Personnel Updates:
Army & Air Force Exchange Service named its first civilian Director/CEO in its nearly 117-year history.  Tom Shull officially took the reins of the military retailer, replacing the Exchange’s last uniformed Commander, Brig. Gen. Fran Hendricks.
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze has decided to step down as Chairman of the Board in order to pursue other options for his ownership stake.
Best Buy Co., Inc. announced that Director Hatim Tyabji has been elected to succeed Richard Schulze as Chairman of the company.
Best Buy Co., Inc. announced that Ryan Robinson, the company’s second top finance official and CFO for Best Buy’s U.S. business unit, has left the company to join MedExpress,
Disney Stores announced the resignation of James Fielding, former President of Worldwide Operations. Claire’s Stores Inc. has named, Fielding as CEO and will also join Claire’s board of directors.
Pep Boys announced that CFO Ray Arthur has resigned from the company in order to pursue another business opportunity.  The Company has begun a national search for Arthur’s replacement.
Staples announced that Neil Ringel was named Exec VP at Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of the company focused on serving organizations with more than 20 employees.
Tuesday Morning has ousted President and CEO Kathleen Mason and has begun a search for a new chief executive.  Michael Marchetti, Exec VP and COO, has been promoted to President and COO and will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is found. Melinda Page, Senior VP, GMM has been promoted to Exec VP and Chief Merchandise Officer and Seth Marks Senior VP of alternative sourcing and e-commerce has been promoted to Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer.
West Marine, Inc. announced the company’s Board of Directors has named Matthew Hyde, President and CEO, succeeding Geoff Eisenberg, who, earlier this year, disclosed his intention to step down upon the appointment of a successor.
Industry Insight:       
Costco will enter the state of Louisiana with a 148,000-sq.-ft. store in New Orleans.
The Costco store is slated to open spring 2013.
Duckwall-ALCO Stores, announced that the company’s shareholders have approved the company’s name change to ALCO.

Ritz Camera & Image has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of its restructuring, the company, which has 265 stores in 34 states, plans to close 128 locations and cut its staff of 2,000 in half.
Real Estate:
Costco will enter the state of Louisiana with a 148,000-sq.-ft. store at Carrollton Plaza Shopping Center in New Orleans.  The new lease will add Costco to a lineup of retailers that includes CVS, Firestone, Family Dollar and Subway. Costco is slated to open spring 2013.
Green Initiatives/Sustainability:
Meijer joined the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership. Created as a voluntary partnership, GreenChill members focus on reducing refrigerant emissions and decreasing their impact on the environment and ultimately people’s health. By joining GreenChill, Meijer is pledging to meet higher standards that go beyond the regulatory requirements to protect the ozone layer and combat climate change.
Office Depot launched its GreenOffice Delivery Service last year, which delivers everyday office supplies in paper bags instead of cardboard boxes.  The company said it expected to replace 5 million boxes with 5 million bags, which weigh substantially less, resulting in using 3,000 tons less wood, cutting CO2 emissions by more than 7.7 million pounds and reducing solid waste by more than 1.3 million pounds.
In addition, Office Depot’s Recycling Rules program encourages schools to recycle e-waste by sending free recycling boxes to schools, and paying schools’ shipping costs when they send back boxes filled with empty cartridges and small electronics.
OfficeMax has launched a program that reuses and recycles the boxes it uses for deliveries to business customers. The office supply co
mpany expects the initiative to reduce box consumption by 80 percent among participating businesses.

The program, Boomerang Box by OfficeMax, started this month in Seattle and will expand nationwide in the second half of 2012. Business participation in the program is free and voluntary. 
Under the program, OfficeMax delivers businesses’ office supplies in reusable, stackable delivery boxes made from a minimum of 50 percent post-consumer content. Customers save and stack the boxes for pickup with the next order delivery. The cycle continues until the boxes can no longer be reused. Then OfficeMax will recycle the boxes.
OfficeMax has also received recertification to the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership for the fourth consecutive year. As a SmartWay Transport partner, OfficeMax has pledged to use vehicles and fuels that improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Staples is one of five companies that have joined the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge.  The companies pledged to upgrade more than 50 million square feet of combined commercial building space, including 15 manufacturing facilities, as they strive to meet the Better Buildings goal of cutting building energy use at least 20 percent by 2020.