Retail briefs

Kmart has hired Lisa Schultz as senior vp and chief creative officer, a new position, to oversee Kmart's "creative vision" as it pertains to product and merchandising. Schultz was executive vp of product development and design at The Gap and also held executive positions at Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. The retailer also hired Bruce Johnson as senior vp of supply chain and operations, and Janet Kelly as senior vp of chief administrative officer. Johnson was most recently with Carrefour as director of organization and systems. Kelley was evp of corporate development and administration, general counsel at Kellogg Company.

Wal-Mart named 16-year veteran Paul Beahm vp, dmm, domestics, reporting to Lois Mikita, gmm. He was previously vp, dmm, consumables. He replaces Dick Fish, who left in June.

The Bon-Ton Stores has submitted a firm offer to Elder-Beerman that would give the latter's shareholders $7.00 per share in cash for their common stock. Bon-Ton would commence a tender offer to purchase all of the company's outstanding shares. The Bon-Ton also advised the board that it has received written commitments from financing sources to fund the combination.

Saks Department Store Group plans to boost the amount of exclusive merchandise in its assortment to 30 percent within the next year or so from 25 percent, said Steve Sadove, vice chairman, at Goldman Sachs' Global Retailing Conference in New York last week. Two years ago, exclusives constituted 17 percent of the mix.

ShopKo will re-grand open a pair of new-generation stores with a series of special events kicking off Sept. 14. The stores, located in Ashwaubenon and Neenah, WI, were reformatted to include new space allocations in home décor, automated checkout lanes and self-checkouts, the debut of a maternity department and the addition of convenience merchandise. A fourth remodeled store in Eau Claire, WI, is expected to open in mid-November.