For the Week of January 17th

Management Changes:

The National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C.) has hired Joseph LaRocca as vp, loss prevention. LaRocca was previously director, loss prevention, for The Disney Store Inc.

Panel Processing of Texas Inc. (Jacksonville, Texas, division of Panel Processing Inc.) has named Gil Searcy plant manager. Searcy replaces Ron Murdock, who is retiring. Also, the division has hired Jack Porbeck as southern region sales manager.

MulvannyG2 Architecture (Bellevue, Wash.) announced that it has implemented its succession plan, with Jerry Lee becoming chairman, Mitch Smith assuming the role of senior partner and ceo, Ron Maddox moving to head of operations and Ming Zhang being named to direct the firm's design and international business.

Martin Professional (Sunrise, Fla., lighting firm) announces these promotions: Eric Loader, vp, sales and marketing; Timothy Brennan, director, sales for rental/production; Jamey Brock, director, sales for retail/club; Frank Montero, director, sales for installation/projects; Mark Nelson, market manager installation projects; Dave Chesal, market manager club; and Gary Fallon, market manager retail.

Chute Gerdeman (Columbus, Ohio, design firm) announced that Adam Limbach has rejoined the firm as vp, brand development.

Callison Architecture Inc. (Seattle) has named the following to the new position of director: Robert Green, Michel Hebrant, Mark Henderson, Robin Holt, John Jex, Michael Lee, Ron Singler, Cindi Kato, John Mason, Mark Sopp and Yan Yang.

Roland DGA Corp. (Irvine, Calif., printing equipment manufacturer) has named Gerald Hiller general manager of its new Roland Advanced Solutions Division in Lake Forest, Calif.

Mergers/Acquisitions:

ActiveLight Inc. (Poulsbo, Wash., distributor of advanced displays and dynamic signage solutions) has combined products and services with Project Wholesale Supply (Poulsbo, Wash., distributor of projection solutions). Both companies will now operate under the ActiveLight brand.

Store Opening:

Biotherm (division of L'Oreal, Clichy, France) has opened its first freestanding boutique in the U.S., at the Glendale Galleria, Glendale, Calif.

Business Briefs:

Jenkins Brick & Tile Co. (Montgomery, Ala.) has been named a distributor for the porcelain tile produced by Argentina-based Ilva S.A.

Do it Best Corp. (Fort Wayne, Ind., buying cooperative for home-improvement retailers) has expanded its online order-fulfillment capabilities so that products are now shipped from six of its retail service centers across the U.S.

Awards:

The Planning and Visual Education Partnership (PAVE) has announced the winners in its 2004 Student Design Competition. Entrants enrolled in four-year design programs were challenged to create a 600-square-foot outpost/boutique for department stores that house a new line of bath-and-body merchandise. Winners in this category were: first place, Xiao Yun (Jenny) Jiang, California State University; second place, Jessica Park, Miami University of Ohio; third place, Yana Ronin, San Jose State University; and honorable mentions, Sheng Yang Wu, Academy of Art University, San Francisco; Kristin Baer, Cazenovia College; Amber Ashe, Miami University of Ohio; and Von Domingue, California State University. Entrants enrolled in two-year design programs were challenged to create a brand name, logo and packaging for a new line of bath-and-body merchandise. Winners in this category, all of whom are enrolled at Fashion Institute of Technology, were: first place, Akiko Watanabe; second place, Andy Irish; third place, Kristin Kohlmyer; and honorable mention, Jung Shin.

Shea Inc. (Minneapolis marketing design firm) won a 2004 STARR award from the Minnesota Shopping Center Association for its design of the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in Minneapolis.

Lees Carpets (Kennesaw, Ga.) won a 2004 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design for its nature-inspired Life Elements Collection.

Beeline Group (Newark, Calif., division of Leggett & Platt Store Fixtures Group) won 10 awards at the 2004 San Francisco POP Show, including first place prizes for the HP Circuit City digital photo kitchen display, the Adobe digital photography display, a BV Coastal Estates lighthouse display for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines/IMF and the Beringer Sparkling White Zinfandel holiday display.