Home Improvement

To bolster its omnichannel efforts, Lowe’s promoted Michael McDermott to chief customer officer.   McDermott, who currently serves as Lowe's chief merchandising officer, will be responsible for creating experiences that best serve customers and differentiate Lowe's in an omnichannel environment. This includes lead-ing strategies, customer insights, customer experience design and market-ing.   

Sleepsherpa.com, an online sleep resource that offers reviews of mattresses, bedding, pillows and sleep devices, has entered the physical space.   The company has opened a mattress showroom in Edina, Minn., that allows customers to try out a selection of the online-only mattress brands that have sprung up the past few years and disrupted the traditional mattress-buying model by offering generous trial periods and low pricing.    

Serena & Lily continue to grow their fledgling store portfolio.   The upscale California-based brand, which started out as catalog company, will open its fifth retail location, at Lido Marina Village, Newport, California, on Saturday, Oct. 22.      

The surge in home improvement projects is helping fuel sales at The Tile Shop.    Tile Shop Holdings Inc. on Tuesday reported third-quarter profit of $4.6 million for the third quarter, ended Sept. 30. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 10 cents per share.   The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 9 cents per share.  

Neil Saunders, CEO of Conlumino, a New York-based retail research agency and consulting firm, offers the following insights on September sales results.  

Experienced investment industry executive David R. O’Reilly has been named chief financial officer of The Howard Hughes Corporation and will assume the office on Oct. 17. He fills the vacancy left by retired CFO Andrew Richardson.   O’Reilly joins the company from Parkway Properties, a Florida-based real estate investment trust whose portfolio is focused on office properties.  Previously, he served in senior executive positions at Banyan Street Capital, Barclays Capital, and Lehman Brothers.  

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has appointed a permanent chief merchandising officer.    Sharyn Hejcl has been promoted to executive VP, chief merchandising officer. For the past year, Hejcl served as the interim head of merchandising in conjunction with her role as senior VP, inventory management and supply chain. She will continue to report to the chain’s president and CEO Jill Soltau.  

Tools and storage giant Black & Decker is reportedly among the suitors interested in purchasing Sears’ Craftsman line of tools, Bloomberg reported.   Sears announced plans in May that it would consider options for its Craftsman, Kenmore and DieHard brands.