Supply Chain & Merchandising

Sustainability is often confused with “going green,” but while environmental improvement is part of the picture, sustainability is bigger than that. It’s a strategy for individuals and organizations to thrive for the long term. Operating sustainably ensures an efficient, resilient and innovative organization that not only does less harm to people and the environment, but also does more good and makes a profit in the process. Because as many have pointed out, a business that loses money won’t be around to do anything very long.

Aurora, Col.  -- Walgreens has expanded its renewable energy initiative to Colorado. Clean-energy provider SolarCity announced it will implement solar systems at 22 Walgreens stores across 14 different cities in Colorado in the coming months, with the first installation completed in Aurora.

Phoenix -- Leslie’s Poolmart said Monday it will grand-open 15 Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies stores across 10 states on April 5, as part of the company’s plan to open 48 new stores this spring.

The new stores opening on April 5 include: Tucson, Ariz.; Pleasanton, Calif.; Rohnert Park, Calif.; Cockeysville, Md.; Gastonia, N.C.; Las Vegas; New Hyde Park, N.Y.; West Chester, Ohio; Spartanburg, S.C.; Harlingen, Texas; Lake Jackson, Texas; Sherman, Texas; Wylie, Texas; Manassas, Va.; and Virginia Beach.

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The Container Store has enlisted Talend, a global open source software leader, to simplify, standardize and move data across multiple platforms. With Talend, The Container Store now has cross-platform standardization, improved development times and automated processes that were previously done manually.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Ace Hardware Corp. announced that John Venhuizen has been named president and CEO of the hardware cooperative. The appointment is part of a strategic leadership transition that was announced last fall.

In September, Venhuizen was named president and COO of Ace Hardware, while Ace’s outgoing leader Ray Griffith maintained the title of CEO.

Venhuizen is a 20+-year veteran of Ace Hardware, having served in a variety of capacities.

Los Altos, Calif. -- Talend said Monday that The Container Store is deploying Talend Enterprise Data Integration to simplify, standardize and move data across multiple platforms.

With Talend, The Container Store now has cross-platform standardization, improved development times and automated processes that were previously done manually.

New York -- Whole Foods Market announced that Gotham Greens will be its operating partner in the nation’s first commercial- scale greenhouse farm integrated within a supermarket. The 20,000-sq.-ft. greenhouse, which is currently under construction on the roof of the forthcoming Whole Foods Market store in Gowanus, Brooklyn, is scheduled to open in late 2013.

CULVER CITY, Calif. — Glenn Hasen has joined Magento, the leading e-commerce platform part of the X.commerce division of Ebay, as VP global sales and channels. In his new role, Glenn will manage day-to-day operations of the sales organization and oversee merchant adoption, successful customer onboarding and retention of the Magento platform.