Strategy

By Kenneth A. Gruskin, [email protected]

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot announced it will hire more than 60,000 seasonal associates in time for its second annual Spring Black Friday event.

Like the traditional Black Friday that occurs the day after Thanksgiving to unofficially start the holiday shopping season, The Home Depot's Spring Black Friday marks the start of home improvement's busiest shopping season -- the spring. 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The American Customer Satisfaction Index has dropped just 0.1% from the previous quarter to 75.9 on the ACSI's 100-point scale, indicating that customers satisfaction remains strong, the ACSI reported.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Look out Lane Bryant. An exclusive line of plus-size apparel is launching this month at Kmart under the LYS brand names, which stands for love your style and love your size. The LYS collection is said to feature trend forward separates that are designed to flatter plus-size women of all shapes and sizes including printed halters, skinny jeans and tunic dresses.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Operations at Winn-Dixie Stores continued to improve across the second quarter, helping to drive shares up by 11 cents to $6.92 per share in mid-day trading.

“Overall I feel good about our progress this quarter,” Peter Lynch, Winn-Dixie chairman, CEO and president, told analysts Tuesday morning during a conference call. “[We] continued to improve sales through strategic adjustments to our promotional activity.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday reported that retail sales continue on a positive trend, edging up 0.3% for the month of January.

The increase to $381.6 billion marked the seventh consecutive month of gains for retail sales. Total sales for the month were above the year-ago period by 7.8%.

CHICAGO — Walgreens last month promoted Mia Scholz from corporate VP accounting and controller to SVP accounting and controller. She joined Walgreens in 1999 as director of internal audit. She was named a divisional VP in 2003, and promoted to corporate VP accounting and controller in 2007.

Before joining Walgreens, Scholz was a senior manager for Arthur Andersen LLP in Chicago.

She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1988.

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P announced that it has filed a motion seeking approval to close 32 stores in six states as the company continues to fully implement its comprehensive financial and operational restructuring. The store closures are expected to be completed in the company’s fiscal first quarter, subject to court approval.

New York City -- Jo-Ann Stores announced Tuesday that it has received no other takeover bids after a nearly two-month "go-shop" period. The fabric and crafts chain said it will therefore ask shareholders to vote on the company's proposed $1.6 billion sale to Leonard Green & Partners LP.

The meeting is scheduled for March 18.

Jo-Ann Stores, which operates 751 stores in 48 states, announced the proposed sale in December. The company had until Feb. 14 to seek a better offer.

New York City -- A Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that hedge fund billionaire and Sears Holding Corp. chairman Edward Lampert has reported holding a 5.8% stake in Gap Inc.

Lampert reported the stake in a 13G filing, or a filing for passive investors, with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday.

His ESL Partners company and affiliates reported beneficially holding 35 million common shares.