True Religion Apparel Hires Guess Exec … and More Industry News

MANAGEMENT CHANGES

True Religion Apparel Inc. (Vernon, Calif.) hired David Chiovetti to fill the newly created position of senior vice president of North America Retail. Chiovetti recently served as vice president of stores, Guess and Guess by Marciano.

Coach (New York) said chief financial officer Michael F. Devine III will retire in August. The retailer is seeking his successor.

Christopher & Banks Corp. (Minneapolis) promoted Michael Lyftogt to senior vice president, chief financial officer.

The North Face (San Leandro, Calif.) promoted Todd Spaletto to president, The North Face, Americas.

Zale Corp. (Irving, Texas) added Chico’s FAS chairman, president and ceo David Dyer to its board.

Martin Professional (Aarhus, Denmark) promoted Leif Orkelbog-Andresen to business area manager projects. He will oversee project activities throughout Europe for Martin’s Danish-based EMEA sales organization.

STORE OPENINGS

BRAVADA International Ltd. (Los Angeles) has opened its second BRAVADA Women’s Athletica store in its home city, on Melrose Avenue.

AT&T (Dallas) opened a high-tech wireless store in Raritan, N.J.

New Era (Buffalo, N.Y.) opened New Era Tokyo in that city’s Harajuku district.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (Plano, Texas) unveiled a new logo that puts visual emphasis on the lowercase “jcp” by placing it slightly off-center in a red box so it appears to “break out,” symbolizing the company’s plans for the future. The retailer gathered submissions for an updated logo from its workers, several design agencies and two art schools, the University of Cincinnati and Rhode Island School of Design. The winning design was created by Luke Langhus, a third-year graphic design student at the University of Cincinnati.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (York, Pa./Milwaukee) signed a license and design agreement with Mambo Graphics PTY Ltd. (Australia) for the exclusive launch of the Mambo brand in the United States.

Mancini Duffy Architecture Design (New York) is temporarily relocating to 1350 Avenue of the Americas. Its phone numbers and email addresses will not change.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized PETCO (San Diego) as an Energy Star Leader for reducing energy consumption by more than 10 percent across its building portfolio.

Wendy’s Intl. (Dublin, Ohio) signed a long-term agreement with franchisee Wenphil Corp. to open up to 44 restaurants in the Philippines.

PlayNetwork (Redmond, Wash.) acquired U.K.-based multimedia service provider Absolute Audio Systems Ltd. for an undisclosed amount, expanding its international business and services.

Acuity Brands Inc. (Atlanta) acquired Sunoptics (Sacramento, Calif.), a provider of high-performance, prismatic daylighting products, for an undisclosed amount.