Atlanta-based Home Depot made first-quarter history for the period ended April 29 with net earnings crossing the $1 billion mark.

The company reported net income of $1.035 billion, up 27.5% from the same quarter last year. Sales were also up, rising 5.9% to $17.81 billion in the quarter. Comparable-store sales were 5.8%, the highest figure in more than seven years.

Ken Hannah, a former senior VP at Home Depot, has been named the new CFO at J.C. Penney.

Hannah brings more than 20 years of finance, operations and audit experience from a wide range of companies that include General Electric, Boeing and The Home Depot. He will report to chief operating officer Mike Kramer.

Dave & Buster's, Inc., the chain of restaurant/entertainment outlets, has named John Mulleady as its senior VP development. In addition to overseeing all real estate and construction projects, Mulleady will lead the company's expansion strategy, driving D&B's growth into new and under-penetrated markets. Dave & Buster's currently has 59 locations in the U.S. and Canada, and expects to open several more in the near future.

Home Depot has opened a 211,000-sq.-ft. “superstore” in Anaheim Hills, Calif., which it describes as “almost twice the size of [a] regular Home Depot.” The unit, situated in an affluent area of Orange County, is an existing store that was remodeled. Among the changes are:

Home Depot plans to lay off 225 customer support and distribution workers in Baton Rouge, La., over the next 18 months, according to an article in The Advocate.

While looking to open a 1 million-sq.-ft. distribution facility somewhere in Georgia, the company is preparing to close a Rapid Deployment Center (RDC) in Braselton.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported the Braselton center -- the first of the company’s nationwide network of 19 distribution centers -- will close by the end of the year. The Braselton center was not mechanized. 

A case that started with a group of Home Depot customers reporting two suspected shoplifters in Beaverton, Ore., has produced its first conviction. William Hazelwood, 35, pled guilty to one count of first degree theft and was sentenced to 1.5 years of probation and ordered to pay attorney fees, plus an assessment and surcharge, according to an article in The Oregonian.

The former Home Depot CEO has resigned from his post as CEO of Cerberus Operations and Advisory Co. 

Nardelli will continue to serve as adviser to Steve Feinberg, CEO of Cerberus Capital Management. Nardelli will also focus on his own investing company, called XLR-8.

The Home Depot and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia extended their agreement to offer Martha Stewart Living branded products in The Home Depot's 2,000-plus stores through March 2016.

The agreement also calls for an expansion of products offered. 

The Martha Stewart Living line, launched in January 2010, is available in categories such as interior and project paint, outdoor furniture, kitchen cabinetry, carpeting and bath vanities.  The new agreement will include these categories plus a new craft furniture line as well as a broader array of holiday merchandise.

Boosted by mild temperatures and spring-like selling conditions throughout much of the country, Atlanta-based Home Depot saw sales rise nearly 6% in the fourth quarter.

The home improvement giant reported fourth-quarter sales of $16.0 billion, up 5.9% from the same quarter last year. Comparable-store sales were positive 5.7%, and up 6.1% in the United States.

"We had a strong finish to 2011, and with favorable weather, our business delivered results that exceeded our expectations," said CEO Frank Blake. 

The PayPal pilot at Home Depot stores is rapidly expanding, going from 51 test locations in the San Francisco Bay Area this week to all 2,000 Home Depot stores by the end of March, according to Bloomberg News.

PayPal director of communications Anuj Nayar told Bloomberg the digital commerce company will extend the trial to 20 additional retail partners by the end of 2012.

John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay, during a Jan. 18 earnings call expanded on the test of PayPal with retailer Home Depot. 

A division of EBay, PayPal is experimenting with extending its on-line payment system to point-of-sale retail locations. In the fourth quarter of 2011, it chose Home Depot as its first national retailer for a limited test at five stores. PayPal plans to widen the pilot to 51 stores in the Bay Area by the end of the month, Donahoe said.

He explained to investors how the payment process worked by relating his own experience.