Management

Zappos is about to implement its most radical policy yet, one that may be more difficult for other managers to emulate. Namely, Zappos is about to get rid of managers, altogether. According to the post, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, the originator of the company's commitment to quirkiness, announced at an all-hands meeting in November that the 1,500 employee company would be restructuring into

Virginie Paulin's voice still trembles when she recounts how she was fired from what she considered her dream job at Ikea in France. "I felt total incomprehension, I was stunned," she said. As a 12-year employee of the Swedish home furnishings group, Paulin had risen to become deputy director of communications and merchandising for Ikea's two dozen stores across France. But then she was forced out after a year's medical absence — and after what was subsequently revealed to be an investigation of her by Ikea's French headquarters, which suspected she wasn't as sick as she had said. 

Avon, the world's largest door-to-door cosmetics seller, plans to cut 650 jobs as part of its plan to trim $400 million in costs. The cuts and other actions, which will be completed next year, will result in charges of as much as $45 million before taxes, with about $35 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013, the New York-based company said today in a filing. Chief Executive Officer Sheri McCoy has been cutting jobs and exiting markets as part of a plan to save $400 million by 2016. 

Fab's management is aware of its image problem. They read the same stories about the home design site that everyone else does: The ones about Fab being in a "death spiral" and CEO Jason Goldberg being a "demolition man" whose resume looks like a "history of mistakes." But those articles tell only half the story. Fab's top brass — its CEO, COO, a board member and its chief HR officer (and other sources, speaking privately) — say that Fab has been treated unfairly by the press, and that most of the criticism misses the point: Fab is financially stable. 

Athletic apparel maker lululemon athletica said Tuesday founder Chip Wilson will step down as chairman of the board, following his controversial statement about women's body types. The Vancouver-based company also announced that Laurent Potdevin will take over as CEO in January and join the board. Potdevin succeeds Christine Day, who announced in June that she planned to resign after her six-year tenure. Wilson, who was serving as nonexecutive chairman, plans to step down prior to the company's annual meeting in June 2014, and will be replaced by board member Michael Casey.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries got a new contract with the teen apparel retailer amid weakening earnings and a shareholder's call for him to be replaced. The new agreement, which goes into effect after Jeffries’ current pact expires on Feb. 1, pays a base salary of $1.5 million a year, the same as his current contract, while boosting his annual bonuses to as much as $4.5 million from as much as $3.6 million, the company said in a filing yesterday. 

Calling Dollar General's wages "shamefully low," political activist Ralph Nader has urged CEO Richard Dreiling to support raising the minimum wage. In a letter dated Dec. 8, Nader argued that raising the minimum wage would aid the economy and boost revenues at the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based discount retailer through increased consumer spending and lower employee turnover. He urged Dreiling to join Costco CEO Craig Jelinek in advocating for a national minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour.

U.S.-based North American Publishing Co. (NAPCO), which publishes Retail Online Integration, has announced the appointment of David Leskusky as its president. He succeeds President Ned Borowsky, who becomes vice chairman of NAPCO alongside his father, Chairman and Founder Irvin J. Borowsky. In his new role, Leskusky will assume all day-to-day operations and report directly to Ned Borowsky.

Activist investor Engaged Capital fired off a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch's (A&F) board of directors on Tuesday urging the teen apparel maker to find a new CEO or consider a sale of the struggling company. The move by Engaged Capital, which said it owns about 400,000 shares of A&F, drove the company's shares 5 percent higher. The activist investor cited A&F's "operational missteps," CEO Michael Jeffries’ age and "his increasingly controversial reputation." Jeffries, 68, is credited with creating the valuable Hollister brand and repositioning A&F. His contract is up for renewal on Feb. 1.

Mayhem erupted at big-box stores across the U.S. as frenzied shoppers vying for holiday deals turned on each other and resorted to violence to get their goods. Reports of retail assaults, shootings and arrests piled up so fast that by Thursday night, Black Friday already had a trending Twitter hashtag: #WalmartFights.