OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreen Co. said Tuesday it has added two executives to its pharmacy, health and wellness division.

Dr. Jeffrey Kang will join the company on Oct. 31 as senior VP health and wellness services and solutions.

In addition, Mike Ellis has joined Walgreens as VP specialty pharmacy and infusion.

Most recently, Kang was chief medical officer at CIGNA. Ellis has served as senior VP specialty trade relations and contracting and pharmaceutical services for CVS Caremark.

New York City -- The National Retail Federation has announced that President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the NRF’s 101st Annual Convention in New York City.

Clinton, who will speak on "Embracing our Common Humanity,” will deliver his address on Jan 16, 11 a.m. 12 p.m.

Los Angeles -- Retail marketing firm Creative Channel Services said Tuesday that electronics retailer Conn’s will utilize the company’s CyberScholar digital platform to increase retail associate knowledge of home appliance and consumer electronics products.

With the Creative Channel solution, Conn's employees have direct access to product information from multiple manufacturers via the Internet or over the retailer's intranet system.

New York City -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index, released Tuesday, showed a decrease in September to 100.95, down from the revised figure of 101.37 in August. The September figure is up 4.4% from the same month a year ago.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Tuesday it will launch a “My Local Walmart” Facebook application, which will allow more than 3,500 Walmart stores to interact direct with their local customers and some 9 million total Facebook fans.

The "My Local Walmart" Facebook application will provide locally relevant information on everything from new products and sales information, to details on in-store events.

Stamford, Conn. -- Spa operator Red Door Spas said Tuesday it has named Jeff Kohl as its senior VP and COO. Kohl is charged with directing all Red Door Spa operations globally, including strategic partnership development and management of the company's 31 full-service spa and salon properties and 1,500+ spa associates.

He will report to Todd Walter, CEO of Red Door Spa Holdings.

Kohl was previously director of global hospitality sales for Precor.
 

Toronto, Ontario -- Web-based task management and store communications provider Opterus said Tuesday that Total Wine & More has implemented Opterus Store Ops-Center to manage tasks and projects and to obtain valuable feedback from their stores.   

New York City -- An overwhelming majority (72%) of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be “careful” or “controlled” in 2011, according to Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study. Discounts, sales and prices are still top of mind this holiday, with 40% of consumers saying an item being on sale is the single most important factor in their decision to purchase.