Sales & Marketing

Sears Outlet Stores, a subsidiary of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, has leased the former Sears location on E Front Street, expanding Outlet Store operations and services, while offering an economic boost with mass job creation.

North Brunswick, N.J. - Staples has leased a 14,000 sq. ft. space at North Village Shopping Center in North Brunswick, N.J. Levin Management, exclusive leasing and managing agent for the 132,000-sq.-ft. center, negotiated the lease.

Columbus, Ohio -- Michael Weiss, who started with Express when it was an eight-store operation, will retire as CEO of the 600 plus-store specialty apparel company when its fiscal year ends on January 30, 2015.

He will be succeeded by David Kornberg, 46, president, who will assume the added role of chief executive. Weiss, 73, will remain with Express as nonexecutive chairman of the board.

Ascena Retail Group began a search for a new CFO after its current EVP and CFO, Dirk Montgomery, resigned this week. As the company reviews potential new CFOs, Ascena board member and audit committee chair Randy Pearce, will have more involvement with the company’s finances.

Montgomery is expected to stay in his position until the fall, when he will move on to a Florida-based healthcare company, where he recently accepted an offer to be closer to his family.

The Home Depot elevated 14-year veteran Ted Decker to the role of EVP of merchandising to oversee all aspects of merchandising strategy and operations.

Decker had previously served as SVP of retail finance, pricing analytics and assortment planning. He assumes his new role August 4 and will report to Craig Menear, Home Depot’s president of U.S. retail.

Warrendale, Pa. - Specialty apparel retailer Rue21 is upgrading to the latest version of the Epicor Retail Store POS solution. Leveraging Epicor Retail Store, Rue21 will unify the customer experience across e-commerce and brick and mortar locations for simplified, streamlined operations, including returns management, and also support planned growth to 1,700 stores.

Dallas - Roman Kikta, managing partner and founder of Mobility Ventures, has joined Tantrum Street’s board of directors and will provide strategic guidance for the retail technology startup as it rolls out its Cartwheel Register mobile checkout app and Skip Wallet digital wallet app to the North American market.

Model, actress and television presenter Kelly Brook has signed on with Skechers to appear globally in the footwear company’s multiplatform marketing and social media campaigns through 2015.

"It doesn’t get any bigger than Skechers when it comes to lifestyle footwear so I’m thrilled to be working with this amazing brand,” said Brook. “Skechers has brilliantly comfortable shoes in so many colors and looks. I love it and can’t wait to get started with this campaign!”