Management

Patagonia, a designer and distributor of technical outdoor clothing, has announced the appointment of Dmitri Siegel as the company's new vice president of global e-commerce. As vice president of e-commerce, Siegel will provide strategic vision, leadership and operational expertise in directing Patagonia's e-commerce strategies both domestically and abroad, the company reported.

Saks Fifth Avenue has named Denise Incandela to the newly created role of chief marketing officer. Incandela, who joined Saks Fifth Avenue in 1999, will continue as president of Saks Direct.

The Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani SpA has committed to ban the dangerous practice of sandblasting jeans, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers. The news comes after a series of campaigns on Change.org by by the Clean Clothes Campaign which is an alliance of organizations in 15 European countries that is dedicated to improving working conditions and supporting the empowerment of workers in the global garment and sportswear industries.

American Apparel has responded to plus-size contest winner/protester Nancy Upton. The company's Creative Director Iris Alonzo sent Upton and a number of news outlets a long letter explaining the contest's motives and letting her know that she didn't actually win (something Upton says she wasn't really trying to do anyway, though she was voted into first place).

Frederick's of Hollywood announced that Don Jones has joined the company as president and chief operating officer. Jones comes to Frederick's with more than 35 years of experience in the fashion and consumer product retail industry. Throughout his career, he has held executive and managerial positions with leading retail organizations, including Gap Inc., Target Corporation, IKEA, Filene's and Macy's.

Wal-Mart will double the money it spends with women-owned businesses, train women around the world and push major suppliers to use more women and minorities on work they do for the retailer as it keeps trying to shed a poor corporate image. The moves, being unveiled today by CEO Mike Duke and others, come after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out women's massive class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit against the world's largest retailer in June.

The CEO of Zappos Tony Hsieh has 1.8 million followers on Twitter. In many marketing circles, he's something of a Twitter god, using the Twitter feed to promote Zappos and his way of thinking about business to his many followers.

Apple Chief Tim Cook sent a note to Apple employees announcing the Mac maker will match its employees contributions to nonprofit organizations up to $10,000 annually.

Hundreds of Groupon sales department employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company charging it failed to pay overtime. The suit demands back wages for the past three years plus punitive damages for nonpayment of overtime.

The Toys"R"Us Children's Fund has made a $200,000 donation to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. The fund will provide $100,000 to the national Red Cross organization for its disaster relief efforts in hard hit areas, including seven states.