Strategy

Dallas -- Web-based hiring assessment provider PeopleAnswers said Tuesday that The Cheesecake Factory will use the PeopleAnswers HR solution in its 164 restaurants to pre-screen and select hourly staff.

The objective is to fill each position with individuals who will help maintain The Cheesecake Factory’s quality brand.

Cincinnati -- In its fifth annual sustainability report, released Tuesday, The Kroger Co. said it continues to meet its benchmarks, including reducing in-store energy consumption by 30%.

"In 2010, Kroger stores saved enough energy to power the city of Fort Worth for a full year,” said Rodney McMullen, president and COO of Kroger. “We sent less waste to landfills, recycled more plastic, and provided our customers with five million more reusable bags.”

Discount grocer Aldi has made its U.S. mall debut, opening in Westfield Chicago Ridge, an 800,000-sq.-ft. enclosed shopping center in suburban Chicago Ridge, Ill. The mall is a property of The Westfield Group.

Brightly lit and colorful, the 20,000-sq.-ft. Aldi resembles a prototypical Aldi in most respects.

Tokyo -- A Monday report by the Financial Times said that Walmart’s chief executive in Japan has resigned suddenly, just over a year after he assumed the position.

Toru Noda became CEO of Walmart Japan and Seiyu, its Japanese supermarket chain, in February 2010. He has cited personal reasons for the unexpected departure.

Noda will be replaced by Steve Dacus, former COO of both Walmart Japan and Seiyu.

NEW YORK — Borders' closings, and subsequent clearance sales, took a toll on Barnes & Noble's fourth-quarter results. B&N said that its 2.9% drop in same-store sales for the quarter were temporarily negatively impacted by the liquidation of over 200 Borders bookstores during that time. 

The trouble didn't end there for Barnes & Noble, which reported a fourth-quarter consolidated net loss of $59 million, or $1.04 per share. The company's total store sales were $943 million.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said Tuesday it will terminate a $5.3 billion-per-year relationship with Express Scripts.

Walgreen reported that contract negotiations with Express Scripts have failed, and it will stop participating in the St. Louis company's prescription plans starting Jan. 1. Express Scripts processes about 90 million prescriptions that will be filled at Walgreen stores in fiscal 2011, which will bring Walgreen about $5.3 billion in revenue.

Boston -- A survey released Tuesday by the Boston Consulting Group found that a growing number of consumers around the world are growing more anxious about the future, and are planning to reduce or maintain -- but not increase -- their spending.

Washington, D.C. -- A Bloomberg report on Tuesday said that the women who sought to sue Wal-Mart Stores for gender bias on behalf of 1.5 million co-workers said they will continue the fight in smaller lawsuits in lower courts and claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said the women failed to prove that Wal-Mart had a nationwide policy that led to gender discrimination, precluding a class action and forcing the plaintiffs to pursue claims on their own.