Human Resources

Former Toys “R” Us president Neil Friedman has joined toy manufacturer Alex Brands as president and CEO.

Friedman has been appointed to the Alex Brands board of directors earlier this year.  Prior to that he was president of the U.S. division at Toys “R” Us and also served as president at Mattel Brands, Fisher-Price Brands, Tyco Preschool and MCA/Universal Merchandising. Friedman is a member of the Toy Industry Hall of Fame and the International Licensing Industry Merchandiser’s Association’s Hall of Fame. 

IKEA has appointed Stefan Sjöstrand president of its Canadian organization after he has previously served as SVP, IKEA France.

With this move Sjöstrand is bringing global insights gathered from many years of working with IKEA to the Canadian market, as well as a proven track record of achieving business success through people development, according to the company. 

Dallas - UCR Dallas, a retail real estate services provider, has named Elizabeth Nabholtz Allen as VP who will specialize in retail project leasing. Allen has extensive experience in property representation. Prior to joining UCR, Elizabeth was the director of leasing for RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust for Texas, where she directed leasing for more than 5 million sq. ft.  

Minneapolis –- An increase in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses helped reduce net income at Tile Shop Holdings Inc. to $1.5 million, down 63% from $4.05 million in the same quarter the prior fiscal year. In addition, founder and CEO Robert Rucker will retire as CEO effective Jan. 1, 2015 and be replaced by current COO Chris Homeister, who will join the board of directors early in 2015.  

Brentwood, Tenn. –- Tractor Supply Company has entered the Utah market with the opening of a store in Perry City, Utah. The store officially opened on Saturday, Oct. 25 and holds its grand opening Saturday, Nov. 1. The new store is 21,930-sq.-ft. and employs approximately 15 team members. Tractor Supply Company now operates more than 1,360 stores in 49 states and employs more than 19,000 workers across the country.

Sears and Amazon.com both recently came under fire for allowing rings decorated with the Nazi swastika symbol to be posted for sale on their third-party seller sites. While both retailers quickly pulled the items down and issued public apologies, they received a large amount of negative publicity and surely damaged their brand image with many offended customers, perhaps to the point of permanently losing some of them.  

York, Me. –- Stonewall Kitchen has received an investment from private equity firm Centre Partners. As part of the investment, Stonewall Kitchen will continue to be managed by its existing leadership team with the addition of Centre operating partner John Stiker, who has been named CEO.    

Milan, Italy –- Leonardo Del Vecchio, 79, the chairman and founder of global eyewear manufacturer/retailer Luxottica Group who assumed the role of interim CEO on Oct. 14, has reportedly sent a letter to employees reassuring them his return as CEO is temporary. According to Reuters, in the letter, Del Vecchio said he would step down and turn management over to new co-CEOs once the company’s new governance structure is consolidated.