OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Schenectady, N.Y. -- Price Chopper Supermarkets said it has named Karlin Bohnert as senior VP of information systems/CIO.

Bohnert most recently served as CIO of RGIS in Auburn Hills, Mich. She joins Price Chopper with more 30 years of strategic IT experience gained at such companies as Walmart, Home Depot, ANF, The Limited and MCI.

Corte Madera, Calif. – Gary Friedman, chairman emeritus of Restoration Hardware, has been named chairman of the board and co-CEO. Friedman, former co-CEO of Restoration Hardware, will serve with co-CEO Carlos Alberini.

New York -- MPW Engineering provided design and specifications of the refrigeration and refrigeration energy management systems for the newly converted Walgreen’s store in the Empire State Building in Manhattan.

Meriden, Conn. – Vestis Retail Group, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), has named James Petty as CEO effective July 8, 2013. Petty most recently served as president of retail stores for Cartier Inc. from 2007 to December 2012 and left the company after it relocated its retail group headquarters from Connecticut to Georgia. He also previously held executive positions at Limited Too and Gap Inc.

Minneapolis – Target has named former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to its board of directors.

Salazar, 58, was a US Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He was named Secretary of the Interior in January 2009 and stepped down in April 2013. Last month, he became a partner for the international law firm WilmerHale. Salazar is the 12th member of Target's board.

Mary Dillon resigned from the board of directors of Target last month after she was named CEO of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc.

Austin, Texas – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is filing a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau against Whole Foods Market on behalf of two Spanish-speaking employees.

The employees allege that in June 2013 a Whole Foods store in Albuquerque suspended them for a day for complaining about a company policy they say prevented them from speaking Spanish on the job. Both employees said they are still prevented from speaking Spanish.

Seattle – Starbucks is testing new drink options including handmade sodas and a coffee beverage known as “cold foam mocha.” As reported by the Starbucks Melody blog (which is not affiliated with the retailer), last month Starbucks began the second phase of a carbonated beverage test including proprietary root beer and ginger ale at select locations in Atlanta and Austin.

New York -- Walmart has launched the latest installment of its social media-inspired merchandising initiative known as, “Get on the Shelf.”

The program, developed by the company’s digital think tank @WalmartLabs, affords entrepreneurs the ability to have their product featured on Walmart.com and possibly in select Walmart stores. The company issued an open call to anyone with an interesting product to enter between now and July 31 by submitting a video to https://getontheshelf.walmart.com.