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New York City -- Retailers from around the world have until May 20 to enter the annual global competition, the Oracle World Retail Awards. Online entry is open at worldretailcongress.com.

The awards, designed to recognize the outstanding innovation and creativity delivered by l retailers worldwide, are presented each year at a gala event during the World Retail Congress. This year’s presentation will be held Sept. 27 in Berlin.

The winners in 2010 were as follows:

New York City -- Hudson’s Bay Co. will test its HBC’s Home Outfitters concept in the United States, opening two stores in New Jersey in late summer, The Globe and Mail reported.

If successful, the company will further expand the home-goods concept, which will be called Lord & Taylor Home in the United States. (Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor are owned by Purchase, N.Y.-based NRDC Equity Partners.)

New York City -- Kidlandia, a company that enables children to create such personalized items as maps, kingdoms and family trees, has opened its first in-store boutique at FAO Schwarz in Midtown Manhattan.

Regional supermarket chains that offer grocery delivery services may soon have some competition from Walmart if its program is expanded nationwide. According to several reports including one in The Wall Street Journal and another in The New York Times, Walmart is testing its Walmart To Go service in San Jose, Calif. 

Philadelphia -- Destination Maternity Corp. announced the hiring of Chris Daniel as its president, effective June 1.

Daniel will report directly to Ed Krell, CEO, and will have responsibility for all merchandising, design, marketing, visual, sourcing and branding functions of the company. In connection with the hiring of Daniel, Krell, who held the additional title of president on a temporary basis since the departure of the company's former president, will relinquish that title.

New York City -- Coach's third-quarter net income increased 18% amid higher demand in North America, which helped offset an estimated $20 million hit to its revenue from Japan's tsunami and earthquake. Same-store sales in North America rose 10.3%. Analysts said Coach’s results offered further proof that spending by affluent shoppers is back on track and rising faster than other segments.

Net income rose to $186 million for the three months that ended April 2, up from $157.6 million a year earlier. Revenue rose nearly 15% to $950.7 million.

Chicago -- Teen retailer Claire's Stores provided some hope that discretionary spending is improving by reporting net sales of $421.9 million for the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter, an increase of $11.2 million, or 2.7% compared with the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter. Consolidated same-store sales increased 3.2% in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter consisting of a 4.7% increase in North America and a 0.6% increase in Europe.

New York City -- Women’s fashion apparel retailer Francesca's Holdings Corp. filed for up to an estimated $150 million to be raised in an initial public offering.

The company has about $41.4 million in proceeds from the offering earmarked toward repaying a senior secured credit facility, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Remaining funds may be used for opening new stores and growing its e-commerce business.

For the year ended Jan. 29, Francesca's same-store sales climbed 15% on top of a 9.8% increase a year earlier.

Anaheim, Calif. -- Pacific Sunwear of California announced that Michael Kaplan will join the company as senior VP and CFO, effective May 2. He will be replacing Mike Henry who became interim CFO in November 2007 and was named CFO in January 2008.

Most recently, Kaplan was CFO of Harbor Freight Tools, a 349-store retailer of proprietary branded tools. Prior to joining Harbor Freight Tools in 2010, he was a senior executive of Gap Inc. from 2005 to 2010.

New York City -- Gap has chosen Manhattan's Upper West Side for its second freestanding Athleta store, Crain’s New York Business reported.

The report said has signed a lease to open a 3,500-sq.-ft. Athleta at 216 Columbus Ave. at W. 70th Street. The store will open in the fall, and Gap is already seeking more New York area locations, according to Crain's.

Gap bought Petaluma-based Athleta, a catalog and website that sell women's athletic clothes, for $150 million in 2008.