Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Sporting goods retailer Gander Mountain has installed a new president to lead the company through its next phase of growth.

The company announced that Derek Siddons, executive VP and COO, will assume the role of president on the retirement of current president Michael J. Owens on Oct. 31.

Sears Holdings is quite the omnichannel innovator and it just launched another new capability melding digital and physical.

No matter how good a retailer’s seamless experience is, without the correct product it falls apart.

Sears Holding Corp. is trying to ensure the right products are picked for the right customers with new Honeywell Vocollect voice-directed picking solutions. The retailer is working with Speech Interface Design (SID) to implement the solutions in two of its regional specialty distribution centers (RSCs) and its largest retail distribution center (RDC) in the coming months.

Sears holdings has made a key acquisition to bolster its connected home effort and named a new executive to lead its home service division.

The retailer said it hired former Best Buy executive Sean Skelley as president of its Home Services division. Skelley spent 20 years at Best Buy but most recently served as senior VP of service solutions for Asurion, global provider of device protection and support services for smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics and appliances.

Columbia, S.C. -- Industry veterans Terry Brown, Jason Tompkins, and Sam Judd last month launched Asana Partners, a retail real estate investment company headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina.

Drawing from the team's deep operational and investment background in retail real estate, including more than $15 billion in transaction activity over the last 15 years, the company will acquire, own, and operate retail properties in dynamic markets across the United States.

Amazon.com is certainly known for its expertise in integrated fulfillment, and Sears Holdings Corp. is now tapping into that knowledge base.

Sears has appointed Girish Lakshman, who most recently served as VP of worldwide transportation strategy, technology and customer returns at Amazon, as president, fulfillment.

His new role will support the company's continued efforts to fulfill member and customers' needs and advance its integrated retail strategy.

Sears Holdings has turned to a veteran of tech and innovation companies to lead the business unit in charge of the company's most iconic brands.

The company has named Tom Park as president of the retailer's Kenmore, Craftsman & DieHard division.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. --  Michael McCarthy spent 28 years at Sears Holdings before leaving the company in 2011, but now he is back in new senior level role at the Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores.

In 2012, Sears Holding spun off the Hometown and Outlet division, which is now the operator of 1,215 hardware, appliance and outlet stores and a separate publicly held company.

Michael McCarthy spent 28 years at Sears Holdings before leaving the company in 2011, but now he’s back in new senior level role at the Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores.

With its same store sales ever on the decline, Kmart is making it even easier for shoppers to afford gifts this holiday season by introducing a new kind of layaway plan.

The retailer announced that No Money Down Layaway is returning for its second year, and for the first time ever, Kmart is introducing No Money Down Leasing. 

The National Retail Federation found that more than 40% of Americans begin shopping for the holidays prior to October and of those, 60% shop early in order to spread their budgets.