Management

No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer Office Depot Inc. named Roland Smith, the former head of the U.S. unit of supermarkets operator Delhaize Group, as its new chief executive on Tuesday, hoping to tap his expertise in integrating and turning around businesses. Smith orchestrated the successful integration of the major supermarket chains owned by Delhaize, and improved profits by arranging the sale of three of them. Smith also played a key role in combining restaurant chain Wendy's with Arby's. 

Kmart is introducing a rent-to-own program charging the equivalent of 100-plus percent annual interest, a move into a business that's drawn criticism for hurting low-income consumers. The Lease-to-Own program touts instant gratification — customers without credit take a product home right away, make biweekly payments, then decide whether to buy out or return the product. A typical deal could turn a $300 television into a $415 purchase. Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, debuted a similar program at its namesake stores earlier this year.

With many retailers planning to launch their Christmas sales on Thanksgiving night, employees will have to leave their families earlier than they may want to man the cash registers, guard the doors and round up the shopping carts. But some of the biggest retailers are trying to take the sting out of missing family festivities by offering premium pay. Macy's, which is among the stores opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, will offer overtime pay of time-and-a-half for the entire shift. Macy's is offering the premium as a courtesy — and incentive — to employees who are working the Thanksgiving shift.

Home Depot is apologizing for a racist tweet and blaming the agency that sent it from the company account. The home improvement retailer pulled the tweet and apologized on Twitter on Thursday, saying, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated the agency and individual who posted it." In a statement provided to ABCNews.com, Stephen Holmes, director of corporate communications, said, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. The outside agency that created the tweet and The Home Depot associate who posted it have been terminated."

But what about the low-price guarantee? Following Wal-Mart's announcement that it wouldn't honor online purchases made Wednesday, when a computer glitch slashed prices on everything from mountain bikes to high-definition TVs, some shoppers were left questioning the retailer's integrity. Consumers vented their outrage on social media after hearing that all orders would be canceled and that shoppers would be issued a $10 gift card, with some asking what good was a card if they would no longer shop there.

lululemon athletica has had a tough year. Now, customers have new complaints about the company's pants. Check out who the company's chairman is blaming now. 

Hundreds of Kmart customers took to social media and threatened to boycott the store if it didn't reverse its decision, so that its employees can spend Thanksgiving with their families. People called the decision "heartless," "greedy," "shameful" and "disgusting." Kmart has opened at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving for the past three years. Last year, however, stores closed for a few hours at 4 p.m. to let shoppers and employees get to their Thanksgiving dinners. "Shame on you, Kmart. I will never set foot in any of your stores again," wrote Tracy Lane on Kmart's Facebook page.

He's retail's persona non grata, but does he deserve to be? After being in the news for 17 months straight on an almost daily basis, Ron Johnson, the much-maligned ex-CEO of J.C. Penney, hasn't been heard from since his unceremonious ouster in April, until now — sort of. Johnson told me via email that although it's premature to discuss his tenure at J.C. Penney, he did say that much of the analysis of his stint at the chain has been "lacking in depth, largely inaccurate and surprisingly uninformed."

lululemon athletica's NorthPark boutique in Dallas is in some hot water of the foot-in-mouth variety after posting a sign on its store window that stated, "We do partners yoga. Not partners card." The missive was a response to an annual charity initiative run by The Family Place, a nonprofit that works to protect and shelter victims of domestic violence. Locals can buy its "Partners Card," which offers discounts at participating local retailers, for $70 — money that goes to fund the charity.

Target plans to stop asking prospective employees about their criminal records in initial job applications at all of its U.S. stores, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Huffington Post this week. The Minneapolis-based company had been facing pressure to do so from grassroots advocacy group TakeAction Minnesota. Target nevertheless reserved the right to ask about criminal backgrounds after the completion of an applicant's first interview.