Store Systems

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Children's Place Retail Stores search for someone to oversee its finance and operations appears to have come to an end as the company has announced the appointment of Eric Bauer as COO. He will report to Jane Elfers, president and CEO, and will be responsible for supply chain, planning and allocation, store operations, finance, information technology and real estate.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Three Rite Aid stores have been awarded Energy Star certification for superior energy performance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA awards the Energy Star certification to buildings that rank in the top 25% of similar buildings nationwide in terms of energy efficiency and meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to relocate its Nordstrom Rack at The Mall at The Source to the Gallery at Westbury Plaza. The new store will be located approximately a quarter of a mile from the existing location and is expected to open in fall 2012.

San Francisco -- DemandTec announced that Tops Markets has renewed its subscription to multiple DemandTec pricing and promotion software services on the network.

A customer since 2008, Tops leverages DemandTec services across core merchandising and marketing functions that touch pricing, promotion, and collaborative deal management processes.

Dallas -- Weiss Markets has selected Retalix's Demand-Driven Replenishment solution to optimize its overall in-stock position and reduce excess inventory and out-of-stocks in its stores.

“We wanted a system that could provide demand-based forecasting and replenishment and assist us in optimizing our inventory. Retalix's Demand-Driven Replenishment solution was the ideal fit," said Bob Mawyer, VP of information technology at Weis Markets, Sunbury, Pa., which operates 164 stores.

SAN FRANCISCO — A new bill introduced by a California assemblywoman aims to curb the sale of alcohol to minors by prohibiting sales at self-service checkouts.

Assembly Bill 183, introduced last month by Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, was passed by the assembly committee. Assemblywoman Ma said that self-service checkouts are susceptible to technological failures, allowing minors to purchase alcohol.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings said its that Sears Grand in Cape Girardeau, Mo., has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment.

Sears will battle it out against hundreds of other teams representing buildings across the country to work off the waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Shopkick, a leading location-based shopping app, announced that all Crate and Barrel locations across the United States will offer walk-in rewards and special deals to shoppers simply for visiting. For shoppers, that means shopkick walk-in rewards are now available in 39 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, up from three states at launch in August 2010.

The national rollout comes less than five months after Crate and Barrel initially launched its shopkick trial.