Corporate Governance

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot will team up with ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability to expand the National Green Business Challenge, a program that encourages local businesses to take part in a friendly competition to save energy and money, reduce waste and water consumption and procure greener products. 

The program was first piloted in 2010 as the City of Chicago’s "Green Office Challenge."

Perryville, Md. -- Ikea said Tuesday it has plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its distribution center in Perryville, Md.
 
The 768,972-sq.-ft. PV array consists of a 2,674.9-kW system, built with 18,576 panels, and is the state’s largest rooftop array.

The Ikea distribution center will produce approximately 3,397,178 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 2,397 tons of carbon dioxide, eliminating the emissions of 499 cars or powering 359 homes yearly.  
 

Chicago -- True Value Hardware said Tuesday that its president and CEO Lyle Heidemann will retire from the company after eight years at the helm, effective May 31.

The hardware cooperative has named John Hartmann to succeed Heidemann as president and CEO. Hartmann previously served as CEO of New Zealand hardware cooperative Mitre 10. He also spent nearly a decade at Home Depot and HD Supply in a variety of roles, finishing his tenure as CO of the electrical and plumbing/HVAC divisions.

East Rutherford, N.J. -- Travel retailer Hudson Group, owner of the Hudson News airport stores, said Tuesday it has launched a new retail concept called Hudson, with the first unit slated to open at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Central Terminal.

Houston -- UCR Houston said that The Boardroom for Men will open at Rice Village, in Houston, a shopping center owned by Rice Properties.

The 2,100-sq.-ft. upscale men’s salon is slated to open June 2013. It will be the chain’s first Houston location.

Essex, Vt. -- EWB Development announced the appointment of Daniel J. Cochran as a new partner and the head of the new Tenant Representation division at EWB.

Cochran’s 25-year retail and outlet background includes Phillips Van Heusen – where he was SVP of real estate and legal – and Coach, where he served as SVP of real estate and construction.

Corpus Christi, Texas -- Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co. announced that TJX Cos. concepts T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods will open this fall at The Shops at La Palmera, a 200,000-sq.-ft. outdoor shopping center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Construction has already begun on the 44,750-sq.-ft. space accommodating the two new stores, which will be located adjacent to one another, each with a separate store entrance. The Shops at La Palmera store marks T.J. Maxx’s first in Corpus Christi. HomeGoods is new to market also.

San Francisco -- Dallas-based Cypress Equities said Monday that construction is about to begin on the site of what will become Market Street Place, a 250,000-sq.-ft. retail center scheduled to open in 2015 and co-developed by Cypress Equities and The Carlyle Group.

Market Street Place will be a six-level, urban retail redevelopment designed by Gensler’s San Francisco architectural team.

Bentonville, Ark. -- In its Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting on Monday, Walmart announced new commitments the retailer says will dramatically increase energy efficiency and renewables, and hasten its path toward being 100% supplied by renewable energy.

Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke outlined specific goals the company said it intends to achieve by Dec. 31, 2020:

New York -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that J.C. Penney has an additional plan to raise money; the retailer is said to be considering a spinoff of its real-estate holdings into a new unit that could issue debt.

Citing two unidentified sources, Bloomberg said Penney is also considering selling its real estate and then leasing it back as another avenue to free up money. And other assets, such as inventory, could be collateralized.