Management

Back when she still worked at a lululemon store in downtown Philadelphia, Elizabeth Licorish was struck by the contrasting ways the company showcased different sizes of its wildly popular yoga pants. Most of the merchandise was presented out on the floor, hung on the walls, or folded neatly in cabinets for all the world to see. But the largest sizes — the 10s and the 12s — were relegated to a separate area at the back of the store, left clumped and unfolded under a table.

Gilt Groupe's new chief executive officer is trying to restore the promise of the online luxury retailer by focusing on what the company does best: deep discounts on a deadline. Michelle Peluso's company is testing technology to make its limited-time-only offers more effective, even as competitors shy away from the tactic and venture capitalists call it a fad. At stake are the ambitions for an initial public offering by the company, which was once valued at $1 billion as the buzzy standard bearer of New York's startup scene.

Amid declining North American sales and a decrease in profit, Coach Inc. said it's laid off 200 employees, or 11 percent of its workforce, on Tuesday. Coach is in the middle of a company restructuring. Victor Luis, a seven-year Coach veteran and former president of the international group, will replace Lew Frankfort as CEO in January as the company focuses on international expansion and growth beyond handbags into categories such as outerwear and shoes. On Tuesday, Coach also announced that Michael Tucci, president of North America, and Jerry Stritzke, chief operating officer, will be leaving the company in August.
 

President Obama gave a speech on his economic plan from an Amazon.com warehouse in Tennessee yesterday. The location was deliberately selected to highlight "an example of a company that is spurring job growth and keeping our country competitive," according to a White House spokesperson, and coincides with Amazon's announcement Monday that the company will be creating 5,000 full-time new jobs at distribution centers nationwide. Amazon says it's creating jobs that offer competitive pay, a comprehensive benefits package, company stock awards, tuition reimbursement and bonuses — in other words, really good jobs. 

Ailing bookseller Barnes & Noble filed its proxy statement detailing issues for its annual shareholder meeting in September. As part of that filing, the company listed various business relationships it has with other firms that have a connection to Barnes & Noble. Interestingly, the list was chock-full of ties to companies that are at least partly owned by founder Leonard Riggio or his family, for which Barnes & Noble paid more than $160 million in the 2012 fiscal year. Earlier this year, Riggio offered to take the retail store portion of the company private. 

Amazon.com announced plans Monday to hire 7,000 workers for its U.S. operation, with most jobs offering pay and benefits far above typical retail wages, the company said. Amazon didn't give specific pay scales for the positions, but said the 5,000 warehouse jobs will pay 30 percent more than jobs in traditional retail stores. The jobs are full-time, permanent positions and also include stock grants that, over the last five years, have averaged 9 percent of pay for Amazon's full-time workers.

"Sorry, I couldn't answer your call earlier. I just hung up with the CEO of J.Crew." So began an entirely unexpected conversation with my wife, Elizabeth. It had been 15 years since my wife made the decision to leave the advertising world to stay home with our children, so her CEO chat caught me entirely off guard. My wife proceeded to share that Millard "Mickey" Drexler, J.Crew's chief and famed retailer, had shocked her with his call in response to an email she sent to the company's anonymous "J.Crew 24-7" address.

At least five retailers with deep ties to New England will not sell the Rolling Stone magazine featuring an unsmiling, scruffy Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on its cover. The issue — which hits newsstands Friday — depicts Tsarnaev above a boldface headline, "The Bomber." The story, which features interviews from childhood friends, teachers and law enforcement agents, promises to reveal how a "popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster." Several notable retailers, including CVS and Walgreens, have decided not to carry the issue in their stores.

A Wal-Mart employee in Canada was fired last week after confronting a customer who left a dog in a truck, according to a television report out of Ontario. Carla Cheney said she was fired from the Wal-Mart in Kemptville, Ontario after confronting a man in the store's parking she said left a dog in his truck on a hot day. When he disregarded her admonition, she called the police, according to the television report. 

Barnes & Noble announced Monday that CEO William Lynch has resigned, as the ailing bookseller struggles to find its place in a rapidly changing industry. Lynch is departing after a three-year tenure in which Barnes & Noble was battered by the shift away from brick-and-mortar bookstores to e-commerce and digital products. The company has tried to compete in the tablet market with the likes of Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad, but sales of its Nook tablets have disappointed, falling 34 percent in the most recent quarter.