Marketing

GLENWILLOW, Ohio — Fashion retailer Dots has named former Walmart SVP, Lisa Rhodes as its new CEO.

Rhodes, who led Walmart's U.S. apparel merchandising division, has been charged with leading Dots’ march toward 1,000 stores.

Prior to her role at Walmart, Rhodes was EVP and chief merchandising officer for Maurice’s.

GLENWILLOW, Ohio — Fashion retailer Dots has named former Walmart SVP, Lisa Rhodes as its new CEO.
  
Rhodes, who led Walmart's U.S. apparel merchandising division, has been charged with leading Dots’ march toward 1,000 stores.
   
Prior to her role at Walmart, Rhodes was EVP and chief merchandising officer for Maurice’s.
  

RICHARDSON, Texas — Fossil has named John White as EVP and COO effective Sept. 4. White will be responsible for the company's supply chain, distribution and warehousing, legal and information technology operations, with a focus on long-term strategy. He will report directly to Kosta Kartsotis, CEO.

"We are very excited to have John join our executive team. His track record of driving strategic improvements and operational excellence across large organizations will be invaluable to us as we continue our global expansion," said Kartsotis.

Friday promises to be a big day in Wasilla, Alaska, as the town receives the distinction of being the location of the 5,000th AutoZone store.

A presentation and ribbon cutting ceremony to be held Friday afternoon will be attended by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright along with the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

CORTE MADERA, Calif. — Home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware is reorganizing its leadership team to better align with the company's new strategy to develop new lines of business including apparel, accessories, footwear and jewelry while maintaining existing home business.

Max Performance is the name of new work glove from category leader Midwest Quality Gloves.

The company announced the new product introduction this week and design enhancements to the Max Performance line illustrate just how far the category of work gloves has progressed.

The new product features a suede leather palm with padded palm patches, a spandex back, fourchette finger design and an elastic wrist, all of which are designed to provide a form-fitting, high performance product.

HERSHEY, Pa. and SAN FRANCISCO — The Hershey Company recently partnered with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Calif. to provide students with a hands-on package-design opportunity. Students were asked to create a customized heart box design for Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates to help give the collection a contemporary, fresh look for the 2013 Valentine's Day season.

Peoria, Ill. -- Cullinan Properties announced that Kellie Schmidt has been named corporate marketing manager for the company, charged with overseeing Cullinan’s brand presence, in addition to creating and executing marketing and communication strategies.

I’ve written before about the ongoing trend of some of the biggest names in retail downsizing. Now I’m seeing how brands like Target, Wal-Mart and Office Depot are rolling out smaller new store formats in urban environments, and it has me thinking about how this downsizing phenomenon might be even more important than many people realize.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. reported Wednesday that profit for the second quarter remained essentially flat at $704 million.

Sales advanced 3.5% to $16.45 million, boosted by a 3.1% same-store sales rise in the quarter but missed Wall Street’s expected $16.75 million in revenue.