OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

New York -- Ralph Lauren Corp. on Friday announced that Roger Farah, executive chairman, will retire at the end of May. He will remain on the company’s board until his terms expires in August. Farah, one of the retail industry’s most respected executives, is credited with turning Ralph Lauren into a global powerhouse.

New York -- The United Kingdom’s Selfridges was named ‘Best Department Store in the World’ for the third consecutive time by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS). The award was given at the group’s Global Department Store Summit, which was held last week. The event is held every other year.

Selfridges was in competition for the award with Macy’s and the German retailer Breuninger.

Bentonville, Ark. - At an event with President Barack Obama, Walmart announced that it will double the number of on-site solar energy projects at its U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers by 2020. The commitment is part of Walmart’s global initiative to drive the production or procurement of 7 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy by the end of 2020.

Reston, Va. - Among retailers and distribution firms that have deployed mobile apps to their workforces, 46% are using mobile apps for inspections, followed by 35% for checklists and 31% for surveys. According to a new survey of more than 1,100 business and IT decision makers conducted by mobile business app provider Canvas, 63% of all businesses surveyed see value in integrating core business applications, such as Dropbox, Square, Salesforce, Evernote and Quickbooks, with mobile devices and tools.

San Jose, Calif. - EBay and Invaluable are launching a partnership to offer traditional live auctions through real-time online bidding at auction houses around the world. Invaluable’s software solutions, including their online live bidding technology, will allow its partner auction houses to bring more than $4 billion of inventory onto the global eBay platform.

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Thomas Nowak, senior VP merchandising for European e-commerce site Bol.com, will join the Staples team as senior VP of merchandising, Staples Europe, effective Aug. 1. Nowak will report to president of Staples Europe John Wilson, and will be a member of the European leadership team.

San Francisco -- Revel Systems, a leading provider of iPad point-of-sale solutions, has opened its first pop-up store, in historic Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco. The initiative is a joint effort between Revel Systems and PopUpShopUp. The Revel pop-up is designed as a multi-use space hosting a variety of QSR & retail businesses that Revel has invited to be given the opportunity to have a physical store for the first time.

Montreal -- After a failed attempt to restructure under bankruptcy protection, Canadian fashion retailer Boutique Jacob said it will liquidate its inventory and close all 92 stores.

The Montreal-based chain, which operates the Jacob, Jacob Outlet and Jacob Liquidation banners, exited bankruptcy protection in 2011 and has been unable to return to profitability. According to a Reuters report, the company said it was hurt by a challenging economy as well as competition from international brands that have debuted in Canada in recent years.