Human Resources

New York -- Lululemon has named Tara Poseley as chief product officer. She most recently served as president of Kmart Apparel, where she was responsible for the launch of several new product collections to attract a younger and multi-cultural customer.

Previously, she held the position of interim president at Bebe Stores, president of Disney Stores North America (The Children’s Place) and CEO of Design Within Reach (DWR).

In her role at Lululemon, Poseley will oversee the company’s global merchandising and design strategy.

Crossmark has appointed former GlaxoSmithKline executive Janet Carter-Smith as VP of business development.

In her role, Carter-Smith will be focused on working with new client opportunities across Crossmark’s portfolio of services.

New York -- Bloomingdale’s longtime chief executive and chairman, Michael Gould, 70, is stepping down after 22 years on the job. He will be succeeded by Tony Spring, 48, currently Bloomingdale’s president and COO, effective Feb. 1, 2014. A successor to Spring as president of Bloomingdale’s is expected to be named in 2014.

Sports Authority is the latest retailer beefing up staff ahead of the holiday shopping season. The specialty retailer plans to hire up to 5,000 part-time and temporary workers nationwide, a 20% increase from last year.

Sports Authority also plans to convert hundreds of seasonal workers into part-time and full-time team members after the holidays.

Salisbury, N.C. -- Bottom Dollar Food will open two new stores on Thursday, Oct. 31, one in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, and one in Ambler, Pa., bringing the market total for the discount grocery chain to 43 stores.

The two new stores add approximately 100 jobs to the greater Philadelphia economy. With the addition of the two new locations, Bottom Dollar Food now operates 62 stores in New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Each store is approximately 18,000 sq. ft.

Fortune Brands Home & Security, a leading home and security products company, has named Jason Baab as VP of mergers and acquisitions. His role will support the company’s growth strategy that includes expanding its portfolio.

The company also promoted Elif Sagsen-Ercel to VP of strategy. Baab and Sagsen-Ercel will report to Chuck Elias who was elected by FBHS earlier this year as SVP of strategy and corporate development.

New York -- Looking ahead, there is a sense of pessimism on the economy in the next few months among U.S. consumers. In September 2013, Harris Poll results showed that almost half of U.S. adults (46%) said, in the coming year, that they expect the economy to stay the same, while less than one-quarter (22%) expected it to improve and one-third (32%) expected it to get worse.

New York -- The attorney general of the state of New York is investigating Macy's and Barneys following complaints from black customers that they were stopped by police after making expensive luxury purchases, according to the New York Daily News. The local New York media has dubbed the practice “shop-and-frisk.”