Human Resources

Atlanta – Expense from a pension settlement and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs drove Havertys into the red for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported a net loss of $10.19 million, compared to net income of $9.68 million the same period a year earlier.

Bentonville, Ark. – In a reversal of corporate policy that did not offer workers paid sick leave until their second day of absence, Wal-Mart Store Inc. is reportedly now allowing employees to collect sick pay on their first day of not reporting to work due to illness. According to the Wall Street Journal, the change in policy is part of a larger effort to improve employee morale.

Best Buy is looking to drive growth through innovation by opening a new technology center in the Seattle area this spring.

The company joins a growing array of retailers, including Staples and Sears, that have been opening or expanding offices in Seattle in order to tap into the city’s wealth of tech talent.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has received bankruptcy court approval to sell more than 1,100 stores it plans to close by the end of this month. According to Reuters, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon in Wilmington, Delaware, has officially approved the closing and auctioning of the stores.

Omnichannel commerce is exposing organizations as "legacy channel impaired." Customers don’t talk about and don’t care about channels. Customers care about engagement, information, value, product and service. Channels are a frame we’ve used to organize around and operate in an increasingly disruptive environment. What started as a fear of cannibalization has evolved into an opportunity for augmentation, as digital and physical convergence accelerates across categories and formats.

New York -- On Thursday, in a move that could shape the minimum wage debate, Walmart announced it was raising the minimum wage of its employees to $10 per house, which is significantly higher than the Federal minimum wage. The news has met with a mixed reaction.  

Here's a sampling:
 
CNBC reports that Wall Street gives Walmart a big thumbs down for the news.

Montreal - Dollarama Inc. has named Elisa D. Garcia, executive VP and chief legal officer of Office Depot Inc., as an independent director and member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Garcia’s appointment expands the corporation’s board of directors to 10 directors, seven of whom are independent.