Strategy

Irvine, Calif. -- Pet retailer Passionate Pets said Thursday it has named Keith Martin, former senior VP operations at Petco, to its board of directors.

The company also named Todd Peterson, CPA at KSNE2 Enterprises, to the board.

The company is preparing for an IPO and, according to its president and CEO John Dunn, who worked with Martin at both Petco and Office Depot, the pair is expected to help lead Passionate Pet through the IPO stage.
 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Express announced Wednesday that it has promoted Matthew Moellering to the position of COO and appointed D. Paul Dascoli as CFO.  Moellering was previously chief administration officer and CFO.  

Prior to Moellering's role as chief administration officer and CFO, he held a number of senior finance positions including CFO since he joined Express in 2006. Before joining Express, he served in various financial positions with Limited Brands and Procter & Gamble. Prior to that, he was an officer in the United States Army.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express has promoted Matthew C. Moellering to the position of COO, and appointed D. Paul Dascoli as CFO.

Moellering was previously chief administration Officer and CFO. Dascoli most recently served as CFO for VF Jeanswear Limited Partnership, a division of VF Corp.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Hibbett Sports announced plans to open nine stores in October.

The locations are in Pine Bluff, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Ada and Grove, Okla.; Aiken, S.C.; Giddings and Nacogdoches, Texas; Grundy, Va.; and Hartford, Wis.
 

Emeryville, Calif. -- Ikea officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its East Bay store in Emeryville, Calif. The 68,000-sq.-ft. photovoltaic array consists of a 538-kW system, built with approximately 2,394 panels.

The installation will produce approximately 760,300 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 578 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 103 cars or powering 64 homes yearly.

CHICAGO — In the wake of several surveys projecting how shoppers will spend this holiday season, the latest study from ShopperTrak expects national retail sales to increase 3% during November and December, while foot traffic will drop 2.2%.

ShopperTrak said its 3% holiday sales increase prediction follows 19 consecutive months of year-over-year U.S. retail sales growth, adding that the expected increase is moderate when compared with the 2010 holiday season's 4.1% sales increase over 2009.

New York City -- Shopping-center sales in November and December are expected to increase 2.2% relative to the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. In 2010, the holiday season posted a 5% gain following two back-to-back declines during the 2007-09 recession.

The organization has forecast that U.S. holiday sales in 2011 will post a moderate 3% gain, down from 2.1% last year.
 

West Mifflin, Pa. -- Atlanta-based Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it was named as the property and leasing manager for Century III Mall, a 1.2 million-sq.-ft. regional shopping and retail center located in West Mifflin, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

The mall houses more than 100 retail shops, anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney, Sears and Dick's Sporting Goods.