Management

Perry Ellis announced the appointment and return of Doug Jakubowski as chief merchandising officer for the Perry Ellis brand. Jakubowski, who previously held several executive-level positions with both Salant Corporation and Perry Ellis International, returns to Perry Ellis to guide the product strategy for the Perry Ellis brand from design conception to product assortment to its final presentation in stores.

No doubt, a key objective for retailers today is to influence shopper decisions across all selling channels. Sales and marketing campaigns that use mobility stand to gain the most when they integrate with both online and in-store shopping tools. The more channels the customer is exposed to, the greater the chance for cross-selling successes.

A second email exchange has emerged between a disgruntled shopper and Gasp, the Australian clothing store that's made headlines worldwide with its unique approach to customer service.

Australian clothing store Gasp Jeans has become a total joke thanks to its completely idiotic way of handling a recent customer service complaint. Companies wishing to alienate the public, take note!

The traditional digital management industry has been providing solutions to the retail marketing industry for years, but those solutions have been too expensive for most and quite limiting in nature for many. Over the last 12 months, however, the cloud has created an entirely new digital asset management solution.

Wal-Mart has named David Cheesewright executive vice president, president and chief executive officer of a new regional management team that will oversee retail operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa and business development in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada.

Family Dollar has named longtime CVS pharmacy executive Mike Bloom as its new president and chief operating officer to replace the departing R. James Kelly, who announced his retirement on Sept. 27 after 15 years with the company.

Wal-Mart announced that Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman and CEO of the company's global e-commerce and global sourcing businesses, will retire on July 1, 2012. Wal-Mart's goal is to name new leadership for these businesses by the end of January, after which Castro-Wright will assist in the transition.

Groupon was hit with a second employee lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay overtime. It's only the latest in a series of major setbacks for the social coupon site, casting its future into doubt.

Best Buy has cut its 2011 seasonal hiring plans to about half of last year’s staff numbers in a move to curtail costs. This year’s plans call for 15,000 holiday workers, compared with 29,000 hired last year.