Management

J.C. Penney announced that Thomas J. Engibous will become chairman of its board of directors, effective Jan. 28. Engibous was named to the board in 1999 and has served in presiding director and lead independent director roles since 2008. He will assume the chairman's role from Myron E. Ullman, III, J.C. Penney’s former CEO, who will step down as executive chairman. Engibous is the retired chairman of Texas Instruments Inc.

Urban Outfitters declined in early trading after saying Glen Senk resigned as chief executive officer and will be succeeded by co-founder Richard Hayne as the retailer works to turn around a yearlong decline in profit. Senk, 55, resigned Jan. 9 and plans to pursue another opportunity, Urban Outfitters said in a statement.

Nordstrom has redesigned its fashion rewards loyalty program to include added benefits such as complimentary services and point incentives. As part of an effort to build customer loyalty, the new program includes complimentary alterations up to $100 based on varying benefit levels, triple point days, and Nordstrom Rack point participation.

PetSmart has appointed current CEO Robert Moran to also serve as the company’s chairman of the board. Moran, 61, has been president and CEO since 2009 and served as president and COO from 2001 to 2009. The board of directors also appointed David K. Lenhardt as the company’s new president and COO.

Following botched holiday web orders and a scathing media critique about the brand's strategy posted on Forbes.com, Best Buy has been feeling the heat lately. The consumer electronics retailer's CEO, Brian Dunn, posted a frank response on the company blog to address critics and reassure employees.

One of the toughest parts of running any business is recruiting top talent and getting that talent to stick around. But when you oversee a small business, the challenges become a little bit bigger: How can you compete with the bigger companies' deeper pockets to give your employees an experience that makes them want to stick with you?

Liz Claiborne today announced it's changing its name to Fifth & Pacific Companies to better communicate its strategic focus on growing its three global lifestyle brands (Juicy Couture, kate spade and Lucky Brand) and reflect the sale of the Liz Claiborne namesake brand to J.C. Penney, among other recent transactions.

A former Apple retail employee has fired a departing salvo at Apple CEO Tim Cook in the form of an email outlining many internal developments at Apple retail stores and the employee's dissatisfaction with those developments. The email, reproduced at the employee's website, describes a devolution of the internal organization and treatment of Apple Retail employees in recent years.

Lou D’Ambrosio, chief executive officer of Sears, said creatively combining technology with spending on stores is the best way to turn around the largest U.S. department store chain. On Dec. 27, Sears announced it was closing as many as 120 locations after same-store sales slipped 5.2 percent in the eight weeks ended Dec. 25.

In a hiring campaign for an Ikea megastore in Australia, agency The Monkeys decided to focus on the retailer's customers and came up with an idea which cleverly suited the brand. Pieces of paper resembling its standard assembly instructions but with “career instructions” to “assemble your future” were inserted into the packaging of flat-pack products sold at nearby locations.