Strategy

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores is eliminating the positions of about 2,300 Sam’s Club employees.  The job cuts represent 2% of Sam’s total workforce. Employees whose jobs are eliminated that cannot find another job with Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club will be eligible for severance.

New York -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association elected Richard Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar General, as the new chairman of its board of directors.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as board chairman for RILA and to work with this exceptional group of retail leaders to strengthen our industry,” said Dreiling. “RILA is a critical strategic partner in empowering our industry to speak with one voice to champion issues that affect the retail sector, our workforce and our valued customers.”

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. announced that in connection with a management restructuring, Theresa Backes, president and COO of Francesca's, will be leaving the company effective Jan. 27.

The board of directors appointed Neill P. Davis, Francesca's CEO, to the additional title of president. The retailer said it will not replace the COO position, and will realign the responsibilities among Davis and other existing executive officers.

Revelations of job cuts at leading retailers, the latest involving Sam’s Club, are a reminder that pro-active expense control remains retailers' best friend when it comes to ensuring profitability when faced with a murky outlook for consumer spending.

Sam’s Club on Friday became the latest retailer to disclose plans to eliminate 2,300 hourly and middle management positions. The move was characterized as a rebalancing of resources, according to Sam’s Club spokesman Bill Durling. Other retailers such as Macy’s and Target also recently announced job cuts.

Tri-Land Properties is demonstrating the power of value added retail real estate investing with its extensive renovation of Fridley Market at the intersection of University Avenue and I-694 in Fridley, Minn.

Tri-Land is a full-service, real estate development and redevelopment company focused on the successful acquisition, development, renovation and management of community centers ranging in size from 100,000 sq. ft. to 750,000 sq. ft.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack is introducing a new brand positioning, including the motto, "It Can Be Done, When We Do It Together." The company said the new positioning highlights the brand's ability to collaborate with consumers to help them discover what is possible through technology.

Dollar General chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling was elected chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to fill a position held the past two years by Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

Dreiling’s appointment was announced at RILA’s semi-annual board of directors meeting held Sunday in Naples, Fla. Steinhafel will continue to serve as a member of organization’s executive committee.

In recent years, customer engagement has become much more of a mission-critical function for retailers. While nobody would argue that retailers must engage their customers in a way that recognizes the disruptive effects of leading-edge technologies like social and mobile, there is a priority that looms even larger. Namely, data security.

Insecure Data Creates Insecure Customers