Corporate Governance

New York -- Koala Kare Products, a division of Bobrick, and manufacturers of baby-changing stations and child-seating products, was featured in a segment on CNN entitled: “The battle over diapers in men’s rooms.”

“It is both amusing and important at the same time as the roles of moms and dads keep evolving,” stated Bonnie Yatkeman, marketing category manager at Koala Kare Products.

Chicago -- Englewood Construction has announced that its Retail Group has began an extensive, 31,621-sq.-ft. interior build out for Ross Dress for Less at the Ford City Mall, a 47-year-old mall in Chicago’s West Lawn neighborhood.

The work will consist of a reconfiguration of the mall’s floor plans, structure and roof. Englewood will be combining three current spaces into one large floor plate for Ross Dress for Less. Chicago-based Chadha & Associates will serve as the architect on the project.
 

Dallas -- Davaco, a provider of high-volume programs and implementation services for global brands, is relocating its Canadian office to a new space in Woodbridge, Ontario, effective Nov. 1.

The company’s new office is located at 525 Rowntree Dairy Road, Unit 1, Woodbridge, Ontario, L4L 7K6.

Miami -- Cooperativa Ceramica d’Imola (CCImola) announced that it is the first Italian ceramic tile manufacturer to be awarded the Authorized Economic Operator Full (AEOF) certificate, a certification issued by the European Union and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The AEOF certificate, a voluntary process, has important benefits in conducting business overseas, and ensures that CCImola is following specific customs procedures efficiently, complying with new security requirements, and conducting business with safety first and foremost.

AT&T’s first-ever flagship is designed to immerse customers in everything AT&T. The 10,000-sq.-ft. emporium, located at 600 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago, also offers shoppers a peek into the future, with the first-ever retail demonstrations of the company’s new digital home security system and an example of how wireless technology can help driving via an on-site “connected” car.

In its eighth year, the annual Top Redevelopers survey continues to underscore the country’s emphasis on refurbishing and repositioning over building anew. Just as in the prior seven years, shopping center owners are concentrating on existing assets — sometimes tweaking, sometimes refreshing, sometimes razing sections and rebuilding. For all, however, the goal is to maximize exposure and returns for all the tenants involved.

Energy conservation remains a key priority for retailers as several factors, including new power plant regulations, threaten to increase volatility in the electricity market. Along with being a significant cost driver, energy management advances environmental goals. Indeed, it is typically the most cost-effective activity a retailer can undertake to become more sustainable, according to Marcus Boerkei, general manager of Siemens Retail & Commercial Systems, who spoke with Chain Store Age about how retailers can reduce their energy use.

By Donald Landin

If you’ve ever slipped and fallen on a wet surface, you’re not alone. Each year, poorly maintained floors are responsible for more than 2 million customer and employee fall injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The result: billions of dollars in medical, insurance and litigation costs for businesses.

By Sam Khalilieh

Study after study has concluded that adding doors to medium temperature coolers (MTC) is a great solution for a variety of issues that plague retailers. Whether looking at energy use, operational costs, product safety or consumer comfort, there is no downside to adding doors. So why do so many overlook this very basic approach?

Eager to make more effective business decisions, many retailers are reevaluating their business intelligence strategies. With a renewed focus on breaking down enterprise-wide silos, retailers are making a move to the next generation of BI, which includes giving line and store managers access to predictive analytics tools and multifunctional views of data.