Corporate Governance

Woodbridge, Va. -- Ikea officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed atop its store in Woodbridge, Va. The state’s largest such photovoltaic array, the 63,000-sq.-ft. PV installation consists of a 504-kW system, built with 2,100 panels.

The system will produce approximately 636,199 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 439 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 86 cars or powering 55 homes yearly.

Abilene, Kan. -- Alco Stores announced the promotion of Brent Streit to senior VP marketing and e-commerce.

Streit in 2001 he joined Alco, then known as Duckwall-Alco Stores, as a buyer. Since then he has held increasingly responsible positions in supply chain management, marketing and business development.
 

Having past the calendar’s mid-point, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the most viewed stories of the year to date on Chainstoreage.com. (Based on the results, it’s clear that J.C. Penney is shaping up as THE story of 2012.) Here are the Top 10 stories of the first six months:

New York -- Abercrombie & Fitch plans a big share buyback to appease investors, the New York Post reported, and is also likely to cut back on its aggressive expansion plans in Europe.

The report, which quoted unnamed “insiders,” said the chain is likely to announce its plans on or before its next quarterly earnings report in mid-August.

Philadelphia -- Visionworks, the largest wholly owned U.S.-based optical retailer, has opened its first store in the Philadelphia area. Located in Deptford Township, N.J., it is the first of more than 25 stores expected to open in the market through 2013.

The San Antonio-based retailer plans to open 17 stores before the end of 2012 and additional locations by April 2013.

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity said its third-quarter revenue fell 5.3% to $138.8 million. Wall Street had expected $146.4 million. The retailer cut its third-quarter earnings forecast, citing weaker-than-expected sales.

Same-store sales fell 2.4%.
 

Seattle -- Tommy Bahama has partnered with FiftyOne Global Ecommerce, a provider of global e-commerce services to U.S. retailers, to immediately expand the Tommy Bahama’s international reach by delivering goods to 100 countries around the globe.

Deerfield, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday extended its innovation in mobile technology with the introduction of a developer portal that allows third-party software developers to integrate the Walgreens QuickPrints software development kit, enabling photo printing directly from iPhone and Android mobile devices.

Atlanta -- A report by FirstData Corp. found that year-over-year dollar volume growth was 6.4% in June, down from May’s 7.0% growth as continuing high unemployment and economic anxiety caused consumers to pull back on spending. The report tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

With recent reports indicating Best Buy Founder and former Chairman Richard Schulze is not expected to present a buyout option to the board in the immediate future, some of the buzz about the iconic electronics retailer has died down. But the handwringing and public speculation about Best Buy’s future has me thinking about what will—or perhaps, should—come next for the brand.