Labor & Employment

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending unexpectedly stalled during the month of May, as prices climbed and 9.1% unemployment caused shoppers to cut back.

Commerce Department figures showed that purchases were flat in May, after a median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.1% gain. Prices excluding food and energy rose more than forecast.

New York City -- Retailers lost $37.14 billion to theft last year, or 1.58% of retail sales, up from 1.44% in 2009, according to preliminary results of the National Retail Security Survey. The annual survey is conducted by the University of Florida for the National Retail Federation, with funding from ADT Commercial.

As in previous years, employee theft accounted for the largest (approximately 44%) portion of the losses. Shoplifting and organized retail crime was second, with 33%. Administrative errors, vendor fraud and unknown causes make up the rest.

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. announced that Patrick McGuiness has been appointed SVP and CFO  and that James Fernandez has been appointed to the newly-created role of COO. 

New York City -- Best Buy plans to reduce its store size by subleasing store space to smaller retailers, according to The Los Angeles Times. The chain’s new stores will be in the 36,000-sq.-ft. range, down from its current 45,000-sq.-ft. model.

"We can reduce our overall square footage while actually increasing our presence," Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said at the company's annual shareholders meeting this week. "It's an opportunity to capture cost savings and get ourselves 'right size.'"

New York City -- Massmart, now majority owned by Wal-Mart Stores, said on Sunday it aims to create 15,000 jobs in the next five years. The company also said it plans to expand its procurement of food and consumer goods by an additional $8.74 billion during the same period.

“Massmart intends to leverage Wal-Mart's global expertise in working directly with local farmers to encourage the cultivation of safe, high-quality fresh produce," Massmart CEO Grant Pattison said in the statement.

New York City -- Tiffany & Co. is replacing its CFO and adding a COO position.

The company announced Patrick F. McGuiness will replace James Fernandez as CFO.

Fernandez is taking on the newly created post of COO. The moves are effective immediately.
 

Minneapolis -- Target on Friday announced that Target Canada has reached an agreement to transfer to Walmart Canada the leasehold interests in up to 39 sites, currently operated by Zellers.

Specific locations will be identified later this fall. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

CAMDEN, N.J. — Campbell Soup Company has named Denise Morrison president and CEO, effective Aug. 1, the first day of Campbell’s next fiscal year. In October 2010, Morrison was named EVP and COO and elected a director of the company in anticipation of her appointment to the role of CEO at the beginning of fiscal 2012.

Morrison will succeed Douglas Conant, who will step down as president and CEO on July 31, 2011, after more than a decade in that role. Conant also will step down from Campbell’s board of directors at that time.

ATLANTA — Former Unilever executive Michael Polk has been appointed president and CEO of Newell Rubbermaid, effective July 18. He succeeds Mark Ketchum, who is retiring but will remain a director until May 2012.

Ketchum announced in January his intention to retire after being recruited from the board five years ago to lead Newell Rubbermaid through its transformation into a marketing-driven company.

TORONTO — Sears Canada has announced the appointment of Calvin McDonald as its president and CEO, effective immediately. McDonald most recently served as EVP, conventional division of Loblaw Companies Limited. He will succeed Dene Rogers, who has served as president and CEO of Sears Canada since 2006.