Management

Several Wal-Mart employees are up in arms following the company's decision to change its dress code from a plain blue shirt and khakis to one that requires a collared shirt and a vest. According to Gawker, the discount retailer issued a statement on its internal website last month that starting Sept. 29, store associates can no longer show up to work without a collar. Although the company will pay for the required vest, employees are expected to foot the bill for the new shirts. According to Wal-Mart's corporate website, employees’ average full-time hourly wage is $12.92.

Wet Seal CEO John D. Goodman has resigned less than two years after he joined the struggling teen retailer to turn around its business. The company revealed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that Goodman resigned effective Aug. 26 from his post as CEO and a member of the board. Goodman will be succeeded by Edmond Thomas, 61, effective Sept. 8. Thomas previously served as president and CEO of Wet Seal from October 2007 to January 2011. Most recently, Thomas was a partner at KarpReilly, a private investment firm focused on small to midsize growth companies. 

It's official: Genocide-chic is not "in." After a backlash from customers, Spanish clothing retailer Zara announced Wednesday that it will no longer sell a shirt reminiscent of uniforms worn by Holocaust prisoners. The child's shirt features horizontal navy-and-white stripes and a six-pointed star with "sheriff" written faintly across the left breast — in the same spot where Nazis forced European Jews to wear the Star of David. Though the uniforms worn by concentration camp prisoners had horizontal rather than vertical stripes, to some the combination of the stripes and six-pointed yellow star was a haunting reminder of Nazi genocide.

As it reported last week mounting losses, dwindling sales and further evidence it's been burning through cash, Sears Holdings said it was looking for added flexibility in lining up financing. Here's a rundown of four ways the troubled retailer could raise enough money to keep the lights on:

Home Depot U.S. Retail President Craig Menear will succeed Frank Blake as chief executive officer in about two months, giving the chain a new leader as it navigates a slowing housing rebound. The move will be effective Nov. 1, the Atlanta-based company said yesterday. Blake, 65, has been CEO since 2007 and will remain chairman. Menear, who's been with the chain since 1997, will join him on the board immediately. Home Depot, the largest home-improvement chain, has boosted profit for five straight years as the recovering U.S. housing market encouraged homeowners to spend more on renovations.

On Monday, teen clothing chain Aeropostale made what seems like a last-ditch attempt to turn around its declining sales and sinking stock. The retailer fired CEO Thomas Johnson and announced the return of former CEO Julian Geiger, who ran Aeropostale from 1996 to 2010. Geiger's more recent gig wasn't exactly a smashing success: he led Crumbs Bake Shop from 2011 through 2013, before the national cupcake chain abruptly closed all its stores and filed for Chapter 11 protection in July. The New York-based casual clothier's Chairperson Karin Hirtler-Garvey described Geiger as "an ideal choice" for the top job."

Aeropostale is reinstating a past leader as it struggles with sliding sales. The New York company said Monday that Julian Geiger, its former CEO, is taking over effective immediately. Thomas Johnson is leaving the board of directors as well as relinquishing the CEO title. Aeropostale and fellow teen stalwarts Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters have had a difficult time turning their businesses around as mall traffic drops and shoppers’ tastes change. Aeropostale has lost money for six consecutive quarters and predicts another loss for the quarter that ended in early August.

In today's omnichannel era, there are multiple moving parts within retail organizations — e.g., store operations, mobile teams, IT, marketing, etc. Where does e-commerce fit in and what role does it occupy? Brett Trent, the newly appointed senior vice president of digital retail at rue21 (he officially starts the job this coming Monday after having spent the last six years as the vice president of e-commerce at Dressbarn and Maurices), addressed this question among other topics in a session yesterday at the eTail East conference in Philadelphia.

Musicnotes.com has figured out how to make sweet music — which translates into revenues — with a lean team. This was the main message from Bill Aicher, chief growth officer for the online sheet music publisher and retailer, during his keynote presentation at eTail East in Philadelphia yesterday.

Edward M. Krell is stepping down as chief executive of Destination Maternity "to pursue other opportunities," the Philadelphia-based apparel retailer announced on Monday. Krell, 52, will be succeeded by Anthony M. Romano, a member of Destination Maternity's board. The change comes after the company's July 25 announcement that it had dropped its bid to acquire Mothercare, a British retailer of maternity and children's products. Mothercare's board rebuffed two offers.