Marketing

Claudine McKenzie has been working in the retail industry with Walmart for more than 17 years. Her career path has given her the opportunity to grow from a part-time sales clerk to a store manager all while obtaining her bachelor’s degree and working on a master’s degree.

In this latest installment of “This Is Retail,” an initiative of the National Retail Federation designed to showcase the industry’s diverse career opportunities, McKenzie shares her story.

Meijer customers donated more than $510,000 during the company’s holiday Simply Give campaign, helping food pantries throughout the Midwest restock their shelves.

Combined with a donation from Meijer, the holiday campaign raised more than $1.2 million, making it the most successful campaign since Simply Give began in November 2008.

Minneapolis – The Tile Shop is expanding its presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area with a new store in Southlake, Texas. The new 18,615-sq.-ft. Southlake location is The Tile Shop’s third store in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (including stores in Plano and Dallas), and the company’s fifth store in Texas (Dallas, Plano, Southlake, Austin, San Antonio).

The Walmart Foundation’s Colorado State Giving Program has awarded $321,000 to eight Colorado nonprofits that are helping to fund local programs to improve education, women’s economic empowerment, healthy eating and fighting hunger.

The organizations include We Don’t Waste, Lapuente Home, Care and Share, Kids Aid, Project Angel Heart, Women’s Resource Agency, Broadway Assistance Center and Discover Goodwill of Southern and Western Colorado.

New York -- Kmart will shutter two locations in the Philadelphia area this spring, Philadelphia Business Journal said. The locations, at The Gallery and at 900 Orthodox St., will close in late April.

Wayfair, the largest online retailer of home furnishings and décor, has appointed Christiane Lemieux as executive creative director.

In her new role, Lemieux, previously founder and creative director of DwellStudio, will provide creative vision and counsel across the company’s growing portfolio of home brands, including Wayfair.com, AllModern, Joss & Main and DwellStudio. Lemieux will be responsible for developing new creative initiatives for Wayfair in the coming year.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters said that CEO Robert Hanson, would leave the company, effective immediately. He was appointed to the position in late 2011, after 23 years at Levi Strauss & Co., where he served in a number of executive roles.

Similar to many other teen retailers, American Eagle has been struggling. The company reported a profit of $24.9 million in the three months ended Nov. 2, compared to $78.6 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was $857.3 million, a decline from $910.4 million a year ago.

Chicago -- Twenty-four percent of full-time retail employees plan to change jobs in 2014, three points above the average for all workers (21%) and up from 20% in 2013. According to a new survey from Harris Interactive, CareerBuilder and WorkInRetail.com, 51% of retail workers are satisfied with their jobs, down from 60% in 2013.