Labor & Employment

Genesco Inc. cited construction expenses and currency pressures as reasons for the company’s weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. 

The company posted earnings from continuing operations of $51.8 million, or $2.18 per diluted share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31. The numbers are an improvement from the year-ago period, which saw earnings from continuing operations of $42.2 million or $1.79 per diluted share. 

Minneapolis – Target Corp. laid off 1,700 mostly headquarters employees on Tuesday and is eliminating 1,400 open positions. According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Target notified employees of the workforce reduction in an email.

The cuts are part of a two-year, $2 billion corporate restructuring. Roughly 13% of the jobs in Target’s Minneapolis workforce will be eliminated, the report noted.

The ripple effects of Walmart’s wage action have extended to Plano, Tex., where home décor retailer At Home has upped the minimum wage ante with a more generous pay plan for hourly workers.

At Home, the company formerly known as Garden Ridge, operates 83 stores in 22 states. Beginning in May, the company said it would pay full-time hourly employees a minimum of $10 an hour and the minimum hourly rate for part-timers will increase to $9 an hour.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Health is making a series of organizational changes to further drive enterprise alignment and fuel its growth strategy.

The changes include:

•The promotion of Josh Flum to executive VP, pharmacy services. In addition to overseeing retail pharmacy operations, pharmacy professional services, and payer relations, Flum will also have oversight of a new Enterprise Product Innovation and Development team, and a new Enterprise Pharmacy Growth team.

As PetSmart officially changes ownership and goes private, the company is also making a leadership move.

The retailer has named retail industry veteran Michael J. Massey as its president and CEO, effective immediately. Massey, who most recently served as CEO and president of Collective Brands Inc., replaces David Lenhardt, who stepped down upon the closing of private equity firm BC Partners’s acquisition of the pet supplies retailer.

Phoenix – PetSmart on Wednesday named industry veteran Michael J. Massey as its president and CEO, effective immediately. Massey, who most recently served as CEO and president of Collective Brands Inc., replaces David Lenhardt, who stepped down upon the closing of private equity firm BC Partners’s acquisition of the pet supplies retailer.  Also, BC Partners managing partner Raymond Svider has been appointed non-executive chairman.

Increased sales at Famous Footwear and the divestiture of its Shoes.com website helped Brown Shoe increase profits in the fourth quarter.

Brown Shoe Company reported that same store sales increased 4%, while profit was $16.2 million, or 37 cents a share, for the fourth quarter that ended Jan. 31, up from $6.2 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings totaled $9 million in the quarter, or 20 cents a share, up from $6.2 million a share, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Net sales rose 2.6 percent in the quarter to $615.4 million.

By Hayden Shipp, IBISWorld

Shippers, carriers, longshoremen, businesses and consumers alike can breathe a sigh of relief in light of the tentative deal the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) reached on Feb. 20.