OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Seattle -- Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table has appointed industry veteran Diane Neal as its new CEO. She succeeds Jack Schwefel, who has left the company to pursue other opportunities after serving as Sur La Table’s CEO since 2007.

Neal served as CEO and president of Bath & Body Works from 2007 to 2011. She currently serves on the boards of several retail companies, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Fossil Group Inc. Neal also held leadership positions at Gap and Target.

San Francisco - The RealReal, a provider of authenticated luxury consignment, has appointed Michael Groffenberger as senior category director of fine jewelry and watches. Just prior to joining The RealReal, Groffenberger was executive VP of Shreve, Crump & Low in Boston, prior to that he was a senior sales professional at Tourneau.

Groffenberger is filling a new position created by The RealReal, Groffenberger will run the department, overseeing the full-time staff of fine jewelry & watch expert authenticators.

San Bernardino, Calif. -- Stater Bros. Markets received the “Best Emissions Rate” Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Partnership for having the lowest corporate-wide refrigerant emissions rate of all the GreenChill partners in 2013. There are approximately 8,000 GreenChill partner stores throughout the nation.
 

Greensboro, N.C. -- VF Corporation announced that senior VP and CFO Robert K. Shearer will retire in March 2015, after 28 years with the company. Scott A. Roe, 49, currently VP, controller and chief accounting officer, will succeed Shearer as CFO.

Toano, Va. – Lumber Liquidators is promoting Ray Cotton to senior VP, chief compliance and sustainability officer. Cotton, previously VP, chief compliance and sustainability officer, will continue to manage Lumber Liquidators' quality assurance, sustainable sourcing, loss prevention, risk management and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements of global trade.

New York -- Swedish fast-fashion chain H&M was named “International Retailer of the Year” at the 8th annual World Retail Awards dinner in Paris. The awards were presented during the World Retail Congress, which is being held this week in Paris.

Fast Retailing, the Japanese parent company of Uniqlo and other brands, was named “Retailer of the Year.”

Coventry, England -- Cummins Allison, a leading provider of coin and currency handling solutions, announced that its customer, British grocery giant Tesco, has deployed self-service coin machines, enhancing customer service and solving a key space problem across multiple store locations in the U.K.

Fort Mill, S.C. -- The security of credit and debit card information is a bigger concern for consumers (93%) than their health (84%), retirement savings (81%) or losing their cell phone (63%), according to a new consumer trust survey from Honeywell.