OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. is adding a new benefit to its REDcard Rewards loyalty program: free shipping on Target.com purchases when guests use their REDcards. In addition, for the first time Target Debit Cards can be used on Target.com.

Target’s REDcard Rewards loyalty program applies to the Target REDcards, including the Target Credit Card, Target Visa Credit Card and Target Debit Card. The program offers guests an extra 5% off Target’s already prices on nearly all items purchased in stores and online when they use a REDcard.

New York City -- Target Corp. is in a class by itself when it comes to gift cards, offering a broad selection to suit all ages. In fact, the cards are so unusual that the retailer patents them, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Journal.

Click here to read the full story and see a slide show of some of Target’s most unusual gift cards.
 

Suffern, N.Y. -- Ascena Retail Group announced that John Sullivan has been appointed executive VP and COO.

In this newly created position, Sullivan will be responsible for information technology, distribution, and human resources information systems across all brands. Prior to joining the company, he served as executive VP and CIO for QVC.
 

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax said Friday that its executive VP and chief merchandising office Ryan Vero has resigned, effective Dec. 2.

Michael Lewis, executive VP and president of retail, will continue to provide oversight to the marketing and merchandising teams, according to OfficeMax.

OfficeMax said it is initiating a search for a chief merchandising officer immediately.
 

Indianapolis -- Shopping mall owner Simon Property Group said Friday it has filed a complaint against the State of Indiana in Marion County Circuit Court.

The suit is not for monetary damages but is a move to try and force the state to make Amazon.com collect sales tax in order to erase Amazon’s pricing advantage over brick-and-mortar retailers.
 

Armonk, N.Y. -- Online holiday shopping in November is expected to grow 12% to 15% versus the year-ago period, with mobile devices such as iPads and Android phones helping to drive spending, according to the IBM Coremetrics Benchmark analysis which gathers data directly from the websites of more than 500 leading U.S. retailers. The analysis also predicts that 15% of people in the United States who log onto a retailer’s website during November will do so through a mobile device.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express said Thursday that its CEO, Michael Weiss, will also take over the role of board chairman, because of the current chairman's involvement in a rival company.

Weiss succeeds Stefan Kaluzny in the chairman's job. Kaluzny joined Express' board when the private equity firm where he worked, Golden Gate Capital, bought Limited Brands in 2007. Kaluzny has since joined another private equity firm, Sycamore Partners, which recently brought a controlling stake in Mast Global Fashions, which is Limited Brands' apparel sourcing division.

Palo Alto, Calif. -- HP on Thursday announced the company’s first mobile point-of-sale solution for retailers, intended to help them to deliver a more personalized shopping experience to their customers. The HP Retail Mobile Point-of-Sale Case attaches to the newly announced HP Slate 2 Tablet PC adding an integrated magnetic stripe reader (MSR) and a barcode scanner.