Supply Chain & Merchandising

Toronto -- Hudson's Bay Company will sell its flagship in downtown Toronto and neighboring office tower for C$650 million ($587.09 million) to an affiliate of commercial real estate developer Cadillac Fairview Corp., and open a full-line, 150,000-sq.-ft. Saks store in the leased-back space.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores is eliminating the positions of about 2,300 Sam’s Club employees.  The job cuts represent 2% of Sam’s total workforce. Employees whose jobs are eliminated that cannot find another job with Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club will be eligible for severance.

Houston -- Francesca's Holdings Corp. announced that in connection with a management restructuring, Theresa Backes, president and COO of Francesca's, will be leaving the company effective Jan. 27.

The board of directors appointed Neill P. Davis, Francesca's CEO, to the additional title of president. The retailer said it will not replace the COO position, and will realign the responsibilities among Davis and other existing executive officers.

Weiman Products, a leading manufacturer of specialty cleaning products, has acquired Goo Gone, Magic, Stone Care International, Natural Magic, OOPS! Paint Remover and Gonzo brands from the Homax Group.

“Adding Homax’s specialty cleaning brands to Weiman solidifies the Company’s position as the leading specialty cleaning products provider in the market,” said Carl DeMasi, Weiman’s president and CEO. “We fully expect our customers, suppliers, and employees to benefit from this acquisition.” T

Plano, Texas -- Rent-A-Center has opened its newest location in Roswell, Ga. This marks the 79th store Rent-A-Center operates in the state of Georgia.

Rent-A-Center also operates more than 3,000 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico. The company employs more than 21,000 workers.

Los Angeles -- The Coffee Bean & Tea Left said that Bill Robards has joined the company as VP of store development. He will be responsible for delivering upon the brand's extensive growth and expansion plans in the United States.

Irvine, Calif. -- Merchandise returns in 2013 cost U.S. retailers more than $267 billion in lost sales. That’s one of the findings contained in The Retail Equation’s 2013 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry study, which analyzes results from the National Retail Federation’s annual survey on merchandise returns and the 2012 Canadian Retail Security Survey from The Retail Council of Canada National Retail Federation.

Revelations of job cuts at leading retailers, the latest involving Sam’s Club, are a reminder that pro-active expense control remains retailers' best friend when it comes to ensuring profitability when faced with a murky outlook for consumer spending.

Sam’s Club on Friday became the latest retailer to disclose plans to eliminate 2,300 hourly and middle management positions. The move was characterized as a rebalancing of resources, according to Sam’s Club spokesman Bill Durling. Other retailers such as Macy’s and Target also recently announced job cuts.