Labor & Employment

Gap Inc. is planning to close 175 of its Gap stores and streamline its workforce by as many as 250 positions as the struggling retailer moves to re-ignite productivity and growth at its namesake brand.

The company says the series of strategic actions are part of a comprehensive effort to deliver more consistent and compelling product collections and engage customers across all channels.

Arlington, Va. — The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is publicly urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to approve H.R. 1314, a bill to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and extend Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) legislation. The bill is scheduled for vote June 12.

Framingham, Mass. — Staples Inc. has received clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China for its proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of Office Depot. Staples continues to seek clearance from regulatory agencies in the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and Australia.

The Commerce Commission of New Zealand gave its clearance for the transaction last week.

London, U.K. — Gordon Brothers Europe (GBE), a firm specializing in restructurings for the retail, commercial and industrial sectors, has named Heinz Weber as president, overseeing the European subsidiary of Gordon Brothers Group. Weber has more 10 years of leadership experience with GBE, including managing director, head of D-A-CH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), in a 20-plus-year career.

Liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and Bloomberg financial columnist Barry Ritholz weighed in this week with points of view on Walmart’s recent investment in wages and other changes to improve worker satisfaction.

Both took shots at the company by revisiting some of the negative characterizations of how Walmart treats workers that have been repeated so often they have taken on a life of their own.

Krugman offer a more technical view on the company’s actions while Ritholz took more of a snarky approach.

Etsy and the West Elm division of Williams-Sonoma continue to fuel the maker movement with new initiatives that were launched to coincide with a Presidential Proclamation establishing the National Week of Making.

In conjunction with an event at the White House and a proclamation by President Barack Obama, online retailer Etsy said it planned to expand its Craft Entrepreneurship program to 30 cities by July 2016 from the current 19 cities.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. — Kohl’s on Thursday announced a series of organizational changes, including the promotion of Michelle Gass to the newly created principal officer position of chief merchandising and customer officer. Gass joined Kohl’s in 2013 as chief customer officer from Starbucks, where she is credited with playing a key role in the coffee giant’s turnaround  several years back.    

New York — Chip Wilson, the controversial founder of Lululemon Athletic Inc., may well be on the verge of selling his stake in the company, according to numerous reports.    Lululemon, based in Vancouver,  British Columbia, filed a 20.1 million share offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing Wilson and his wife to exit their roughly 14% stake. The couple's stake in the company was worth about $1.34 billion, Reuters reported.  

Batavia, Ill. — Discount grocery powerhouse Aldi announced plans enter the nation’s most populous state, opening approximately 25 stores in Southern California by July 2016.      The chain’s expansion to California is an integral part of a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across the nation. By the end of 2018, Aldi expects to operate nearly 2,000 stores.   

Low-price grocery chain Aldi is coming to Southern California, as the retailer hastens plans to open at least 45 stores in that state by the end of 2016.

The retailer says it plans to hire more than 1,100 people to work in its Southern California stores, as well as at the company's regional headquarters and warehouse in Moreno Valley, Calif.