OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Indianapolis – Hhgregg will hire 500 qualified home appliance and electronics sales associates in preparation for the holiday shopping season for its 228 stores. The company is accepting applications through the end of September and will be hiring for stores in the Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax has opened a digital innovation collaboration center (called Digital IC2) in its headquarters in Naperville, Ill.

Austin, Texas – Whole Foods Market is launching an in-store meat apprenticeship program for its team members. The intensive 18-month training program is designed to transform aspiring butchers into skilled meat cutters and teach them the company's standards for quality, animal welfare, food safety, and sanitation.

New York – Macy’s, Inc. is partnering with NYC & Company, the marketing, tourism and partnership organization for New York City, to co-brand its new Herald Square Visitor Center as an official New York City information center.

Teaneck, N.J. – Physical stores remain critically important to omnichannel commerce. Results of the fourth annual Cognizant Customer Experience Study show that for consumable products, 75% of shoppers still prefer to make an in-store purchase.

Dewitt, Mich. -- Dentco, a leading exterior services management company, has appointed David Arthur to serve as its new national sales manager.

Arthur comes to Dentco with 12 years of sales experience, which includes direct sales, product knowledge, forecasting, and vendor relation proficiency. More recently, Arthur was an architectural sales manager for six years, in which he coordinated sales for commercial jobs, negotiated pricing, and managed marketing efforts.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) has appointed Marigay McKee, chief merchant of Harrods, as the future president of Saks Fifth Avenue. The appointment follows the news that Saks chairman and CEO Stephen Sadove and president and chief merchant Ronald Frasch will leave the company once it is acquired by Hudson's Bay.

Plano, Texas -- Legal wrangling about J.C. Penney Co. selling Martha Stewart-branded home goods is reportedly continuing. According to The Motley Fool, a hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 25 to review allegations in the New York Post that J.C. Penney plans to terminate its contract with Martha Stewart Living.