Labor & Employment

Boucherville, Quebec -- A Monday report by Reuters said that Canadian home-improvement chain Rona Inc. has appointed a new executive chairman and has again shuffled its board in response to mounting investor pressure to make measurable changes.

Rona successfully fought a takeover by Lowe’s Cos. late last year, as the U.S. company offered $1.86 billion to acquire Rona.

TTi Floor care, manufacturing of Hoover and Dirt Devil floor care products, is investing in American innovation.

The Glenwillow, Ohio-based company said it would hire more than 200 new electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, technicians and industrial designers nationwide over the next three years. The increased investment in engineering, innovation and design is part of the company’s strategy to stay at the forefront of its industry.

By Bruce Jones, Disney Institute

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko announced that Jill Soltau has been promoted to the position of president and CMO.

Soltau joined Shopko in 2007 as SVP and GMM apparel and accessories. In 2009, she was promoted to EVP and CMO. Prior to joining Shopko, Soltau held several senior level positions in merchandising, planning and private brand at Sears and Kohl's department stores.

Chicago -- United Airlines on Friday announced the opening of its employee health clinic at O’Hare International Airport. The clinic, managed by Walgreens, will serve a broad scope of employees’ health needs, such as urgent care for routine illness, travel and other immunizations including flu shots, prepackaged medications, job-related physical training and pre-employment physicals, at no cost to employees.

By Bruce Jones

The 2012 holiday shopping season featured stores opening earlier on Thanksgiving, extended hours shopping marathons, and, according to the National Retail Federation, an additional 585,000 to 625,000 seasonal retail workers.

New York -- Delhaize Group announced that it would close 33 under-performing Sweetbay stores in Florida by mid-February. The shutterings, which are part of a broader reorganization plan, amount to about one-third of the chain.

“While these decisions are difficult, especially given the impact on our associates, customers and communities, these actions will continue to enhance the performance of our overall store portfolio and further enable us to deliver profitable growth and accelerate shareholder value,” the company said in a statement.

The first indication that something big was brewing with Walmart on the domestic sourcing front came last week.

That’s when Walmart announced internally at that SVP of home, Michelle Gloeckler, would assume additional responsibilities for a new U.S. sourcing and manufacturing initiative. Reporting to Gloeckler is Greg Hall who was named vp of U.S. sourcing and manufacturing after previously serving as vp of marketing for Walmart.com.