IN BRIEF: KMART SHORES UP MANAGEMENT TEAM... KAMBAK NAMED HOME BRANDS VP... SEARS CANADA TO CUT 1,200 JOBS.

KMART SHORES UP MANAGEMENT TEAM

Kmart named Donald Germano senior vice president and general manager, and Dene Rogers executive vice president of restructuring and business improvement, a new position.

Germano will oversee the financial performance, operations and management of Kmart's 1,400 stores and report directly to Aylwin Lewis, chief executive officer and president of Sears Holdings, the discounter's parent company.

Germano previously served as vice president of inventory management and replenishment. Rogers previously served as executive vice president of Kmart stores. In his new role, Rogers will report to, and work alongside, William Crowley, executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer.

KAMBAK NAMED HOME BRANDS VP

Li & Fung USA named Jeffrey Kambak vice president of sales for the Home Brands Group, a new post. He will report directly to Jack Toolan, executive vice president of the Home Brands Group.

In his new role, Kambak will be responsible for building national sales forces for both the Cannon and Royal Velvet brands. Toolan said Kambak's sales experience in the home fashions business is a plus. "Furthermore, the addition of Jeff will enhance our strong sourcing relationship that we currently enjoy with our partners at Welspun."

Kambak was most recently director of sales at Welspun USA, a subsidiary of the mill Welspun India Ltd. He is also a former WestPoint Stevens sales executive.

SEARS CANADA TO CUT 1,200 JOBS

Sears Canada will cut 1,200 jobs to make the business more competitive with other Canadian retailers and remain profitable, Vincent Powers, a company spokesman, told HFN.

The decision was an outgrowth of the retailer's internal "business-by-business" review, Powers said.

Jobs will be cut in merchandising, finance and information technology, and at the store level in management support functions, Powers said, adding that no sales associates will be cut.

MERVYNS APPOINTS MARKETING VP

Mervyns has named Terry McDonald senior vice president of marketing. McDonald joins the promotional department store chain from Sears, where he was vice president of marketing and merchandising integration.

He will report to Rick Leto, president and chief merchandising officer of Mervyns.

The retailer also named Robert Raible vice president of creative/marketing. Raible most recently served as marketing director, creative, for Mervyns.

HCF TO HONOR INDUSTRY STANDOUTS

The Housewares Charity Foundation will honor four retail and housewares industry pioneers for their commitment to philanthropy.

The 2006 Humanitarian Awards will be presented at the 9th Annual Housewares Charity Foundation Gala on Monday, March 13, 2006. The event will benefit breast cancer research at the University of Chicago's Department of Medicine, as well as The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the HCF's legacy charity.

Gordon and Carole Segal, co-founders of Crate & Barrel, will be honored as Lifetime Humanitarians. Receiving the Humanitarian of the Year awards will be Sam Farber, housewares inventor and founder of the Product Development Workshop, and Douglas Bradshaw, chairman of the board of Bradshaw International Inc.