Management
March 7, 2016 at 10:17 am
What's the key to a great work environment? Brad Weston, president of Petco, shares how the new home office of the animal supplies retailer is bringing new life into the business. One of his top tips? Letting light in.
March 4, 2016 at 9:50 am
Costco Wholesale Corp. will lift its minimum wage for the first time in nine years, by a $1.50 an hour, as the labor market tightens and competitors start giving workers a raise. The second-largest U.S. retailer will start paying at least $13-to-$13.50 an hour, up from $11.50-to-$12 an hour, the company said Thursday in a…
March 4, 2016 at 9:44 am
In 2009, Amazon.com bought a small competitor, online shoe merchant Zappos, for $1.2 billion. It was an unusual deal in that Amazon promised to leave Zappos alone so long as it hit certain financial targets. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, wrote the following year that the relationship between Zappos and Amazon was “governed by a…
March 2, 2016 at 11:22 am
The new owner of Mills Fleet Farm has named a former Wal-Mart executive as CEO of the outdoors-goods retailer. The new Mills CEO, Duncan Mac Naughton, was chief merchandising and marketing officer at Wal-Mart until November 2014, when he left in a top-management shuffle after five years with the national discounter. Family-owned Mills Fleet Farm announced in…
March 1, 2016 at 11:52 am
Many CEOs who write memos to their employees — even in tough times — hide behind euphemistic lingo. They cram their missives full of so many inscrutable "initiatives" and MBA-approved phrases that any real sense of urgency gets lost in the shuffle. Gary Friedman is apparently not one of those CEOs. He likes to cut through…
February 26, 2016 at 10:04 am
Wal-Mart cut more than 100 jobs at its Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters this week, in a new round of layoffs by the retailer. The latest cuts, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, follow the layoff of 450 workers at its home office in October. These cuts are separate from any occurring at the 100 or so…
February 26, 2016 at 9:57 am
Following another grim earnings report, Sears Holdings laid off 250 corporate employees at 10 locations around the country. Some 200 cut jobs were at the retailer's Hoffman Estates, Ill. headquarters, across "a variety" of business units, the company confirmed. An internal memo from Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert, reviewed by Crain's, confirmed the cuts to…
February 26, 2016 at 9:53 am
On Feb. 29, everyone at Zappos will get a paid day off. It's the first time, since the company opened, that its call center — normally open 24 hours a day, all year — will ever close. Zappos’ reasoning: Leap Day is extra time, and we should probably use it for something we normally wouldn't…
February 25, 2016 at 10:51 am
Lands' End quickly backpedaled this week from an association with feminist Gloria Steinem after hearing complaints from customers and the publication of an article by a pro-life news agency. With customers taking to the company's Facebook page to voice objections centered on Steinem's support for abortion rights, Lands' End on Tuesday removed a feature on Steinem…
February 22, 2016 at 10:24 am
Kit and Ace, the retail startup launched by lululemon athletica Inc founder Chip Wilson’s family, has laid off roughly 10 percent of staff at its Vancouver headquarters, as the closely held company slows its rapid pace of expansion. The layoffs, which impact about 35 people, come as the luxury casual wear-maker shifts focus from opening dozens…
