Home Depot

Atlanta -- The Home Depot announced that it has named Marc Powers executive VP, U.S. stores, effective Nov. 1, 2014. He replaces Marvin Ellison, who was recently named president and CEO designee of J.C. Penney Co.  

Veteran Home Deport operations executive Marc Powers has been elevated to the role of EVP of U.S. stores as part of an ongoing leadership transformation.

Few people know Home Depot from the ground up the way Powers does. He began his career with the company in 1986 as an hourly employee and over the course of the past 28 years served as store manager, district manager and regional vice president. He most recently served as SVP of operations for the company’s nearly 2,000 U.S. stores.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Kmart is the latest retailer to be hit by a payment data breach. The breach was discovered last Thursday by the chain’s information technology team, and the company immediately launched an investigation with a leading security firm, according to Kmart’s parent company, Sears Holdings Corp.   

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney on Monday appointed Marvin Ellison president and CEO-designee, effective Nov. 1. Ellison, executive VP of stores for Home Depot, will also join the company’s board of directors.

Ellison, 49, will succeed Mike Ullman, III, as CEO of Penney on Aug. 1, 2015, when Ullman will become executive chairman of the board for one year.

Water conservation is big business for the nation’s largest home improvement retailer who earned accolades from the Environmental Protection Agency for selling nearly 13 million WaterSense devices.

The EPA named Home Depot a 2014 WaterSense Partner of the year for selling nearly 13 million WaterSense labeled products which helped customers save an estimated 42.5 billion gallons of water and more than $358 million in water related utility costs. The retailer said the water saved is enough to supply 291,000 U.S. homes for a full year.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in September 2013 versus September 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. In the aftermath of back-to-school season, Walmart and Staples appear to be trying to clear out all remaining school and office supplies. Staples accomplished this by improving its previous offer of $5 off with purchase of $30 to $10 off and also cut backpack prices by 50%. Walmart shifted the focus from school to office, with a “Run Your Business for Less” promotion.

New York -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday said it will no longer provide health benefits to part-time associates who work less than 30 hours a week in a move to control its rising healthcare costs. The chain, the nation’s largest private employer, said the decision will impact about 2% of its total U.S. work force.

The announcement follows similar decisions by Target, Home Depot, Walgreens and Trader Joe’s to cut health insurance benefits for part-time associates.