eCommerce

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Co. announced that founder and executive chairman, Ron Shaich, and president and CEO, Bill Moreton, will become co-CEOs, effective immediately.

The announcement formalizes a relationship that has evolved over the last year and is a reflection of the way in which Shaich and Moreton have been operating as partners, the company said.

Each individual's formal title will be as follows: Ron Shaich, chairman of the board and co-CEO; Bill Moreton, president and co-CEO.

Austin, Texas -- Target Corp., Costco Wholesale Corp., Safeway, Gap Inc. and Whole Foods Market are among 15 retailers recognized on the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 "World's Most Ethical Companies" list. The other retailers honored were Starbucks Coffee Co., Patagonia, Wegmans, Marks and Spencer, Best Buy, eBay, Timberland, Office Max, Petco, and Ten Thousand Villages.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — A former Safeway executive has joined Dollar General as its EVP store operations.

Effective March 19, Greg Sparks will assume all responsibilities for the operations of more than 9,900 retail stores in 38 states and serve on Dollar General's real estate and store development committee, the company said. Sparks will report to chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling.

Sparks most recently served as president of Safeway's Seattle division. His departure from the supermarket retailer was announced earlier this week.

New York City -- A study released Wednesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that determining what office workers spend going to work, during the business day, and immediately after work prior to returning home can provide a better understanding of the opportunities that exist for retail, restaurant, and service establishments in proximity to office parks or buildings.

Among the survey highlights:

Los Angeles -- New York & Co. reported Thursday a loss of $10.9 million in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $14.9 million a year earlier.

Sales dropped to $271.8 million, from $303.2 million in the same quarter last year, missing Wall Street’s expected $275 million in revenue. Same-store sales fell 6.3%.

Looking ahead, the retailer said it expects to open 11 outlet locations and one full-price store in the first quarter of 2012, as well as

FOLSOM, Calif. — Fresh & Easy announced that its new store in Folsom, Calif., received the platinum-level store certification award from the Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Partnership.

While the platinum award puts Fresh & Easy — which joined EPA's GreenChill in 2009 — among the nation's 36,000 grocery stores, the Folsom location is the second store in California, and one of four grocery stores in the nation, to achieve these standards.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- In a move to ensure that vendors continue to supply Sears its goods, Sears Holdings Corp.'s top shareholder ESL Investments, a hedge fund owned by Edward Lampert, has agreed to assume some payment obligations.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday and reported by Reuters, Sears said ESL made a deal on Jan. 26 with a financial institution to acquire 80% interest in an agreement designed to ensure payment to vendors in the event of a bankruptcy filing by a company.

Chicago -- Fraud prevention and risk management provider Accertify said Thursday that Forever 21 will deploy its fraud prevention solution, customized to the retailer’s e-commerce business.

Forever 21 said it is growing its online presence internationally and turned to Accertify, an American Express company, to process and decrease risk in Forever 21’s online transactions.