Labor & Employment

Austin, Texas -- The Weitzman Group announced that Bradley Bailey has been named senior VP and director of investment sales for Central Texas and The Valley for The Weitzman Group.

Bailey will work with Lance Morris, president of The Weitzman Group in Austin, and David Nicolson, president of Weitzman’s San Antonio office. 

In this new position, Bailey will handle investment sales and marketing for retail and commercial properties. 

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence fell last week to the lowest level in nine months as the cost of fuel pinched U.S. household budgets.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index declined to minus 49.4 in the period to May 15, the worst reading since August, from the prior week’s minus 46.9. A gauge of personal finances plunged to the weakest level since October 2009, and a monthly measure of economic expectations held at a seven-month low.

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic reported Wednesday that its loss for the fiscal first quarter widened to $7.7 million, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million last year.

The first quarter results include $12.4 million of expenses for the implementation of the previously announced charges for strategic business changes and cost reduction plan.

Revenue dipped 0.8% to $161.3 million compared with $162.6 million for the first quarter last year. Same-store sales edged up 0.2%.

San Francisco -- Gap reported Thursday that its first-quarter earnings plummeted 23% as costs rose faster than expected, and the chain dramatically lowered its full-year earnings forecast.

Gap is spending about 20% more to produce each item than it did a year ago -- a much faster rise than it expected, the Associated Press reported.

Gap’s net income was $233 million for the quarter ended April 30, compared with $302 million. The performance was slightly better than analysts expected, however.

SAN FRANCISCO  — Premier Retail Networks, a global leader in digital place-based media services, has announced that Jon Landa has been promoted to SVP sales for PRN’s West & Central regions. 

As PRN’s VP sales since June 2007, Landa has been responsible for direct clients and agencies on the West Coast. Before joining PRN, he served as VP national accounts at ReelzChannel. 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Amazon.com announced that it plans to expand its customer service center in Grand Forks, N.D.,  creating more than 200 full-time jobs and hundreds of seasonal jobs at the facility by the end of 2012.

Columbus, Ohio -- The Bath and Body Works unit of Limited Brands said Tuesday it has named former Lands’ End president Nick Coe as its new CEO.

Current CEO Diane Neal, at the helm since 2007, will remain in that role through the summer. After that, she will transition into an advisory role with the company and work from San Francisco, according to the company.

Before working a Lands' End, a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corp., Coe held senior merchandising jobs at Gap’s Banana Republic and at Levi Strauss.
 

SAN FRANCISCO — Del Monte Foods Co. announced that it has appointed David West as its new CEO, effective Aug. 15. West will also join the company's board of directors in June.