RETAILING

New Woolworth Head Named: Roger Farah, considered one of the country’s top merchandising executives, was named chairman and CEO of Woolworth Corp. Farah, 41, who was the chief merchandising officer at Federated Department Stores Inc. and served briefly as president of R.H. Macy & Co., succeeds William K. Lavin, who resigned in September in a dispute with the Woolworth board. Farah is charged with restoring order to a company that has struggled for some time with lagging sales and profits and corporate upheaval.