OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Beaumont, Texas -- Regional appliance and electronics chain Conn's said Thursday that chairman William C. Nylin Jr. is stepping down and will be succeeded as non-executive chairman by director Theodore Wright.

Nylin has served as chairman since June 2009 and was executive vice chairman before that. He has been on the board since 1993 and has also served as the company's COO and president. He will remain on the board.

New York City -- Ikea US sent a holiday ‘thank you’ to each of its 12,400 associates with a free bike, the retailer said Tuesday.

The gifts were part of Ikea’s “strong commitment to good health and being environmentally conscious,” while rewarding employees for a good year, the company said.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, announced that its Print Solutions business has acquired PRINTSouth Corp. (operating as “Miami Systems”), a leading national manufacturer of business forms. Customers of Staples Print Solutions and Miami Systems will benefit from expanded product and service offerings, improved distribution capabilities and shared best practices, Staples reported.

Landover, Md. -- Two-and-a-half years after joining the company, Robin Michel is leaving as president of the Giant-Landover division of Ahold USA to pursue other opportunities, the company confirmed Monday.

Michel will depart at the end of the month, according to Ahold USA spokesperson Sara Neumann. She will be replaced on a temporary basis as operations chief by Don Sussman, executive VP supply chain at Ahold, while the company conducts a search for a successor.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl's Corp. said Tuesday it has renewed its long-term license agreement to be the exclusive seller of Simply Vera Vera Wang clothing and other merchandise, and plans to expand the line into makeup.

Minneapolis -- Supervalu announced that Janel Haugarth, executive VP, president and COO of the company’s supply chain services organization has been named executive VP merchandising and logistics. Steve Jungmann, who had held the position of executive VP merchandising, will leave the company effective immediately.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Sam's Club has launched a new service that offers delivery, installation, assembly or set-up of a number of items such as mattresses, televisions, computers, barbecue grills and more. The chain said it is offering the service for items purchased at more than 600 stores nationwide.

The service is provided by a third-party vendor that will work on both home and business installation. Delivery prices start at $59 and installation is provided at an additional cost.

New York City -- The National Retail Federation on Friday released its 2010 list that annually ranks the 10 stores with the best customer service.

The list is based on surveys of more than 9,000 shoppers, all asked the following question: “Thinking of all the different retail formats (store, catalog, Internet or home shopping), which retailer delivers the best customer service?”

In total, the NRF ranked 46 stores, and will release the complete list in January.