Corporate Governance

New York -- The Mall at Bay Plaza, New York City’s first enclosed fashion mall in over 40 years, officially opens on Aug. 14.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced that Alasdair James has joined the company as president and chief member officer for the Kmart business.

James is a seven-year veteran of Tesco, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as commercial director for the company's global business unit. Prior to that, he spent two years managing Tesco's China operations as executive VP and commercial director.

Philadelphia -- Capping a turbulent summer for maternity apparel retailers, Destination Maternity CEO Ed Krell has resigned effective immediately, and will be replaced by Anthony Romano, former CEO of Charming Shoppes, Inc.

By Breton Leone-Quick and Steve Ganis

St. Louis -- A settlement in a Schnuck Markets, Inc., security breach class-action lawsuit has been reached and a notification program is underway, as approved by the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri.

Customers of 79 Schnuck grocery stores are being alerted that the breach, which occurred between December 9, 2012 and March 30, 2013, has been settled and that they may be entitled to a share of the proceeds.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm is launching what it calls “We Love Local Small Business Grant” contest, designed to support U.S.-based artists, makers and designers as they grow and scale their businesses.

The contest launches Aug. 12 with open online submissions, followed by in-store portfolio reviews in five stores across the country. The public will vote online for one of 20 finalists selected by West Elm, and the winner will be announced on Nov. 19.

Orlando, Fla. -- Darden Restaurants, Inc., which operates the Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse banners among others, has completed the repurchase of approximately $900 million of the previously announced $1 billion debt retirement, leaving approximately $1.6 billion of debt on its balance sheet.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Calloway’s Nursery has named Alicia Hicks as VP marketing, effective Aug. 5. Hicks formerly served as Calloway's director of retail marketing.

With her promotion, Hicks will oversee marketing for all aspects of Calloway's Nursery, which includes 17 Calloway's Nursery locations in Dallas/Fort Worth, as well as two Cornelius Nursery locations in Houston. She will develop strategic marketing plans and customer experience initiatives for both Calloway's and Cornelius brands across all retail locations.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot, Inc. has amped up its military hiring efforts by teaming with Military.com to provide job opportunities to veterans.

Three executives were named to new roles at leading appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer Haier America.

Haier America, part of the $29 billion Haier Group, named Gina Copeland SVP of air quality, Sanjay Gupta VP of product platform development for major appliances and Paul Riley as VP of sales and marketing for major appliances.