Department Store

Tejon Ranch, Calif. — Slated to open in August, The Outlets at Tejon has announced the appointment of Brian P. Hassett as the new center’s general manager. Hassett brings more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry — more than 10 of them focused on outlet retail — to the post.

New York -- Kohl's Department Stores was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to reduce emissions linked to climate change. The retailer was recognized with EPA’s Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management (Goal Achievement) Award for reducing carbon emissions by improving the energy efficiency in its stores and buying renewable energy and installing solar panels.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to open five franchise-operated Old Navy stores in the Philippines in 2014. The first two Old Navy stores will open in Manila in March and there are plans to open three more stores in the second half of the year for a total of five Old Navy stores in 2014.

The first of two Old Navy stores, a dedicated three-story building, will open in the heart of Manila’s fashion and shopping district, Bonifacio High Street, on March 22. The second store will open in the prominent Glorietta mall on March 29.

San Mateo, Calif. – Six-in-10 (60%) of those who knew about any data breaches at notable retailers, such as Target and Neiman Marcus, hold the merchant responsible for preventing future incidents of a data breach. The “2014 Consumer Reaction to Financial Data Breaches Study” of more than 2,000 adult U.S. consumers from Feedzai and Harris Interactive also found that 43% think nothing is more aggravating than getting credit/debit card data stolen.

Retailers are enhancing shoppers’ digital in-store experience by adding lots of new applications which can overwhelm existing IT infrastructure. That’s why The Bon-Ton Stores built redundant capabilities with the help of Hughes to enable its e-commerce strategy.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Banana Republic will become a new retailer at the Ridge Hill shopping center in Yonkers, N.Y. Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), the developer and owner of Ridge Hill, said the Banana Republic location will open beneath the center's Uniqlo store.

Retailers have been known to employ all sorts of clever devices when commemorating a grand opening, but shapewear retailer Spanx takes the practice to a new level.

Home Depot was known to saw a board in half in lieu of a traditional ribbon cutting and outdoor retailer Gander Mountain once had an archer with a razor tipped arrow sever the ribbon. When Spanx opens its fourth retail location on April 11 at the International Plaza mall in Tampa the company plans to commemorate the occasion with a hosiery cutting as part of a “jiggle-free jubilee.”

New York -- Sears Holdings Corp. said its board has approved the spin on of its Lands’ End business, effective April 4, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
The agreement, which was announced in December, will make Lands' End an independent company that will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LE.”

Sears stockholders on record as of March 24 will receive about 0.3 shares of Lands' End common stock for each share of Sears they own.