International Business

New York City -- Apple has hired executive search firm Egon Zehnder International to help it find a replacement for its retail head Ron Johnson, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

The reports suggest that in hiring Egon Zehnder, which has offices around the globe, Apple may be looking for an executive with international retail experience. Apple is set to open nearly 30 stores this year outside of the United States.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., and SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Sears Holdings announced that it is reaching out to the growing Latino market with the launch of Facebook.com/SearsLatino as well as its Twitter handle @SearsLatino.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax reported Tuesday that it swung to a loss of $3.02 million in the quarter ended June 25, compared with net income of $11.8 million in the year-ago period.

Total sales dipped 0.3% to $1.648 billion from $1.653 billion, but beat Wall Street expectations of $1.63 billion. In the retail segment, sales decreased 0.7% to $767.3 million from $772.7 million. Same-store sales dipped 0.5%, but results were helped somewhat by stronger same-store sales in Mexico.

SAN FRANCISCO —  Levi's announced that it has appointed Beto Guajardo as its new global VP strategy. In this role, Guajardo will be responsible for leading the development and execution of the brand's growth strategy and global business development.

Milford, Conn. -- Subway Restaurants said Monday that its franchisees have opened nearly 600 new locations in 48 countries, 42 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces over the past three months, bringing the total of new Subway restaurants to just over 1,200 for the year so far.

The new restaurants account for 1.4 million sq. ft. of retail space.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Ross Stores said Tuesday that it will simultaneously open 12 stores on Oct. 8, all located in the greater Chicago area.

The new Ross Dress for Less stores will open simultaneously in Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Bloomingdale, Crystal Lake, Matteson, Naperville, Niles, Orland Park, Rockford, Schaumburg, Skokie and South Elgin.

"We are excited to be entering the Chicago area, which will significantly expand our national footprint," said Michael Balmuth, vice chairman and CEO, Ross Stores.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Not that anyone needed it, but weak second-quarter sales at OfficeMax provided additional evidence this week that the nation’s business climate remains exceedingly challenging.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings announced that Edgar Huber has joined the company as CEO and president of Lands' End.  Huber is responsible for driving growth and profit opportunities for Lands' End, as well as continuing to drive the culture that provides customers with the quality, value and service that the brand has long been known for.  He was most recently EVP global business development for Liz Claiborne Inc.