Retail

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Sears Holdings with a 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. Sears Holdings, an Energy Star partner since 1998, will be honored for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency.

The company's related accomplishments in 2013 included:

Former H.H. Gregg EVP and COO Gregg Throgmartin has been name CEO at upstart cycling retailer BikeStreet.

Throgmartin resigned from HH Gregg after a 13 year career which saw him rise to become EVP and COO of the 228 store consumer electronics retailer. He joins BikeStreet, a company founded in 2012, as it embarks on an ambitious strategy to growth from 17 stores to more than 1,000 stores during the next seven years.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores plans to open a 27,000-sq.-ft. Herberger’s Clearance Center in Maplewood, Minn. The store is scheduled to open May 2014.

“We are pleased to announce the opening of our fourth free-standing clearance center,” said Brendan Hoffman, president and CEO.

Bon-Ton Stores operates 270 department stores in 25 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates.

Veteran retail operations executive Troy Rice has joined Office Depot as EVP of retail as the company continues to build out its senior leadership team in the wake of its merger with OfficeMax.

Rice spent the past eight years with Toys “R” Us, most recently serving as EVP fo stores and services. Prior that he spent 16 years with The Home Depot and served as president of the retailer’s $24 billion northern division at the time of his departure.

New York -- Consumers worldwide are increasingly using multi-platform devices, especially mobile, to enhance their in-store shopping experience, according to a study by global digital and technology agency DigitasLBi.

In the study, "Connected Commerce: A Snapshot of the Modern Shopper,” 71% of Americans say that using a mobile phone while shopping inside a store could affect their buying decisions.

New York -- Liberty Media Corp. has entered into agreements to reduce its stake in Barnes & Noble. Liberty Media informed Barnes & Noble that while Liberty has sold the majority of its shares to qualified institutional buyers, it will retain approximately 10% of its initial $204 million investment, which could be converted to a 17% ownership stake.

Washington, D.C. -- Despite a slight decrease in corporate payments fraud and a heightened interest in security risks, 2013 saw an increase in fraud specific to credit and debit cards as criminals and their schemes became more sophisticated, according to the 2014 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey released by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).

Minneapolis -- Target announced plans to open a store in Westwood, Mass., opening in March 2015.

The 135,000-sq.-ft. store will be part of the new University Station development. It will be the 26th Target store in the Boston area.