JCPenney Co.

New York -- Paul Rutenis, the top buyer for J.C. Penney's newly made-over home department, has left the company, according to a report by Citigroup.  

According to Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig, the prices of many of the home items have reduced consumer demand.

In related news, Penney has decided not to renew its contracts with marketing consultants Sergio Zyman and Jeff Herbert, which expire this month, Weinseig noted.  

Chattanooga, Tenn. — CBL & Associates Properties has announced that Dunham’s Sports has leased a 60,200-sq.-ft. space in Randolph Mall in Asheboro. N.C. Scheduled to open for the 2013 holiday shopping season, the new Dunham’s will replace Dillard’s, which closed in late July.

Belk, J.C. Penney, Sears and Cinemark theatre anchor the 380,000-sq.-ft. regional Randolph Mall.

J.C. Penney is counting on a familiar blend of promotional tactics for the 2013 back-to-school season after a slate of merchandising initiatives and a free haircut offer ended horribly last year.

The department store retailer is touting the availability of some familiar brands and promotional pricing along with a new Joe Fresh Kids brand, expanded Levi’s assortments, free customization kits with the purchase of backpacks and shoes during August and dedicated landing pages at Jcp.com for key brands such as Arizona, Levi’s and Total Girl.

New York -- A group of 17  North American retailers, including Walmart, J.C. Penney, Gap, Target and Macy’s, on Wednesday announced a five-year safety pact aimed at improving conditions in garment factories in Bangladesh. It calls for inspecting all factories that supply their garments within a year, and an agreement to set up basic safety standards within three months.

The announcement by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety comes after a separate safety plan was announced on Monday by a group of mostly European companies.

Michael Francis left his role as Target’s chief marketing officer for presumably greener pastures at J.C. Penney. That gig proved short-lived, but Francis landed on his feet this past February as chief global brand officer at Dreamworks and he shared his thoughts on the studio, consumer products and retail in the June issue of License! Global. Click here.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. has announced the appointment of Merianne Roth to the new post of VP – communications. She will manage the company’s corporate communications, community relations, internal communications and event marketing.

Roth comes to RadioShack from the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she served as VP, marketing and communications. Her experience includes marketing and communications posts with J.C. Penney and Pier 1 Imports.

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,  the ongoing saga of J.C. Penney remains the industry's biggest story.) Here are the Top 10 stories of the first six months:

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- A reimagined Build-A-Bear Workshop will open at Cherry Hill Mall this fall in a new 2,000-sq.-ft. location in the J. C. Penney wing. The new design incorporates technology into the personalized stuffed animal-making experience.