OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Footwear brand adds two new exec positions
Long Island City, N.Y. -- Steve Madden has made two key executive promotions.

The company announced that Amelia Newton Varela has been named to the newly created position of president, and Karla Frieders has been appointed to the newly created position of chief merchandising officer.

Varela has more than 17 years of experience with Steve Madden in various roles, most recently as executive VP of wholesale.
Will retailers be hit with holiday labor shortage?
New York -- The improving job picture may spell trouble for retailers’ holiday hiring plans, according to a report by CNBC.

As online sales growth continues to grow, experts say retailers are already having trouble filling positions in the heart of their digital operations: their fulfillment centers.

Read the full CNBC story, by clicking here.

L.L. Bean’s grandson dies; turned Maine cataloger into global player

Freeport, Maine -- The man who turned a folksy Maine mail-order outlet into a global billion dollar-plus multichannel business has died.
European fast-fashion retailer opens DC on eve of U.S. expansion

New York -- An Irish fast-fashion leader is getting ready to make its U.S. debut.

Primark, known for its value prices and on-trend fashions for the entire family, leased a 677,000-sq.-ft. distribution center to support its entry into the United States.
Papa John’s makes exec moves

Louisville, Ky. -- Papa John’s International announced the promotions of Robert Thompson to senior VP of marketing and Edmond Heelan to senior VP of North American operations and global operations support and training.
Hy-Vee opening two retail clinics

Robbinsdale, Minn. -- Hy-Vee announced Thursday that it will open retail clinics in two new Twin Cities-area stores opening in September.

For the clinics in the New Hope and Oakdale stores, Hy-Vee has teamed with North Memorial Health Care, whose physician assistants and nurses will staff the North Memorial Express Clinics.
NRF: Overtime proposal a ‘step back’ for career-track workers

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation continues to turn up the heat on the Labor Department’s proposal to expand overtime pay.
NRF ‘astounded’ by Labor Department overtime decision

Washington, D.C. -- The Labor Department is not extending the comment period on the Obama administration’s proposal to expand overtime pay. Its decision drew a no-holds barred response from the nation’s largest retail organization.
Fresh Market taps a lion as new CEO

Greensboro, N.C. -- The Fresh Market named a veteran food retailer who once led Food Lion as its new president and CEO. The hiring follows the abrupt termination of the chain's former CEO and comes as the once high-flying chain has seen its sales stagnate.
PayPal combines product and engineering oversight

San Jose, Calif. – PayPal Holdings Inc. is combining the management structure for its product and engineering departments.

Hill Ferguson, who served as senior VP of PayPal’s consumer business, has resigned his position.

Ferguson’s role will not be directly replaced. Instead, Bill Ready, senior VP and global head of merchant and next-generation commerce, is also assuming control of the consumer side of operations. This means he will oversee all product and engineering activities.