and is eliminating 1,400 open positions. According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Target notified employees of the workforce reduction in an email.

The cuts are part of a two-year, $2 billion corporate restructuring. Roughly 13% of the jobs in Target’s Minneapolis workforce will be eliminated, the report noted.

Shoppers interested in purchasing products from women-owned companies will find it easier to do so at Walmart with the introduction of a new logo and related promotional effort.

Camp Hill, Pa. — For the first time in five years, Rite Aid on Tuesday celebrated a grand opening of a store built from the ground-up.
 

The decade-old team effort between Lowe's and Habitat for Humanity was on display again this month in Las Vegas, but this time, a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion joined the team as well.

Jimmie Johnson worked together with Lowe’s employee volunteers and other volunteers from Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas to raise the walls of a new home at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Kobalt 400 race weekend.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc., Petco Animal Supplies, Levi Strauss are the only U.S. retail brands to be recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company.

The annual designation, which recognizes organizations that foster a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the organization was given to 132 companies. The only other retail brands on this year’s list are Sweden’s H&M and the United Kingdom’s Marks and Spencer.

The Ethisphere Institute is out with its “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list and the names of retailers are few and far between.

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR has named a new financial chief, and the shopping center company reached from within its own ranks for the appointment. Luke J. Petherbridge, age 35, assumes the role of CFO effective immediately.
 
"Luke is an accomplished executive with a proven track record within our company, overseeing the balance sheet, fostering strong banking and capital partner relationships, and sourcing large scale transactions during his tenure with us," said David Oakes, president and CEO.

St. Paul, Minn. -- Gander Mountain will open a 52,000-sq.-ft. store in Kaleen, Texas, and a 45,600-sq.-ft. store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 12, giving it 156 stores nationwide.

The Tulsa location marks Gander Mountain's entry into Oklahoma. The Killeen store continues Gander’s major expansion into the Texas market, and will be its 20th store in the state.

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