International Business

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has lowered the same-stores sales guidance it previously released for fourth quarter 2013 due to factors including severe winter weather and reduced governmental assistance to consumers. Wal-Mart U.S. guidance for the fourth quarter previously projected same-store sales without fuel to be relatively Sam’s Club same-store sales without fuel to be between flat and up 2%.

Abercrombie & Fitch has promoted Jonathan E. Ramsden, currently the company's EVP and CFO, to the position of COO, a new role at the company. Ramsden will continue to serve as CFO, in addition to his COO role, until a new CFO is appointed.

Whirlpool reported record earnings in 2013 for the full-year and three months ended Dec. 31, with net earnings more than doubling over 2012.

The company reported net earnings of $827 million compared with last year’s $401 million. Additionally, fourth-quarter earnings of $181 million were 48.4% above year-ago figures.

Overall, net sales for the appliance manufacturer were $18.8 billion for the year — a 3.5% improvement — and $5.09 billion for the quarter, up 6.2% year-over-year.

Columbus, Ohio – L Brands has named Stephen D. Steinour to its board of directors. Steinour is chairman, president and CEO of Huntington Bancshares Inc., a $59 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

"I am excited to welcome Steve to our board," said Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and CEO of L Brands. "I'm confident that his considerable expertise in business, finance and customer service will provide valuable insight and guidance to our company. We're extremely fortunate that he has joined our team."

Philadelphia -- Urban Outfitters, Inc. has selected TXT Integrated Retail Planning from TXT Maple Lake to support end-to-end retail planning across regions, brands and channels, from strategy through to assortment execution. The solution will help Urban Outfitters, Inc. manage the whole spectrum of its retail planning processes: strategic, merchandise planning, store grading, open to buy (OTB) and assortment planning, both pre-season and in-season.

Framingham, Mass. - Joe Doody, president North American commercial, has been named vice chairman of Staples, Inc., and Shira Goodman, executive VP, global growth, has been named president, North American commercial of Staples, Inc. Both Doody and Goodman will continue to report to Ron Sargent, chairman and CEO. The appointments are effective February 2.

Gary Maxwell has joined the Supply Chain Management Research Center as an executive in residence.

Maxwell retired from Walmart last year after serving as SVP of the global business process team. He held a variety of senior supply chain and logistics roles at Walmart after joining the company in 1999 from the now defunct regional discount chain Caldor. Since his retirement, Maxwell launched Maxwell Value Chain, to provide replenishment and supply chain services to retail suppliers.

Solid volume growth and new product sales in North America helped The Hershey Company regain its category leadership position in the candy, mint and gum business with a 30.1% market share.

The company synonymous with chocolate said its fourth quarter sales increased 11.7% to nearly $2 billion and that sales in North America slightly exceeded expectations due to a solid holiday season.

Mississauga, Ontario -- Target Corp. announced that it will continue its Canadian expansion in 2014 by adding another nine locations to the 124 Target stores now open in all 10 provinces. The majority of the new stores will open in Ontario, with single store additions planned for Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.

Los Angeles — CBRE Group has promoted Curt Grantham to president, global corporate services, Americas. In his new post, Grantham will oversee client management and account operations as well as all GCS regional leadership in the Americas. He will report to Jim Wilson, global chief operating officer, GCS, CBRE.

In his new position, Grantham will join CBRE’s Americas operations management board. He will continue to serve on CBRE’s GCS executive committee.