For the Week of November 10th

Management Changes:

Exponation LLC (Atlanta producer of Digital Signage Expo, Interactive Technology Expo, Out-of-Home Network Show and LightShow/West) has named Chris Gibbs president and chief operating officer. Gibbs, who was formerly the company's executive vp and is one of the founding company executives, will assume the day-to-day responsibilities immediately.

Simon Pearce Inc. (Windsor, Vt., designer, manufacturer and marketer of hand-blown glass and handmade pottery) has appointed James Zilian to director, design and product development.

Hollis + Miller Architects (Overland Park, Kan., architectural firm) has hired John Ho as project manager.

Store Opening:

Hamleys, the British toy retailer, has opened a 32,000-square-foot prototype store in Dubai. The store was designed by Chute Gerdeman Retail (Columbus, Ohio, branding and retail design firm) and draws on the company’s 248-year heritage.

Business Briefs:

Invista (Atlanta manufacturer of Antron carpet fiber) has announced that over 50 colors of its Antron Lumena fiber have been certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) due to it containing a minimum of 25 percent pre-consumer recycled content.

Echeverria Design Group (Coral Gables, Fla., retail design firm) has been selected by Fortunoff, the jewelry and housewares retailer in Uniondale, N.Y., to design and develop a new prototype that will occupy a central location within every existing and future U.S. Lord & Taylor department store.

Association:

The Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E., Hollywood, Fla., retail association) has announced its 2008-2009 Retail Council. Members of A.R.E.’s Retail Council Executive Committee are: Bevan Bloemendaal, The Timberland Co.; Shanna Busman, Aeropostale Inc.; Richard Hamori, Hudson’s Bay Co.; Brad Lenz, Liz Claiborne Inc.; Chuck Luckenbill, OfficeMax Inc.; Anthony Mancini, MGM Mirage Design Group; and Karen Meskey, Macy’s Inc. For the full list of Retail Council members, visit www.retailenvironments.org.