Labor & Employment

WASHINGTON — After President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the National Retail Federation issued a response regarding his remarks on job creation.

NRF said it welcomed the President's emphasis on job creation, saying that it will help restore the nation's economic state.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores said Tuesday it has appointed Brendan L. Hoffman as president and CEO, effective Feb. 7.

Hoffman replaces Bud Bergren, who is a current member of the board of directors and who will transition to the role of the chairman.

Dallas -- HR solution-provider PeopleAnswers and Canada-based Town Shoes, which sells under Town Shoes and The Shoe Co., announced Tuesday that Town Shoes will use the PeopleAnswers pre-employment and employee selection solution in its 124 stores across Canada.

London -- A report released Tuesday by Bloomberg said that U.K. clothing chain Bonmarche will close as many as 160 out of 390 stores after its owner Peacock Group sold the chain to an affiliate of Sun European Partners.

KPMG administrated the transaction; the new buyer said that about 2,400 of 3,800 jobs will be retained.

The report said that KPMG had been seeking a buyer for Bonmarche since being appointed earlier this month as administrator to Peacock, which also owns Peacock’s Stores Ltd., a U.K. discount apparel chain.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement to build a new e-commerce distribution center located at I-35 and Centre Park Blvd. in DeSoto, Texas. Expected to open in summer 2012, upon completion the approximately 951,000 sq.-ft. building will fulfill Kohls.com purchases. Kohl’s will close on the agreement once the building process is complete.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. announced Tuesday it has promoted current senior VP-finance John Mulligan to executive VP and CFO, effective April 1.

The announcement concludes a comprehensive search which included both internal and external candidates, said Target.

Mulligan succeeds Doug Scovanner, who announced his retirement last November.

A 16-year Target veteran, Mulligan has held leadership positions in finance, target.com and human resources.

Lexington, Mass. -- Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group announced on Tuesday the appointment of Rick Blackshaw as president of the Keds brand, effective immediately.

Blackshaw, who most recently served as VP and general manager for the Chuck Taylor All Star Division of Converse, succeeds Kristin Kohler Burrows, who left to pursue other opportunities. 
 

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Collective Brands Performance and Lifestyle Group has announced the appointment of Rick Blackshaw as president of the Keds brand. Blackshaw has extensive footwear experience with brands including Converse, Timberland, and the former division of Reebok, Avia, and most recently served as VP and general manager for the Chuck Taylor All Star Division of Converse Inc. He will start in his new role Jan. 24 and succeeds Kristin Kohler Burrows who recently departed the position to pursue career opportunities closer to her home in New York.