Management

Monica Woo will be joining Sears Holdings as vice president and chief marketing officer for Sears on Aug. 15. Woo will be responsible for directing the overall marketing, brand and advertising programs for Sears. Prior to Sears Holdings, Woo served as chief marketing and strategy officer for FreshDirect. In this role, she was responsible for all revenue generation, merchandising and operations of FreshDirect’s web and mobile stores.

If you work for Amazon, the tax obsession means you need permission to visit certain states, and might not be able to send certain emails when you get there. In some instances, you won't even be able to identify yourself as working for Amazon.com. Amazon employees have been shown a color coded map of "bad states," according to the Wall Street Journal, and been made to consult with company lawyers before visiting any.

In a notification to Connecticut’s labor department, J.C. Penney said it will lay off 442 workers at its distribution center in Manchester, Conn. According to the notice, the company is closing the facility's dot-com unit. Employees' last day will be Sept. 30.

Levi's has hired Beto Guajardo as global vice president of strategy, responsible for developing and executing a growth strategy for the iconic brand. Guajardo joins San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. from Avon, where he most recently was vice president of North America strategy.

Sears announced it's hired Edgar O. Huber as CEO and president of Lands' End. Huber most recently was with Liz Claiborne, where he was the executive vice president, global business development. Huber will be based at Lands' End's home office in Dodgeville, Wis.

One of the biggest challenges for retailers today is obtaining customer loyalty. How do you retain the customers you already have, while at the same time attracting new ones? Gone are the days when retailers exclusively owned a person’s loyalty. In today’s competitive environment most retailers and brands are actively trying to figure out ways to grab that customer and divert their attention away from the competitive landscape.

American Express and vente-privee.com have hired an advertising executive from Google to lead their joint venture in luxury online private sales. Mike Steib, who most recently worked as Google's director of video advertising for the Americas, was named CEO of the joint venture.

The Tommy Hilfiger Group has named John Ermatinger CEO of the company's Asia business, effective Aug. 1. Ermatinger was previously president of Gap Asia Pacific for two years and president of Gap Japan for three years. Under his leadership, Gap successfully launched the brand in China.

Last week, an employee of the Whole Foods Market in Toronto sent this epic resignation letter to the entire company. It's an alternatingly amusing, enlightening and occasionally infuriating read — but a good read, nonetheless.

Gap announced John Ermatinger, president of Old Navy International, is leaving the company, effective July 29. The company also reiterated its intention of expanding Old Navy outside North America, with the opening of its first store in Japan slated by the end of 2012.