OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Los Angeles -- Guess said Monday that chairman and co-founder Maurice Marciano will retire as an executive officer in January 2012. However, he will continue to serve as a non-executive chairman and as a consultant for two more years after his retirement becomes effective.
 

New York City -- Kmart stores is laying off 700 employees in its appliance departments.

The chain, a division of Sears Holdings Corp., is changing the way it sells appliances, allowing customers to check out appliances at any register rather than going to a dedicated register. Instead of having dedicated appliance-only associates, all Kmart staffers are being trained to answer questions about appliances.

There will also be a 1-800 number customers can call for help.

San Diego -- Dillard's has selected Kiva Systems for order fulfillment at its new, 850-sq.-ft. e-commerce fulfillment center in Maumelle, Ark.

New York City -- J.C. Penney Co. on Monday detailed the timeline of its upcoming change in executive management with the news that current CEO and chairman Myron “Mike” Ullman will leave the company and the board in February 2012 after a three-month transition period during which he will hand over the reins in full to his successor, Apple retail guru Ron Johnson.

Washington, D.C. -- In a ruling that may mean new limits on class-action suits, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled for Wal-Mart Stores in the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit in history as it put the brakes on a massive job discrimination lawsuit against the chain.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores disclosed in an email Friday that its China senior VP operations has left the company.

According to a Friday report by Bloomberg, Shawn Gray has left the company, but no reason for the departure has yet been given.
 

Daqing, China -- China supermarket chain QKL Stores announced Friday that its COO Alan Stewart has resigned, effective immediately.

The retailer said Stewart has left to pursue other opportunities. He will continue to serve as a consultant to the chain.

The Assistant COO, Xishuang Fan, has been promoted to COO.
 

Washington, D.C.  -- Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas were identified as the cities most problematic with regard to organized retail crime (ORC) rings, according to the National Retail Federation’s seventh annual Organized Retail Crime survey. Of the 129 retail companies, 94.5% reported having been the victim of organized retail crime in the past 12 months, up 6% over last year.

The cities most problematic for ORC rings were: