Labor & Employment

Walmart has committed $670,000 to help fund a first-of-its-kind program in its home state known as the Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative (APII).

New York -- Modell’s Sporting Goods said Wednesday it has named Charles Castaneda chief merchandising officer for the chain, a promotion from his current position of EVP planning and allocations.

The company has also moved Jay O’Brien from general merchandising manager of footwear to general merchandising manager of sporting goods, to succeed the recently departed Bill Hackett.  

Jeff Schaffer has been promoted to general merchandising manager of footwear.

Washington, D.C. -- The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to minus 34.4 in the seven days ended Jan. 6 from minus 31.8 the prior period, the biggest one-week drop since August. Jobless claims increased by 4,000 to 371,000 in the week ended Jan. 5, according to Labor Department figures.

Frank McGuigan is the new EVP of operations at Transplace, a leading third party logistics provider.

McGuigan joined Transplace in 2011 as SVP of contract logistics after the fast-growing, Dallas-based company acquired SCO Logistics where McGuigan served as president and CEO.

Just when things seem to be looking up for Sears Holdings, chairman Edward Lampert will assume the additional responsibilities of CEO following the revelation that current chief executive Lou D’Ambrosio will leave the company for family medical reasons.

News of D’Amrosio’s departure comes as the Sears Holdings preannounced improved profitability for the fist nine weeks of the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending February 2, D’Amrosio’s last day.

Rockford, Mich. -- Wolverine Worldwide said Tuesday it will make several organizational moves to drive future growth and global brand building in the wake of its October 2012 acquisition of the Performance & Lifestyle Group.

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. said Tuesday that CFO Armand Correia is retiring after 21 years with the company that is parent to Dressbarn, Justice and other brands.

Restaurant veteran Dirk Montgomery will succeed Correia, effective Jan. 16. Montgomery most recently served as EVP and chief value chain officer of Bloomin' Brands, which operates the Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill chains.

WASHINGTON — National Retail Federation and the University of Phoenix will award ten current retail employees in the U.S. a Dream BIG scholarship.

Each of the ten recipients will receive full tuition at any University of Phoenix campus or online program, to encourage them to pursue career opportunities within the retail industry.