Headline
People On the Move
Neiman Marcus: The multichannel apparel marketer has promoted its retail division president/CEO Karen Katz to executive vice president of the parent company, Neiman Marcus Group. The company has also promoted the Group’s senior vice president and CFO James Skinner to executive vice president and CFO.
Sears: The multichannel retailer has hired Louis Ramery as its new senior vice president, customer relationship marketing. Ramery, who’ll have overall responsibilities for developing and executing the Sears Holdings’ relationship marketing strategies and programs, will report to Maureen McGuire, Sears Holdings’ chief marketing officer. He was previously with Digitas, a marketing agency network.
J.C. Penney: The multichannel retailer has appointed Ruby Anik director of brand marketing and senior vice president. Anik was previously with electronics retailer Best Buy, where she oversaw marketing communications as a senior vice president. She reports to Penney’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Boylson.
The Home Depot: Roger Adams, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the multichannel home-improvement retailer, recently resigned. Vice President of Advertising John Ross has been named interim head of the company’s marketing unit.
Talbots: The multichannel women’s apparel company has promoted Philip Kowalczyk to COO. Kowalczyk previously was president of the company’s J. Jill Group division.
Acquisitions
Audio Editions: The audiobooks cataloger has acquired the exclusive license for the use of the Audio Book Club company assets, including its brand, Web site and customer list. The agreement, for an undisclosed amount, establishes Audio Editions as the world’s largest catalog seller of general interest audiobooks.
Legislative Affairs
Congress has extended the moratorium by seven years on Internet access taxes. E-mail and text messaging also will remain tax-free under the bill. The current moratorium, first enacted in 1998 and renewed twice since then, expired in October.
Financials
OfficeMax: The office supplies multichannel retailer’s third-quarter earnings rose 61 percent as it overcame soft retail sales with the help of cost-cutting measures and the weak dollar. It also opened fewer stores than originally planned. Net income rose to $49 million from $30.4 million a year ago, when costs related to the company’s headquarters’ consolidation and severance lopped close to $13 million off its earnings. Sales increased 3 percent to $2.32 billion from $2.24 billion.
