Strategy

New York -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in August, improved in September to 70.3 -- up from 61.3 in August.

The Expectations Index increased to 83.7 from 71.1. The Present Situation Index rose to 50.2 from 46.5 last month.
 

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- On the heels of activist investor The Clinton Group’s announced plans to replace some of Wet Seal’s board members, the retailer is advising its shareholders against supporting the move.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group on Tuesday announced the launch of the Real Green Research Challenge, a four-year, $1 million commitment to fund leading-edge sustainability research and innovation relating to commercial real estate.

CBRE said it is accepting submissions for research proposals, with the goal of developing solutions to the industry’s critical environmental challenges.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us said Tuesday it will hire 45,000 seasonal employees for the 2012 holiday season, about 5,000 more than last year.
 
The increase, said the retailer, is driven in part by the addition of positions resulting from omnichannel programs such as "Buy Online, Pick Up In Store," "Ship from Store" and "Ship to Store."

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples Inc. announced Tuesday a strategic plan to shore up sales and profitability that will involve accelerating the closure of 15 U.S. stores and 45 stores in Europe.

The office supplies retailer also said it will ramp up investment in its online and mobile efforts.

The announcement comes after a soft second quarter in which profit and traffic dipped downward.
 

Kellogg Company and leading Asian agribusiness group Wilmar International have entered into a joint venture involving the manufacture, sale and distribution of Kellogg’s and Pringles brand products in China.

The firms are equal partners in the deal designed to accelerate Kellogg’s growth in a market the company expects to become the world’s largest food and beverage market within five years.

A desire to mitigate the impact of increasingly volatile commodity prices has led to the appointment of Craig Parr as Flower Foods first chief risk officer.

As the nation’s second largest producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods for retail and foodservice customers, Flower Foods said the move will result initially in increased focus on commodity hedging and purchasing strategies.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl's is partnering with designer Derek Lam for the second installment if its DesigNation limited-edition collection. As part of the Kohl’s DesigNation concept featuring premier designer fashions based on international inspiration, the Derek Lam collection will draw creative influence from his trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The collection features misses’ apparel and swimwear and will be available exclusively at Kohl’s and Kohls.com beginning in April 2013.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores has been recognized with a 2012 Sustained Excellence in Green Power Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The award was presented Monday at an event held in conjunction with the 2012 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in Washington, D.C. This is the company’s sixth consecutive year receiving a Green Power Leadership Award.