Strategy

Carlsbad, Calif. -- Callaway Golf said Wednesday it will cut 150 to 170 jobs, or about 12% of its work force, as demand for golf equipment has weakened.

The eliminated jobs will span all regions and levels, said the retailer.

Callaway has downwardly revised its full-year forecast after announcing in April that it expected a significant improvement in fiscal 2012.

The job cuts are expected to generate about $52 million in annual savings.
 

Paris -- French retail giant Carrefour reported Thursday that sales in the second quarter dipped 0.3% to $26.5 billion, beating analysts’ expectations and prompting the retailer to issue earnings guidance to match 2012 expectations of $2.5 to $2.6 billion.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens said Thursday that it has named retired McDonald’s CEO James Skinner as its new non-executive chairman of the board.

Skinner has served on the Walgreens board since 2005. He will succeed Al McNally, who has been non-executive chairman since 2009.

Walgreens said the change "is consistent with its board of directors succession and rotational planning process."
 

New York -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services is further lowering its credit rating on J.C. Penney Co., attributing the move to a continuing weak performance.

J.C. Penney’s corporate credit rating has been lowered to "B+" from "BB-." The junk rating is four notches below investment grade. The move marks the second downgrade from S&P since mid-May.
 

Cary, N.C. -- The Pantry said Thursday that it is pursuing debt refinancing consisting of up to $480 million of senior secured credit facilities and $250 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes.

Minneapolis -- Grocery giant SuperValu Inc. reported Wednesday that profit for the quarter ended June 16 plummeted 45% to $41 million, compared with $74 million in the year-ago period. The struggling parent to Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot grocery banners, among others, had begun to show improvement in its fourth quarter, but tumbling revenues have halted the forward momentum.

Sales dropped to $10.59 billion, from $11.11 billion in the same period last year, and missed Wall Street’s forecasted $10.61 billion in revenue.

DENVER — ShopAtHome.com, a coupon search engine, announced that Tim Mayer has joined the company as VP marketing.
 
In his new role, Mayer will be responsible for spearheading this objective, overseeing user experience and member engagement.

LOS ANGELES — Katie Bayne, president and general manager of sparkling beverages for Coca-Cole North America, has been elected to the American Film Institute's board of trustees.

After a weaker-than-expected showing in June, Target needs a solid performance in July to deliver on its second quarter sales and profit expectations.

June same-store sales increased a modest 2.1%, well below a 4.4% increase in May, but the deceleration didn’t cause the company to adjust its second quarter guidance. The company expects second quarter earnings adjusted to exclude expenses related to its entry in Canada to range from $1.04 to $1.14 and earnings that include the Canadian costs to range from 94 centers to $1.04.

A partnership between New York designer Liz Lange and Target has contributed to a transformation of the maternity wear market over the past decade, according to Target’s hometown newspaper the Star Tribune.

A recent article on the partnership and its success quoted Lange and even got SVP Trish Adams to hold still for a photo shoot at a downtown Minneapolis store.