Labor & Employment

Between now and March 2013, when the first Target stores open in Canada, there is a whole lot of heavy lifting to be done at the retailer’s new headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario.

PLANO, Texas — JCPenney, which reported sales and income decreases for the third quarter, has brought on two new executives to join fellow Apple alumnus, CEO, Ron Johnson. 

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. reported Monday a loss of $143 million for the quarter ended Oct. 29, compared with a profit of $44 million in the year-ago period. Sagging comps and shrinking margins led to the performance decline.

For the quarter, sales dropped 4.8% to $3.99 billion, reflecting the company’s exit from its catalog and catalog outlet businesses, which it sold off during the quarter. 

As previously reported, same-store sales dipped 1.6%.

Unemployment is a double-edged sword when it comes to the retail industry. The high single-digit rate in the United States means retailers can be more selective in their choice of hourly workers but the downside of fewer people working is less money sloshing around the economy for shoppers to spend. The situation in Canada is the opposite of the United States, and there are some major implications for Target.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s announced that it has named Eric Wiseman, president and CEO of apparel manufacturer VF Corp., to its board of directors. Wiseman will serve on the board’s compensation and governance committees. 

Wiseman has been CEO of VF Corp., whose brands include The North Face, Timberland, Vans and Wrangler, since January 2008. Before being named CEO, Wiseman served as president and chief operating officer from 2006 to 2007, responsible for VF’s global business and day-to-day operations.

Northbrook, Ill. -- Crate and Barrel announced Friday that its president and CEO Barbara Turf, who is retiring spring 2012, will be succeeded by current company COO Sascha Bopp, who becomes CEO effective April 2012.

Current CB2 director Marta Calle will become president, in charge of merchandising and marketing, and will report to Bopp.

BENTON HARBOR — Whirlpool Corp. is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a number of local events and recognition of employees throughout the world.

Dallas -- Cypress Equities said it has expanded its corporate leasing team with the addition of Karly Kilroy and Allison Campbell.

Kilroy joins Cypress as senior leasing manager and is responsible for developing and leveraging relationships with potential tenants and facilitating leasing solutions for Cypress’ nationwide retail and mixed-use projects.