Retail Roundup: Wasson Named Walgreens CEO, Home Depot Slashing 7,000 Jobs, More

Wasson named Walgreens CEO – Walgreen Co. today named Gregory D. Wasson as the drugstore chain’s new CEO, a power shift that places Wasson, current president and COO, at the helm of the company he has served for nearly 30 years. Wasson replaces acting CEO Alan G. McNally, who has held the position since former top-exec Jeffrey Rein retired in October. “During the past three-and-a-half months, the special committee conducted a national search to find the best person to become Walgreens’ new CEO,” says William C. Foote, chair of the nominating and governance committee. [Source: internetretailer]

Home Depot slashing 7,000 jobs — The Home Depot Inc. today announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs, freeze officer salaries, and shutter 34 stores as the recession and housing slump join forces to destabilize the home-improvement retailer. Home Depot said the job cuts are intended “to better align the company’s cost structure with the current economic environment.” The cuts are hardly a new component of the retailer’s survival strategy: The chain slashed 500 jobs in January 2008, 1,300 in May, and 300 in 2006. The company says it believes the cuts will ultimately boost its fiscal 2009 earnings before interest and tax by $305 million; fiscal 2008 earnings are estimated to fall 24 percent. [Source: Birmingham Business Journal]

Hartmarx to reorganize under Chapter 11 — Hartmarx Corp., the parent company of apparel labels such as Hart Schaffner Marx and Hickey-Freeman, announced on Friday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Hartmax blamed “the substantial decline in discretionary apparel purchases by consumers and by the company’s retail customers, particularly at the luxury price points, coupled with a significant contradiction in borrowing capacity under the company’s senior credit facility.” Hartmarx is the retailer that made President Barack Obama’s inauguration tux, topcoat, and suit. [Source: MarketWatch]