Strategy

ATLANTA — Former Home Depot executive Michael Esposito has joined HoneyBaked as its new VP, human resources, a newly created position. Esposito previously served as director of associate relations for the Home Depot’s northern division.

Not even a hurricane named Sandy could erode the economic upsurge experienced by the northeastern United States over the last year. What this region rebuilt after the Great Recession has managed to stay strong even in the face of Sandy’s 80-mph winds, record flooding and the damage inflicted by its nor’easter sister that arrived just days after the fall 2012 hurricane.

Evanston, Ill. -- Many consumers who visit a store but then buy online are not driven there by price alone, but rather by a less-than-satisfactory in-store experience, according to results from the annual holiday shopping report by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"A huge win," is how National Retailer Federation president and CEO Matt Shay characterized the biggest shopping weekend of the year during media briefing Sunday afternoon.

More people shopped more often in more places over the weekend and in the process pushed spending to a record $59.1 billion compared to $52.4 billion during the comparable four day period the prior year, according to an NRF survey of 4,000 shoppers.

New York -- Apple Inc. operates the most successful retail stores by a significant margin, according to RetailSails, a retail and consumer goods consulting firm. Apple stores averaged $6,050 per sq. ft. in the past 12 months, double those of Tiffany & Co., which ranked second, generating sales of $3,017 per sq. ft.

Here is RetailSails list of the 10 retailers with the highest sales per square foot:

Plano, Texas -- A Friday report by Business Insider said that Ken Mangone, executive VP product development, design and sourcing for J.C. Penney Co., has abruptly resigned the company.

Mangone has been with the retailer since 1977 and is credited with helping to establish J.C. Penney’s private brands.

“We can confirm that Ken Mangone is no longer with the company,” a J.C. Penney spokesman told Business Insider. “We wish Ken continued success and thank him for his years of service….”

By Randy Frischer and Patricia Brandstetter

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation has issued a statement from president and CEO Matthew Shay on the new White House report, “The Middle-Class Tax Cut’s Impact on Consumer Spending & Retailers.”