OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

New York -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm has launched a wedding and gift registry that allows shoppers to register in stores, online or via smartphone app.

“Our customers have great individual style and definitely know how to party,” said Vanessa Holden, creative director of West Elm. “Our new wedding and gift registry features tips and tricks from some of our favorite partners, and it's the perfect tool to help couples design a home to suit their new life together or plan for any type of celebration.”

Oak Brook, Ill. -- The J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study has ranked Ace Hardware “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores” for the eighth year in a row. Ace has captured this ranking ever since the organization began this study eight years ago.

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko announced that veteran pharmacy executive Michael Cantrell has joined the company as senior VP, retail health. In this role, Cantrell will provide strategic direction for Shopko's pharmacy, optical and Rx e departments.  

Cantrell, a registered pharmacist and licensed attorney, is joining Shopko from Delhaize America, where he was VP of pharmacy. Prior to Delhaize America, Cantrell held various executive positions at AmerisourceBergen and Longs Drugs.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Sam's Club announced it will launch a new credit card using EMV chip-enabled technology on June 23, beating Target as the first mass retailer to move to the new technology. The new card — co-branded with MasterCard Inc. and issued by GE Capital Retail Bank — has an embedded chip that makes the card more difficult to duplicate, which provides enhanced security from fraudulent activity, according to Sam’s Club.

Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Vera Bradley announced that Karen Peters has been named executive VP, retail and wholesale sales.

Peters has 25 years of retail experience including multi-store management and merchandising. Between February 2005 and March 2014, she served as senior VP, director of stores for Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th. Prior to that, she held key management positions with Sears, Target, and Kohl's.

New York – Edward H. Finkelstein, former chairman and CEO of the company now known as Macy’s Inc., died of natural causes at his home in Thousand Oaks, California, on May 31. He was 89.

Finkelstein led Macy’s in the 1970s and 1980s and launched concepts including the Aeropostale apparel chain, which was later sold off, as well as several private brands. Finkelstein left the company in 1992 after 44 years, following a bankruptcy filing.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears is testing “Connected Solutions” experiential shops that bring together smart, or connected, home and personal automation products. The 1,700-sq.-ft. shops are being piloted in three Sears locations in the Chicago area, including Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois; and Oakbrook Center, Oakbrook, Illinois.

New York -- Thirty-One Gifts, one of the nation’s largest direct-selling companies, announced the successful go-live of TXT Maple Lake’s integrated retail planning solution. The software is helping Thirty-One Gifts manage the whole spectrum of in-season planning processes, including inventory management and open-to-buy.

Thirty-One Gifts offers an array of lifestyle products, most of which can be personalized.