Human Resources

NEW YORK — The Estée Lauder Cos, whose brand portfolio includes Bumble and Bumble, American Beauty, Aveda and La Mer, has appointed Tracey Travis as EVP and CFO.

She will jointly report to executive chairman William Lauder and Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO. Travis will assume her new position on Aug. 20.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl's has reached an agreement with the state of Wisconsin that will keep the retailer’s headquarters in Menomonee Falls, which is located about 20 miles northwest of Milwaukee. Kohl’s will receive up to $62.5 million in tax credits from the state over 12 years. The final amount of the tax credits is dependent on the number of employees the chain adds at its facility and the amount of money Kohl’s invests in developing its campus.

Lakewood, Colo. -- Outlet and value shopping center Colorado Mills announced the hiring of Deborah Celaya as director of marketing and business development.

In her new role, Celaya will be responsible for strategic marketing, business development, public relations, tenant relations, guest services and tourism.

Celaya most recently held a senior executive position at Race Partners, and has previously served as group VP for General Growth Properties.

Denver -- Quick-serve sandwich chain Quiznos announced that it has named Stuart Mathis as president and CEO, effective July 30.

The company also named Susan Lintonsmith as chief marketing officer.

Mathis was previously president of The UPS Store. He succeeds Greg MacDonald, who is stepping down as Quiznos' president and CEO, effective immediately. 

Lintonsmith was previously senior VP and CMO of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
 

CARLISLE, Pa. — Royal Ahold's American division has split its EVP marketing and merchandising position in two, the company said.

Ahold USA announced the appointment of Erik Keptner to the newly created position of EVP marketing. The search for an EVP merchandising is ongoing, the company said. Ahold USA operates the Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover and Stop & Shop chains and the online grocery service Peapod.

By a nearly 3-to-1 margin, retailers say that internal theft is more extensive than external theft at their establishments, according to a new survey conducted by PointofSale.com. 

“It’s interesting to me that about half the respondents view their POS system as a means of theft prevention,” said Craig Aberle, publisher of PointofSale.com, who designed the survey. “Yet, theft continues to be a rampant problem among retailers.”

NEW YORK — Best Buy plans to hire 500 new Geek Squad staffers. The move comes some two weeks after the retailer said it would lay off 600 existing workers in the tech support arm of its business as it looked to focus the group less on basic installation services and more on remote tech consulting. It also comes as Verizon announced it was partnering with Geek Squad to offer services to meet the information technology requirements of small and mid-size businesses across the country.

New York -- Best Buy plans to hire 500 new Geek Squad staffers. The move comes some two weeks after the retailer said it would lay off 600 existing workers in the tech support arm of its business as it looked to focus the group less on basic installation services and more on remote tech consulting. It also comes as Verizon announced it was partnering with Geek Squad to offer services to meet the information technology requirements of small and mid-size businesses across the country.