Labor & Employment

New Albany, Ohio - Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has named a new brand leadership team the retailer hopes will collectively help drive the Abercrombie brand forward.  

The new brand leadership team includes the following executives:

• Stacie Beaver, general manager for Abercrombie Womens. Having held a variety of senior positions at Abercrombie for more than 15 years, Beaver most recently led the Bottoms business for men and women across Hollister and Abercrobmie.
 

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for profit but failed to meet the Street with sales growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. The retailer also announced it plans to open 44 new Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and nine new Field & Stream stores, as well as relocate five Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and one Golf Galaxy store, during fiscal 2015.

Houston – Francesca’s Holdings Corp. is looking for someone to run its merchandising operation. Sei Jin Alt, chief merchandising officer of Francesca’s, will be resigning from the company to spend more time with her family and pursue other interests.

Francesca’s has initiated a search for a new chief merchandising officer. To facilitate a smooth transition, Alt will remain in her current role until Nov. 20, 2015.
 

New York -- Almost as quickly as tiny northwest grocer Haggen became a regional player by acquiring 146 former Safeway and Albertsons stores the company is retrenching and has plans to close a large number of stores.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has formed a new brand leadership team to help drive the struggling company forward.  

Kohl's Corp. is adding some labor market expertise to its board.

The retailer says Jonas Prising has been elected as a new board member, effective immediately. He has been elected to a term expiring at Kohl's 2016 annual shareholders meeting and will be eligible for re-election by Kohl's shareholders at that time. He will initially serve on the Board of Directors' Governance and Nominating Committee.

Specialty retailer Francesca's is losing its head merchant.

CMO Sei Jin Alt is resigning to spend more time with her family and pursue other interests, the company said. The company has initiated a search for a new Chief Merchandising Officer. To facilitate a smooth transition, Alt will remain in her current role until Nov. 20.

Kroger is thinking big in Texas with a three year, $1.2 billion investment plan and just created a new senior leadership structure to execute the growth strategy.

Kroger’s growth aspirations in Texas will be overseen by two key executives tasked with leading newly created divisions. The retailer created a new Dallas division and a Houston division. The stores in both areas were previously part of the company’s 214 unit Southwest division.

Despite efforts by her previous employer to block the transition, former Kohl’s CIO Janet Schalk is joining Hudson’s Bay Co. in the same capacity.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Jonas Prising, CEO of staffing firm ManpowerGroup, has joined the board of directors of Kohl’s Corp. Prising will initially serve on the board of directors' Governance and Nominating Committee.

Prising has been elected to a term expiring at Kohl's 2016 annual shareholders meeting and will be eligible for re-election by Kohl's shareholders at that time.