Sustainability

Electrolux president and CEO Keith McLoughlin reflected on the company's progress during the second fiscal quarter, pointing to prospects for growth.

However, net sales decreased by about 4.9% year-over-year, totaling $26.3 billion for the three-month period. That decrease was slightly smaller for the six-month period — 2%.

Meanwhile, the company posted a net loss of $92 million for the quarter. For the first six months, the company's net income of $339 million compares to net income of $1.003 billion for the same six-month period last year.

New York – Uniqlo will open a store at Great Mall in Milpitas, California, on Sept. 12. The store will be the first Uniqlo location to feature a 100% eco-friendly design, with LED lighting, greener materials and high-efficiency elements throughout.

The new Uniqlo also include specialty shopping vignettes that will create a store-within-a-store feel in the women and children’s departments. In-store display materials will also include updated digital screens.

PPG Industries, a leading coatings and specialty materials company, has elevated EVP Michael H. McGarry to chief operating officer, effective Aug. 1. He will remain based at PPG’s global headquarters in Pittsburgh and continue to report to chairman and CEO Charles E. Bunch.

McGarry will have executive oversight responsibility for all of PPG’s strategic business units and operating regions and for the information technology (IT), environment, health and safety (EH&S) and purchasing functions.

Uniqlo plans to open a store at Great Mall in Milpitas, California, on Sept. 12 — the first location to feature a 100% eco-friendly design, with LED lighting, greener materials and high-efficiency elements throughout.

The new store will also include specialty shopping vignettes that create a store-within-a-store feel in the women and children’s departments. In-store display materials will also include updated digital screens.

Seven hundred and fifty tons of plastic wrap — the equivalent of 1.5 million pounds — have been saved by Walmart China as a result of a simple change to warehouse operations.

The plastic savings were realized after Walmart developed a new system that involved reusable canvas belts to secure merchandise on pallets, thereby eliminating the need for one-time use plastic wrap. The canvas belt system is now in use at nine of Walmart’s distribution centers in China.

Paris -- The focus of c-suite and senior executive attention has shifted from economic uncertainty to data, technology and the supply chain, according to the Global Top of Mind Survey from KPMG International and the Consumer Goods Forum. Over half (54%) of respondents cited digital strategy for mobile/digital platforms as top of mind for their business during the next 12 months.

New York - Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT), a New York-based real estate investment trust, has completed the acquisition of the ground and operating leases at 112 West 34th Street and the ground lease at 1400 Broadway for a total of approximately $734 million in cash, common stock and operating partnership units. 112 West 34th Street is a 26-story, 650,769-rentable-sq.-ft.office tower, with 92,455-sq.-ft. of retail space located in the 34th Street/Penn Station submarket.

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea is submitting plans to Clark County, Nevada, for a Las Vegas-area store that would increase the Swedish retailer’s presence in the western United States.

The application marks the beginning of an approval process that could lead to the store’s opening as early as summer 2016.