Management

Barry Judge, Best Buy's global chief marketing officer, has stepped down. An executive close to Best Buy confirmed the departure. Mr. Judge's former Twitter handle @BestBuyCMO is now blank, and he is tweeting from @barryjudge. The retailer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

American Apparel, which has long advocated for comprehensive immigration reform and criticized the apartheid-like treatment of undocumented workers, closed its factory yesterday for several hours so its workers could join a march and related pro-worker activities in Los Angeles. American Apparel CEO Dov Charney joined the workers to show his support for the fair treatment of all workers, domestically and internationally, and his unwavering support for prompt, fair and effective immigration reform in the United States.

Completing a global search that began in February, Gap announced that Stefan Larsson, a veteran of nearly 15 years with the successful fashion retailer H&M, will become the first global brand president for Old Navy.  Larsson will join the company by October. The announcement comes as Gap prepares to open its first Old Navy store outside North America, in Japan, in July. 

HSN has named Anne Martin-Vachon as its new chief merchandising officer, effective May 14. Martin-Vachon will oversee HSN's merchandising and planning teams and report directly to Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSNi. In her role as CMO, Martin-Vachon will oversee the product development, assortment, pricing, category expansion and merchandising of HSN brands across all product categories. In addition, she'll be responsible for the overall merchandising strategy, development of new product offerings and brand partners as well as work closely with HSN's executive team to determine investment opportunities to expand and complement HSN's diverse merchandise assortment. 

Wal-Mart announced this week the nomination of Google executive Marissa Mayer to its board of directors. Mayer, 36, joined Google in 1999 as its first female engineer and 20th employee and quickly ascended the executive ranks, first as vice president of search and now as vice president of local and maps. She also sits on Google’s operating committee, an elite group of executives that oversees every critical product launch and decision. It’s not difficult to see why Wal-Mart would want Mayer. She's a minor celebrity as a young, self-described “geek” succeeding in a male-dominated field.

Wal-Mart said it will hire 100 additional developers in India as part of its @WalmartLabs unit, which is focused on growing the retailer’s social media and mobile presence globally. In November, WalmartLabs, under the retailer’s global e-commerce group, will build an operation in India to use social media and digital technology to attract shoppers.

Burberry, the U.K.’s largest luxury goods maker, reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates and said it remains vigilant as growth slows in Europe.

Dreams Inc. agreed to be acquired by privately owned online sports merchandiser Fanatics Inc. in a deal that values the sports retailer at roughly $156 million.

Dollar General has pledged its support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative, which promotes private sector employment for members of the military community. This commitment is a continuation of the company’s efforts to extend job opportunities to those who have served or are serving our country, the company said. In 2011 alone, Dollar General hired more than 3,500 veterans, guardsmen and reservists. The company’s coast-to-coast network of 10,000 stores and 11 distribution centers provides a career path to begin and grow their careers. 

Best Buy's probe into former Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn's personal conduct remains open after the electronics retailer's interim CEO told employees the disclosure of Dunn's departure was confusing. Best Buy announced Dunn's resignation yesterday, saying that the change was part of a "mutual agreement" that new leadership was needed. The company later said a board committee was investigating Dunn's "personal conduct, unrelated to the company's operations or financial control."