OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Forever 21 has tapped workforce management solution-provider Kronos Inc. for a global solution to address multinational needs and standardize the specialty retailer’s brand experience delivery across the world.

Itasca, Ill. -- Jewel-Osco has appointed Scott Hays as VP operations for the Chicagoland supermarket chain.

Most recently a district manager with Albertsons LLC’s Southern division, Hays will lead the operations team to support Jewel-Osco’s marketing and merchandising initiatives, including the company’s upcoming remodels and opening their five newly acquired Dominick’s locations.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney has named Debra Berman as senior VP marketing. Berman previously served as VP marketing strategy and engagement at Kraft Foods Group since 2009.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Judge Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled against a request by plaintiffs in a gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart who were seeking certification of a class-action suit against the mass merchandise giant. Referring to a 2012 Supreme Court decision about limitations on class-action suits, Breyer ruled that the individual situations of the plaintiffs are too different to be grouped into a single class-action suit.

Indianapolis – Almost eight-in-10 (78%) marketers report feeling pressure to become more data-driven, but only a little more than a third of companies (36%) say they routinely use data-driven marketing to customize messages and offers, in order to improve customer experience and campaign performance. Teradata’s Data-Driven Marketing Survey 2013 also indicates within two years more than 80% of marketers will have implemented or begun projects that automate data quality, performance management and marketing workflow processes.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation said the retail industry added 37,000 jobs in the month of July, with increases in general merchandise, food and beverage and building and garden supply stores.

Toronto, Ontario – More than four-in-10 (44%) Canadian back-to-school shoppers want more online options. A new survey from Staples Canada, the Staples Back-to-School Annual Study, also indicates that 70% of Canadian back-to-school shoppers consider a back-to-school budget important.

The survey also uncovered a number of regional differences in back-to-school preferences, such as:

Portsmouth, R.I. -- Readers now prefer e-books to printed paperbacks and use social media to help make purchase decisions, and Amazon.com is the overwhelming first choice for book purchases. Results of a survey of almost 3,000 readers conducted by novelist Marie Force show that 77% of respondents read e-books and 52% read paperbacks, although multiple answers to this questions were allowed meaning some readers may use both formats.