Home Improvement

Atlanta -- Home Depot said Monday it is returning to the corporate bond market for the second time in less than seven months to rebuild its cash stockpile and finance share buybacks.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company plans to sell 10- and 30-year bonds. It is offering $1 billion of each maturity.

Home Depot is replacing $1 billion of 5.2% notes issued in 2006 that matured March 1, and raising money to buy its own stock. The notes may be sold as soon as Monday.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.  -- Kenmore announced that it has launched an online reality series, "So You Wanna Be a Designer."

For six weeks the reality show will stream live on Kenmore's Facebook page to show budding designers at work, making their dreams a reality. Through the series, contestants will learn how to navigate the barriers of entering the design world: how to create and launch a brand, and how to price, present and promote designs successfully, among other things.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot board member David H. Batchelder has decided against standing for re-election. The company said Thursday that it is nominating Staples chairman and CEO Ronald L. Sargent and former accounting and consulting company executive J. Frank Brown for seats.

Batchelder, 61, has been a Home Depot board member since 2007. He is the founder and principal of Relational Investors LLC.

Sargent, 55, has served as Staples' CEO since 2002 and as chairman since 2005.

Easton, Pa. -- New York City-based The Lightstone Group said that Advance Auto Parts has signed a seven-year, 9,000-sq.-ft. lease extension at 25th Street Shopping Center in Easton, Pa.

The 25th Street Shopping Center is a 131,000-sq.-ft. retail strip corridor home to CVS, RadioShack, Petco, Retro Fitness, Jenny Craig, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Sherwin-Williams.

Tilden, Pa. -- Metro Commercial Real Estate announced Wednesday that Tilden Ridge, a 400,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center located in Hamburg, Pa., and anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter and Lowe’s Home Improvement, had its grand opening on March 15.

The shopping center, owned by West Conshohocken, Pa.-based Ironwood Property Group, is 98% pre-leased and includes, besides Walmart and Lowe’s, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Logan’s Roadhouse, GameStop, Pet Supplies Plus, Sleepy’s and Schuylkill Valley Sports.
 

New York City -- Chain Store Age will host a Webinar, “Concrete Floors and Moisture Testing,” on Tuesday, April 12, at 2 p.m. (EST). Sponsored by Independent Floor Testing & Inspection, this educational webinar will provide an introduction to concrete floor slabs, the causes of moisture-related floor-covering failures and the latest industry-standard test methods.

Click here to register.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Rubbermaid has introduced a new line of glass food storage products to its Easy Find Lids line. 

According to the company, the Easy Find Lids storage system, allows for easier storage because lids attach to each other and to the bottom of containers for storage, so the right lid is always at hand. Graduated sizes neatly nest within each other to save space.

The glass products are oven-safe up to 425 degrees, feature Flex & Seal leak-proof lids and are square shaped to maximize space.

Sharp Electronics Corp. has announced that Mark Viken has been named VP, marketing. He will report to John Herrington, president, Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America.

In this position, Viken will oversee U.S. marketing of all Sharp consumer electronics products including appliances and health and environment-related products, as well as audio and video categories.