STORE SPACES

Columbus, Ohio -- Denny Gerdeman, principal and co-founder of Chute Gerdeman, a full-service retail branding and design firm, has been named the 2011 Markopoulos Award winner.

The prestigious honor, named after the late visual merchandising legend Andrew Markopoulos, is presented annually by DDI Magazine to one outstanding industry professional. In winning the award, Gerdeman is recognized for his distinguished career as well as his efforts to give back to the profession.

Redmond, Wash. -- Eddie Bauer and PlayNetwork have announced the launch of the Eddie Bauer Emerging Artist Program.

“The Eddie Bauer Emerging Artist Program was born from the spirit of adventure and discovery inherent in the First Ascent and Eddie Bauer brands,” said Kirsten Kinkead, multimedia producer at Eddie Bauer. “PlayNetwork is the ideal partner for this program because they have a true understanding of our core values and will translate that into media experiences that resonate with our customers.”

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group announced that, in partnership with Shinsegae, it has opened Paju Premium Outlets, its second Premium Outlet Center in South Korea.

The 328,000-sq.-ft. center houses 160 stores, including international and domestic brands. Strategically located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, the center is approximately 50 minutes northwest of downtown Seoul.

New York City -- Schneider Electric and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are collaborating to enhance the current demand response credit for the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

New York City -- Men’s Wearhouse will remodel more than 100 stores and open 20 to 30 new locations this year, Women’s Wear Daily reported.

This marks a big increase from last year, when 35 stores were remodeled, the report said.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart announced the deployment of five rooftop solar arrays for Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in Puerto Rico. The solar program is made possible through a solar energy service agreement where Sun Edison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, will design, deploy, operate and maintain over three megawatts of solar technologies across the five locations with no upfront costs to Walmart.

New York City -- Global design consultancy Fitch today announced the opening of its first office in China. The new office will service Fitch’s existing clients such as Nokia and Dell, as well as new clients in the buoyant Chinese market.

Ian Bellhouse, managing director for SE Asia & Greater China, Fitch, will lead the new operations.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot announced Wednesday that it has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s list of Energy Star Leaders for reducing its energy consumption by 27.5% across its building portfolio.

Energy Star Leaders is a group of organizations that have improved energy efficiency across all of the facilities in a portfolio.

According to Office Depot, it is the first non-supermarket retailer to be recognized for realizing a greater than 20% reduction.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it was named 2011 Energy Star partner of the year in the product retailer category by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The award is Sears’ second consecutive.

"This award is a reflection of the significant commitment our entire organization has made to promote energy efficiency and help our customers make changes that allow them to save money," said Lou D'Ambrosio, CEO and president of Sears Holdings.

Moorseville, N.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Lowe’s winner of the Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award in Retail for the second consecutive year. The 2011 award recognizes Lowe’s long-standing leadership as a retailer of energy-efficient products and will be presented to the company at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 12.