For the Week of August 4th

Lippincott Mercer (New York design and brand strategy consultancy) has hired Simon Glynn as senior partner at its London office. Mercer was formerly vp at Lippincott's sister company, Mercer Management Consulting.

Emick Howard & Seibert Inc. (Seattle retail planning, architecture and interior design firm) has added Mia Marshall to its design team. Marshall will work on financial, retail and corporate projects.

Laminated Plastics Inc. (Parsippany, N.J., decorative laminates manufacturer) has appointed Drew Diamond as president of its U.S.-based operations. Diamond most recently was operations and sales manager.

The National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C., retail trade association) has promoted Scott Krugman to vp, public relations, and J. Craig Shearman to vp, government affairs public relations.

ShopKo Stores Inc. (Green Bay, Wis., retail operator) has hired Michael Hatten as director of loss prevention for the company's ShopKo division. He is responsible for loss prevention programs in all ShopKo stores and at its corporate headquarters.

Pamida Inc. (Omaha, Neb., division of ShopKo Stores Inc., retailer) has named William Young vp, divisional merchandise manager-home. Young, who joined Pamida in 1975, oversees all merchandising in the furniture, appliances, electronics, housewares and stationery categories.

DMX Music (Los Angeles music, visual imaging and message marketing systems provider) has hired Hank Smith as vp, human resources.

Atmosphera y Asociados (Puebla, Mexico, design firm) has been hired by Casa Corona, a new restaurant concept featuring the Corona brand, to design and oversee the interior and graphic design content of its restaurants. The first unit is scheduled to open by the end of September.

Modular Brand Group LLC (Newton, Mass., branding firm) has acquired Millrock brand and all of its product divisions.

AkarStudios (Santa Monica, Calif., design firm) has been selected by Insolito (Milan fashion house) to design its first retail location in the U.S. The 1500-square-foot showroom will be located in the Santa Monica Promenade area and is expected to open in fall 2003.

4walls.com (Cleveland, Ohio, digital wallpaper manufacturer) has signed a licensing agreement with General Motors Corp. to develop three different wallcoverings featuring the car maker's vehicles.

RTKL (Baltimore planning, architecture, design and creative services firm) received a first place award in the commercial category from the Maryland chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers and ChesapeakeHome magazine for the design of its headquarters.

The International Mass Retail Association (IMRA, Arlington, Va., alliance of retailers and product and service suppliers) has awarded its Robert J. Verdisco Retail Scholarship for 2003 to Jessica Ann Wiegand, a retailing and consumer sciences major at the University of Arizona.