Home Centers

Sears Canada CEO Calvin McDonald has resigned from his position for a new job opportunity. The move comes in the midst of a three-year restructuring initiative to strengthen the retailer's position in the region against new competition from Target and Wal-Mart.

Previous executive VP and COO Douglas C. Campbell, who is also a retired Marine Corps officer, took his place as CEO and president, as well as a member of the company's board of directors, effective Tues., Sept. 24.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's will build a 1.4 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in Rome, Ga., according to an article in the Charlotte Business Journal.

The distribution center, described by the newspaper as a $125 million facility, will begin serving Lowe's stores in western Georgia, northern Florida and Alabama beginning in 2013. It's located in the North Floyd Industrial Park.

The appearance of Craftsman tools at some Menards stores in the Midwest -- which has set off much speculation about channel exclusives for the popular brand -- is being used to liquidate discontinued items, a Sears spokesman told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

"Given Menards' history appealing to the heavy do-it-yourselfers ... we felt there is a natural reason to believe that Craftsman would sell effectively at Menards," said Sears Holding Corp. spokesman Larry Costello.

Sales increased 4.2% at The Home Depot, the company reported Tuesday morning.

The Atlanta-based company posted $20.2 billion in sales for the period. The company's net earnings for the quarter were $1.4 billion, compared with net earnings of $1.2 billion in the same period of fiscal 2010. 

Encouraged by the growth, the world's largest home improvement retailer raised its fiscal 2011 diluted earnings-per-share guidance to an expectation of $2.34 for the year, up 16%.

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A 150-year-old lumberyard will be updated and rebranded as a Gillman location.

Lowe's Canada is rolling out an on-demand virtual reality skills clinic.

Lowe’s has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to implement Microsoft Office 365 across more than 1,745 stores, 200,000 employees and its corporate offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Office 365 will help the home improvement retailer improve customer service by providing collaboration tools to increase communication among its stores and employees. The technology will be available for Lowe's employees soon and will help customers tap into the collective expertise of Lowe’s work force.

Ikea continues to grow its U.S. renewable energy portfolio.