Finance & Capital Management

KRONBERG, Germany  -- Braun celebrated its 90-year company anniversary on Feb. 1. Founded by Max Braun in 1921, Braun today is a globally successful brand and the world market leader in the foil shaver, epilator and handblender segments, according to the company.

New York City -- Barneys New York CEO Mark Lee said Monday that he has plans to launch a renovation program for existing stores as well as an overhaul to the retailer’s website.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Lee said at a Monday morning breakfast that changes will be substantial, as the retailer has the largest renovation budget for existing stores that Barneys has seen in at least seven years.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by The Conference Board said that retail employers expanded their work forces in January.
 
The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index increased 0.2% to 100.5, the highest level in two years. The measure rose 7% from a year earlier.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos on Monday announced the release of its Retail Labor Index, which showed a February increase to 4.2% from 3.85% in January. (This metric is defined as the percentage of job applications that result in a hiring, normalized within a scale of 0 to 100. A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred.)

February’s metric is the highest the Index has been since August 2008 when it reached 4.45%, according to Kronos.

Oakland, Calif. -- A report Friday by the Los Angeles Times said that Target Corp. will pay the state of California $22.5 million to settle claims that the retailer improperly disposed of waste.

Los Angeles -- American Apparel announced Friday that it has named John J. Luttrell as executive VP and CFO, and moved its current CFO Adrian Kowlewski into the position of executive VP corporate strategy, effective Feb. 7.

Luttrell was previously CFO of Gap’s Old Navy brand.

NEW YORK -- Liz Claiborne said Friday that Edgar Huber, CEO of Juicy Couture, will be assuming a new position as executive VP global business development for Liz Claiborne, effective Feb. 14.

The company said Huber will continue to report to William L. McComb, CEO, Liz Claiborne.

LeAnn Nealz, president and chief creative officer, and John DeFalco, CFO and COO, will jointly manage the Juicy Couture business while the leadership structure for the brand going forward is determined, according to McComb.

Friday was to be something of a special occasion in Northwest Arkansas, until extreme winter weather forced a change of plans. Word arrived yesterday that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner would not be visiting the area as originally planned, but the visit was postponed rather than cancelled, and he would be rescheduling the visit. Originally, he was scheduled to meet with regional business leaders to discuss how government and the private sector can work together to out-innovate the competition and grow the economy, according to a Treasury press release.

SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets on Thursday reported an 8.7% increase in its fiscal-year 2010 net income to $68.3 million for the 52-week period ended Dec. 25, and said its earnings per share for the year increased 21 cents to $2.54 per share, compared with the same period a year ago.

The central Pennsylvania grocer reported a sales increase of 4.1% for the year to $2.6 billion. Comparable-store sales were up 1%.

RESTON, Va.  -- According to comScore's Q4 2010  U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, online retail spending reached a record $43.4 billion for the quarter, up 11% versus year ago. This growth rate represented the fifth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and second quarter of double-digit growth rates in the past year.