Trading Partners

Beachwood, Ohio -- Developers Diversified Realty Corp. announced Friday it has furthered its commitment to risk management with the formalization of its Enterprise Risk Management Program.

The new program, according to Developers Diversified, is an integration of strategy, process, people and technology that promotes the identification, prioritization, ownership and management of the company's critical risks.

Ronald Sargent and Frank Brown -- the CEO of Staples and the dean of an international business school, respectively -- have been nominated for election to The Home Depot's board of directors at the company’s upcoming annual meeting on June 2.

Separately, David Batchelder has informed the company that he has decided not to stand for re-election at the annual meeting. Batchelder, founder and principal of Relational Investors LLC, has been a director since 2007.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot board member David H. Batchelder has decided against standing for re-election. The company said Thursday that it is nominating Staples chairman and CEO Ronald L. Sargent and former accounting and consulting company executive J. Frank Brown for seats.

Batchelder, 61, has been a Home Depot board member since 2007. He is the founder and principal of Relational Investors LLC.

Sargent, 55, has served as Staples' CEO since 2002 and as chairman since 2005.

Bentonville, Ark. -- A comprehensive waste reduction program has resulted in Walmart eliminating more than 80% of the waste that would go to landfills from its operations in California. Walmart’s results exceed both the national average landfill diversion rate of 45% and the California rate of 65%. The program is now being implemented across all of the company’s 4,400 U.S. locations, including Sam’s Club units and distribution centers.

By Will Ruiz,  [email protected]

PLANO, Texas -- JCPenney announced that has been named the number one retailer on DiversityInc's annual ranking of "Top 50 Companies for Diversity," which recognizes leading organizations for best practices in diversity management. This is the second consecutive year that the company has earned its place on the list, moving up 11 spots to No. 35 overall. The company also snagged the seventh position on DiversityInc.'s "Top 10 Companies for Latinos."

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney has been named the No. 1 retailer on Diversity's annual ranking of "Top 50 Companies for Diversity," which recognizes leading organizations for best practices in diversity management.

It is the second consecutive year that the company has earned its place on the list, moving up 11 spots to No. 35 overall.

SEATTLE, Wash.  -- MOGO Design, a Seattle-based company that has developed a new and patented magnetic accessory line for tween girls, announced that it has signed a national distribution deal with Nordstrom. The deal will bring the MOGO charm line with more than 200 charms to all Nordstrom full-line store locations throughout the United States and is MOGO Design's large-scale debut into the fashion specialty retailer channel. MOGO is available in select locations now with the full roll-out to be complete by April 2011.