International Business

Secaucus, N.J. — The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. said Friday that it has named Peter Warner as SVP global sourcing, for the chain.

Warner will be responsible for the global sourcing and production functions, technical services and Asian operations. Most recently, he served as SVP of Global Sourcing & Operations for Liz Claiborne Inc.

Columbus, Ohio -- Information sharing,  expense benchmarking, innovative technologies, energy management systems, disaster preparedness and international facility management were ranked as the most important agenda topics by attendees at FacilitySource’s 5th annual Leadership Symposium, on Sept. 19-22.

Toano, Va. -- Flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators said Friday it will acquire certain assets of Sequoia Floorings in order to strengthen its mill-direct relationships and shore up its long-term sourcing strategies.

Sequoia, a trading company, had provided product quality and development services on approximately 40% of Lumber Liquidators’ 2010 merchandise purchases, primarily those in Asia.

Wan Ling Martello may not have been a household name outside of Walmart, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of her departure from a company eager to achieve a higher degree of diversity among the ranks of its senior executives.

Normally, it is a big deal when the vice chairman of a major company announces their retirement. Especially when said executive is only 56 and in the prime of their senior leadership years. That wasn’t the case earlier this week when Walmart announced that Eduardo Castro-Wright would be stepping down as vice chairman and CEO of the company’s global e-commerce and global sourcing businesses.

Former Asda executive and Walmart Canada CEO David Cheesewright has a new role that opens up some intriguing growth possibilities, given his new responsibilities include oversight of geographic areas where Walmart doesn’t currently operate stores.

Stockholm, Sweden -- Hennes & Mauritz AB reported Thursday that profit for the third quarter fell 15% to $533 million, from nearly $621 million in the year-ago period. The Swedish fashion retailer cited rising procurement costs, marketing investments and a bump-up in new-store expansion for the decrease in profit.

H&M said it will add 265 new stores, up from the 250 previously planned, and will make market debuts in Indonesia and Thailand.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — In her new role as president and CEO of Walmart Canada, Shelley Broader will be tasked with addressing new competition from Target and other retailers expanding into Canada. Broader, who joined Walmart Canada in 2010 as chief merchandising officer, will assume her new role effective immediately.

Prior to Walmart, Broader held a range of key positions with Michael's and Hannaford Bros.Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

VEVEY, Switzerland — Wan Ling Martello, who currently serves as Walmart's EVP global e-commerce of emerging markets, has been named EVP and CFO of Nestlé, effective April 1, 2012. Martello will replace Jim Singh will retire in March 2012 after 35 years with the company.

Berlin -- 360buy.com was named the Pure Play Etailer of the Year at the Oracle World Retail Awards, which took place during the annual World Retail Congress in Berlin.

Operated by Jing Dong Mall, China’s largest online retailer, 360buy.com provides customers with home appliances, digital devices, computers, household items, clothing and accessories, baby products, books, and food, plus 11 other large product categories, including more than 10,000 brand names and 800,000 SKUs.