Labor & Employment

Indianapolis -- Fresh Thyme Farmers Market may have only been in business in three years, but it is thinking big.

With some16 stores in the Midwest, the value-priced, organic specialty grocer is scheduled to open 60 stores by 2019. It will open two new location in the Indianapolis area on Aug. 6.

New York -- Crate & Barrel has nabbed a CEO from the executive ranks of a much more upscale competitor.

The home furnishings retailer named Doug Diemoz, currently chief development officer at Restoration Hardware, as CEO, effective Aug. 1. He replaces Sascha Bopp, who was named CEO in 2012 but left in August 2014. Crate & Barrel COO and CFO Adrian Mitchell has been interim CEO during the search for a permanent replacement.

Walmart is taking an innovative approach to empowering women with the unveiling of a new a new digital initiative designed to support the advancement of women leaders at Walmart and women worldwide.

New York -- J.Crew Group, a company struggling to regain its mojo, is jumping into the value category.

The company announced it will launch a new store banner, J.Crew Mercantile, selling lower-priced (“value-driven”) merchandise with classic J. Crew styles for women, men and children. The first J.Crew Mercantile store will open in late July, at The Shops at Park Lane in Dallas. The retailer plans to open more Mercantile stores in strip centers and some malls, Bloomberg reported.

New York - Tiffany & Co. turned to a main competitor when it was time to find a new global business executive. Tiffany has named Philippe Galtié to the position of senior VP international, effective Aug. 17.

Galtié, 54, most recently held the post of Cartier’s international retail director. He began his career with a range of general management and global marketing roles at Moët-Hennessy, Mars Inc., Eridania Beghin Say and the Nestlé Group.

Nashville, Tenn. -- IHL Group has added a noted retail technology analyst with nearly 30 years of experience to its ranks.

Jeff Roster is joining IHL in the new position of VP of retail strategy. He will oversee IHL's retailer engagement, vendor briefings and strategic IT services practice.

Washington, D.C. – Kids may be unhappy about back-to-school season, but importers are surely thrilled.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 7.3% in July 2015 month from the same time last year as retailers stock up for the busy back-to-school season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

Boise, Idaho – Albertsons Companies Inc., which became the second-largest grocery retailer in the United States after purchasing Safeway in January, is planning to return to public ownership with a major stock offering that has implications for trading partners and competitors.