OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Hingham, Mass. -- Private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which has wrapped up its $391 million acquisition of The Talbots, appointed Michael Archbold, formerly president and COO of Vitamin Shoppe, as CEO and CFO of Talbots. Archbold, who also served as executive VP and CFO of Saks Fifth Avenue, replaces Trudy Sullivan, who resigned from the CEO’s job after Sycamore completed its acquisition of Talbots late last week.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Flu shots now are available daily without an appointment at all of Walgreens nearly 8,000 stores nationwide, including all Duane Reade pharmacies in New York, and also at more than 360 Take Care Clinics at select Walgreens drug stores.

New York -- Damco announced it has been named a 2012 Partner in Transformation for Sears Holdings Corp. in recognition of its innovative contributions to Sears. Damco is a leading third-party logistics provider specializing in customised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions.

Sears grants the Partners in Transformation award to a select group of supplier companies who have been helping support the transformation of the company through innovation around customers, core retail excellence and financial and operational discipline.

New York -- Walgreens has agreed to create 500 jobs in Illinois over three years and invest $75 million to expand and renovate more than two dozen of its corporate offices, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Asheville, N.C. -- Ingles Markets’ new store in Mills River, N.C., has received an Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that recognizes the energy efficiency of the store’s design. The store was awarded the certification after meeting strict EPA guidelines for the estimated energy use of the building.

Dallas -- Kathleen Mason, former president and CEO of Tuesday Morning Corp., has filed disability discrimination charges against the retailer, alleging she was removed after disclosing to the board that she was battling breast cancer.

"The board's attitude toward Kathleen changed after it learned of her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,’ said attorney Roger Dunn, of Clouse Dunn Dunn LLP, Dallas, who is representing Mason, in a statement on Friday.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- The Kronos Retail Labor Index edged down one-tenth to 4.2% in July, reflecting declines in both hires and applications. (The index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0 means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred.)

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens and Alliance Boots on Thursday announced the completion of Walgreens initial investment in the strategic partnership following receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

The Walgreens investment consists of approximately $4 billion in cash and 83.4 million shares of Walgreens common stock in exchange for a 45% equity stake in Alliance Boots. Walgreens has the option to proceed to a full combination in approximately three years’ time by acquiring the remaining 55% of Alliance Boots.