Labor & Employment

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s Cos. president and chief operating officer, Larry Stone, will retire June 2, after 42 years with the company. Lowe’s doesn’t plan to fill the vacancy.

Stone has served in virtually every leadership position within store operations, merchandising and store environment during his career.

Lowe’s also announced the following promotions within merchandising, store operations and strategic planning:

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced that retail veteran Chris Capuano will join the company as SVP and president home fashions. She will be responsible for the oversight, leadership and growth of the in-store and online merchandising of home fashions in both the Sears and Kmart formats.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Less than three months after joining Walmart’s merchandising organization as an executive VP, Duncan Mac Naughton on Friday was elevated to the role of chief merchandising officer for the U.S. stores division.

Houston -- Men's Wearhouse said its president and COO, Douglas Ewert, will replace company founder George Zimmer as CEO in mid-2011.

Zimmer, 62, who founded Men's Wearhouse in 1973, will remain executive chairman of the board. The company said he would help Ewert with "strategic direction" for Men's Wearhouse and keep a hand in marketing decisions.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Lowe’s announced that Larry Stone, president and chief operating officer since 2006, will retire on June 2 -- his 42nd anniversary with Lowe’s. Stone has served in virtually every leadership position within store operations, merchandising and store environment during his career.

For the second consecutive year Walmart appears on an annual ranking of the Best Companies for Leadership compiled by the consulting firm Hay Group. In the 2010 version of the survey, Walmart ranked ninth, compared with the prior year when it was ranked fifth. The survey was first conducted in 2005.

Companies that ranked ahead of Walmart included, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Intel, Siemens, Banco Santander, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Accenture. 

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's will eliminate positions between assistant manager and manager, and hire part-time workers for the busy weekends.

The move will cut about 1,700 middle management jobs in the stores, but will lead to an additional 8,000 to 10,000 part time workers, according to Chris Ahearn, Lowe's VP of public relations. The shake up is expected to take effect Jan. 29.