Labor & Employment

Chicago -- Claire's Stores announced the appointment of Jay Friedman as president of the North American Division, reporting to Gene Kahn, CEO effective immediately.

Friedman joins Claire's from Jones Apparel Group where he was most recently president, and CEO, Jones Retail Corp., Nine West Group.

CHICAGO - Claire's Stores has announced the appointment of Jay Friedman as president of the North American division, reporting to Gene Kahn, CEO, effective immediately.

In his position, Friedman will lead both the Claire's and Icing businesses and will have direct oversight of buying, planning and allocation, supply chain, stores and overall operations of approximately 2,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that it has named Lana Cain Krauter as senior VP and president of its Sears Apparel division. Effective Feb. 1, she will lead the charge in growing the division both in-store and online.

Krauter was previously president and chief merchandising officer for Bealls Department Stores.

She will be based in San Francisco.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Sears Holdings' SVP procurement and finance has been promoted.

Deidra Cheeks Merriwether now holds the title of SVP and president retail services, succeeding James Haworth. In this role, Merriwether, who joined the corporation in 2001, will be responsible for the oversight and leadership of retail services for the broadline retailer's Kmart and Sears stores.

Merriwether currently serves as a member of Sears Canada's board of directors and is the executive sponsor of the company's African-American Associate Network.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Sears Holdings announced today that apparel veteran Lana Cain Krauter will join the company as SVP and president Sears apparel. She will be responsible for the oversight, leadership and growth of Sears' apparel business, both in-store and online.

By Richard P. Edwards, [email protected]

Real estate portfolio optimization has become standard practice for retailers and, in the current environment, store closings often outnumber openings. In many cases, closing stores is a proactive move. For instance, healthy retailers strengthen their positions by closing under-performing stores and relocating stores within a market is an ongoing process when retailers review leases up for renewal or look to improve their position in the area.

London -- A Tuesday report by the Financial Times said that Andy Bond, former CEO of Asda, has left his post of part-time chairman of the United Kingdom’s second biggest supermarket by market share, a position that he has held for less than a year.

The report also said that Bond will leave Walmart as well, which owns Asda, once its $2.4 billion deal to acquire a majority stake in South Africa’s Massmart is complete around the end of March.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer last week announced its donation of 35 reconditioned semi-tractors to local food banks, academic organizations and law enforcement throughout the Midwest.

The donation is part of the chain's ongoing commitment to support the communities it serves, the company said.