Management

Apple is raising hourly pay for employees at its U.S. retail stores by as much as 25 percent, following an internal review period earlier this year. Apple employs the equivalent of 36,000 full-time staffers at its more than 350 retail stores around the globe. About two-thirds of the stores are in the U.S. Apple Store workers are typically paid about $9 to $15 an hour at the sales level, and up to about $30 an hour at its "Genius" tech support teams.

Hallmark has announced a strategic alliance with Shutterfly, an internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. The alliance, which will roll out in phases, includes co-branded online and retail-based product offerings. Initially, the agreement calls for more than 1,000 exclusive Hallmark-designed customizable cards to be featured on Shutterfly's new personalized greeting card site, Treat.com. 

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced that Dollar General will locate its new distribution center in the state, creating more than 500 jobs and an additional 75 indirect trucking jobs. "My goal is simple: to make sure there's a job out there for every Pennsylvanian who wants one," Corbett said. "Our effort to bring Dollar General to Berks County means that 500 people will have the opportunity to earn a paycheck."

Walgreens said it will spend $6.7 billion to buy a stake in health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots, the Kansas City Star reports. The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain plans to spend about $4 billion in cash and more than 83 million shares for a 45 percent ownership stake in the Swiss company. Alliance Boots operates more than 3,300 retail stores in 11 countries. Walgreens has the option to purchase the rest of Alliance Boots in about three years in a deal valued at about $9.5 billion.

After only eight months, Michael Francis, one of the key architects of J.C. Penney's high profile turnaround efforts, is leaving the company, effective immediately. In October, the former Target exec became J.C. Penney's president, responsible for merchandising, marketing, planning and allocation, and product development and sourcing. J.C. Penney announced the parting in a three-sentence statement, noting CEO Ron Johnson will assume direct responsibility and oversight of the company's marketing and merchandising functions. Johnson thanked Francis for his "hard work" and wished him well in his "future endeavors."

Ideally, a capitalist economy is constantly becoming more efficient. The benefits of that newly gained efficiency, however, aren't always uniformly distributed. Sometimes it goes to business owners in the form of higher prices, sometimes to consumers in the form of lower prices and other times to labor as increased wages. You don't have to be an economist to know that for the past generation, workers have gotten the short end of this particular stick. Corporate profits have gone steadily up, consumers have been offered an increasingly wide selection of affordable products, but wages for most of us have stagnated.

Colonial Candle is opening its first retail and research boutique in Charleston, S.C. The 3,000 square-foot flagship store is the 103-year-old candle company's first and only boutique. Located in Charleston's most exclusive shopping location, The Shops at Charleston Place, the Colonial Candle boutique joins an exclusive collection of world-renowned luxury brands including Godiva, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Lacoste. The flagship store will feature Colonial Candle's complete line, including the brand's signature oval jars in 70 fragrances, tapers in more than 20 colors, a luxury collection and home accessories.

The two top executives of Wal-Mart Stores gave shareholders their unequivocal commitment to get to the bottom of alleged bribery charges in Mexico that have surfaced against the company. "If any violations occurred, then appropriate actions will be taken. That is my personal commitment to each of you," S. Robson Walton Jr., chairman, said during the company's annual shareholder meeting here. "We will do the right thing the right way. You have my word on that."

New York-based Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) has appointed Michael Robinson to the newly created position of vice president of e-commerce. Robinson will be responsible for building out the company's e-commerce presence, including the site the company is jointly developing with J.C. Penney, which is slated to launch in 2013. He's reporting to Lisa Gersh, president and chief operating officer of MSLO. Robinson brings retail, direct-to-consumer and digital experience to MSLO. He joins the company from Anthropologie, where he built and managed the brand's website and catalog businesses.

A report by Reuters said that New York City's pension funds have filed a derivative lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. based on reported allegations of bribery in Mexico and a possible cover-up by Wal-Mart officials. The suit, filed in Delaware Chancery Court, alleges that Wal-Mart's officers and board of directors breached their fiduciary duty to both the company and shareholders by failing to properly handle claims of alleged bribery and apparently attempting to cover up details of the issue. Wal-Mart could not be immediately reached for comment.