Marketing

Seattle -- Online diamond and fine jewelry retailer Blue Nile announced the appointment of Harvey Kanter as CEO and president, effective March 30. Kanter will also be appointed to Blue Nile's board of directors, effective March 30.

Prior to joining Blue Nile, Kanter served as president and chief executive of Moosejaw Mountaineering and Backcountry Travel, a multichannel retailer of premium outdoor apparel and gear. Before Moosejaw, he served as executive VP and managing director of Michaels Stores.

Toronto -- Canadian Tire Corp. has been honored with the Globe Award for Best Green Retailing Practices. The award is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence in executing end-to-end sustainable practices and has made measurable environmental performance improvements to its retail operations.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Olympic gold medalists Dara Torres (swimming), Mia Hamm (soccer) and Lindsey Vonn (skiing) will star in Kohl's latest marketing campaign. Debuting on March 19, the new campaign titled “Shop to Win,” follows each of the three female athletes as they experience Kohl’s extensive fashion assortment, world-class brands and incredible value, the company said in a press release. It is the first time Kohl’s has used Olympic athletes in its marketing efforts.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores has signed a lease with General Growth Properties to open a Herberger’s in Pine Ridge Mall, Pocatello, Idaho.

Remodeling is expected to begin in April 2012 and be completed by the end of October 2012.

The Pine Ridge location will be the first store in Idaho for the company.
 

New York -- The Kroger Co. appointed Suzanne Lindsay as its first director of sustainability. Prior to Kroger, Lindsay led sustainability initiatives at PetSmart.

“We have made substantial progress in sustainability in the past five years through energy savings, waste reduction, transportation efficiency and by reducing the use of plastic bags,” said Lynn Marmer, group VP, corporate affairs at Kroger. “Suzanne will help us accelerate our progress and identify new opportunities to improve our environmental stewardship.”

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax has named a new executive to lead its merchandising initiatives including category management, strategic product planning, global sourcing, private label expansion and cost of goods sold. The company anounced that  Ronald Lalla has been named EVP, chief merchandising officer, effective Monday, March 19. He will report to Michael Lewis, EVP, president retail.

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Co. announced that founder and executive chairman, Ron Shaich, and president and CEO, Bill Moreton, will become co-CEOs, effective immediately.

The announcement formalizes a relationship that has evolved over the last year and is a reflection of the way in which Shaich and Moreton have been operating as partners, the company said.

Each individual's formal title will be as follows: Ron Shaich, chairman of the board and co-CEO; Bill Moreton, president and co-CEO.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. — Kraft Foods has nominated two candidates to serve on the company's board of directors.