Management

Destination Maternity announced the hiring of Chris Daniel as its president, effective June 1. Daniel will report directly to Ed Krell, CEO, and will have responsibility for all merchandising, design, marketing, visual, sourcing and branding functions of the company.

As the economic recovery gains steam, the retail industry is expected to be one of the strongest for job growth this decade. But the quality of jobs selling clothes, computers and other goods has declined in recent years to the point where few can be classified as careers.

OfficeMax announced that Michael J. Lewis will assume the role of executive vice president and president of retail, effective May 2.  In this position, Lewis will report directly to Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax, and will have full responsibility for the retail P&L and all aspects of the retail business, including merchandising, store operations and real estate. 

At age 50, Caitlin Kelly lost a salaried job at the New York Daily News, so she started working as a sales clerk at The North Face. As a successful freelance writer, she felt burned out by the constant pitching of stories and the lousy pay for those stories. She was restless in the New York City apartment she shared with her well-employed male partner. Kelly had decided against becoming a mother, and no pets shared the apartment.

Big Lots announced certain organizational changes and named John Martin executive vice president of merchandising, administration. Martin will assume responsibility for store operations and human resources. Martin has successfully led the merchandising and global sourcing teams for the past eight years.

Urban Outfitters said that Stephen Murray has resigned as global president. The company said Murray plans to move to London and "pursue an opportunity with a wholesale business having an international focus." CEO Glen Senk will take on Murray's duties until a replacement is found.

Forty-eight percent of Macy's customer complaints are focused on interactions with sales associates, therefore training sessions are part of a new strategy by the store to improve its track record on customer service, which in recent years has dented the reputation of the storied retailer, lowered its scores in annual customer service rankings — and most likely slowed growth.

Best Buy is temporarily restricting sales of the Apple iPad 2 as it faces supply shortages and an "upcoming promotion." In response to reports that some customers seeking to buy an iPad had been turned away, Best Buy acknowledged that its employees had been asked to hold on to iPad inventories not yet sold or reserved.

Wal-Mart is restoring 8,500 products to its stores as it seeks to turn around declining same-store sales in the U.S. The company will add 11 percent more products on average to its stores, accompanied by "It’s Back" flags on the items.

DSW announced the appointment of Roger Rawlins to senior vice president and general manager of DSW.com. Jennie Wilson was also named senior vice president of finance and controller. Rawlins has been with DSW since 2006 and he has held senior finance roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as SVP of finance and controller.