Target To Lay Off Office Based Employees

Target Corp. (Minneapolis) announced the termination of 475 office-based employees around the world and the elimination of an additional 700 positions that aren’t currently filled.
“We believe these decisions, while difficult, are the right actions as we continue to focus on transforming our business,” a Target spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement. “We will continue to invest in key business areas to strengthen our ability to compete and thrive well into the future.”
Target has found itself uncharacteristically hitting the wall in the U.S., and its recent expansion to Canada has not been successful. Clearly, the December security breach affecting millions of debit- and credit-card accounts has hurt, as well.
The statement did not provide specifics on the divisions or countries that would be affected, though it said no positions in Canada will be eliminated.

POP2GO

Order McDonalds or White Castle at Kiosks For Faster Fast Food!

McDonald’s Corp. (Oak Brook, Ill.) and White Castle (Columbus, Ohio) are both testing kiosks for custom ordering.
According to QSR magazine, White Castle added two touch-screen ordering kiosks at a renovated restaurant in Columbus, featuring large screens that allow customers to order their meals exactly as they want them.
“I don’t necessarily want to have 12 people around me when I am ordering,” said White Castle vp Jamie Richardson. “The kiosk system allows customers to tailor to their tastes – they can ask for more pickle or less onion, for example – in their own space.”
White Castle’s renovated Columbus store also features an open kitchen format and a Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain dispenser.
QSR says McDonald’s is testing a similar system at a store in Laguna Niguel, Calif., where customers can order from iPads at every table.
Neither McDonald’s nor White Castle executives said whether kiosk and tablet ordering would be rolled out to additional stores.

Kohl's Most Searched Retailer on Google in 2013

Kohl’s Corp. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) was the most-searched-for retail brand of 2013, according to Google.
Unfortunately, according to the report, Kohl's was searched for because of “reasons the struggling company would probably rather not talk about.” For example, said Google, “Kohl’s search mentions peaked during a week in November when police officers shot a man in a Kohl's parking lot in Illinois to prevent an alleged shoplifting.”
Similarly negative interest surrounded Google’s Number Two searched-for retailers, JCPenney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas).  “Like Kohl's, JCPenney had a 2013 it would rather forget. The company canned ceo Ron Johnson in April . . . and redesigned its logo so many times that consumers no longer recognized it.”
Filling out the Retail Top 10 were Nordstrom, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, Old Navy, Macy’s, American Eagle, Nike and Dillard’s.