Labor & Employment

With its stock trading at a 52-week low, Sears has made an interesting choice to lead its department store business.

The company says it has found a new executive to develop a strategy for the Sears format that focuses on meeting the needs of the Shop Your Way member.  

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores is the subject of a lawsuit accusing it of wrongly denying employee benefits for same-sex spouses, Reuters reported. The lawsuit seeks nationwide class-action status.

Los Angeles -- The chief executive of Guess is stepping down.

Guess co-founder Paul Marciano announced that he will be succeeded as CEO of the apparel maker by former Inditex executive Victor Herrero in August. Marciano will continue to serve as chief creative officer, and will also replace Maurice Marciano as executive chairman.

Herrero, a 12-year Inditex veteran, served as head of Asia Pacific for the apparel conglomerate, whose brands include Zara. He is credited with building the company's multi-million dollar Asian business.

QVC is ramping up its distribution network on the West Coast with a new, state of the art facility in Ontario, Calif.

The multichannel retailer plans to open a West Coast distribution hub there in 2016. As QVC ramps up operations, the center is expected to employ more than 500 team members by 2018. QVC anticipates hiring approximately 1,000 team members in total by 2020 as the distribution center expands fulfillment to all product categories.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding its already extensive global footprint.

The chain announced it will open its first stores in South Africa next year in a partnership deal with South African management group Taste Holdings. The initial store is scheduled to open in Johannesburg during the first half of 2016.

Ankeny, Iowa - Casey’s General Stores Inc. is set to have its first new CEO in more than a quarter-century. After more than 26 years with the company, Robert J. Myers, chairman and CEO, will retire as CEO at the end of the 2016 fiscal year on April 30, 2016.

Chicago -- Starbucks Corp. is ratcheting up its already significant commitment to job creation.

The coffee giant is teaming up with such other retail powerhouses as Walmart, CVS Health, Walgreens, Macy’s, Target and J.C. Penney in an ambitious jobs program to hire 100,000 16- to 24-year-olds "who face systemic barriers to jobs and education" by 2018 through apprenticeships, internships, training programs, and both part-time and full-time jobs.

“Now Trending” is a new exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

As revitalized urban spaces continue to flourish in cities across the country, the concept of co-working spaces has gained considerable traction. The growing popularity of this new workspace arrangement is more than just another piece of the urban puzzle, it is one of the driving forces helping to shape a new generation of emerging urban landscapes.