Labor & Employment

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. is shaking up its senior management team with five promotions and two new appointments. John Culver, head of the China-Asia Pacific region with more than 10 years of Starbucks experience, is being promoted to group president, China and Asia Pacific (CAP), channel development and emerging brands. Jeff Hansberry, a three-year Starbucks veteran who has worked on the channel development and emerging brands team, is being promoted to president of China and Asia Pacific and will report to Culver.

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Deliv, the same-day, low cost delivery service that partners directly with large retailers, has appointed former Amazon progressive supply chain executive Michael Hart to VP of logistics.

By Douglas H. Meal, David T. Cohen, and Lisa L. Rachlin, Ropes & Gray LLP

Retailers, like all businesses, constantly seek to learn more about their customers in order to serve them better. In Tyler v. Michaels Stores, however, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled that a simple step taken by many retailers to help achieve this goal – collecting the ZIP codes of their customers at the point of sale – can in some circumstances violate Massachusetts’ consumer protection statute.
   

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 representing the greater New York area claimed victory over Target this week and offered some harsh words following a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board.

During the Spectrum Brands second-quarter earnings call, the Madison, Wis.-based company showed interest in bringing back some offshore production. 

Responding to a question about the rising costs of wages and freight for overseas small appliance manufacturing, Spectrum Brands CEO David Lumley said: “We are looking at that.”

He added that a first opportunity might be for North America manufacturing — Mexico or the Caribbean.

Hudson, Ohio — Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has hired former Disney and J.C. Penney’s executive Kris Arabia as VP of product development. Arabia will report to senior VP and chief marketing and merchandising officer Riddianne Kline.
 

LOS ANGELES — Guess has appointed former Victoria’s Secret executive Sharleen Ernster Lazear as chief design officer, overseeing all product categories for the Guess brands. She will report to CEO Paul Marciano. 

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- To support its strong growth and fill current vacancies, Dollar General is planning to hire 10,000 employees in May for its store and distribution center locations. Career fairs to recruit candidates will be held throughout the month in the 40 states the company serves.