Strategy

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Kmart, LF USA and Latin World Entertainment Licensing announced the launch of a new lifestyle collection by renowned actress Sofia Vergara. Sold exclusively through Kmart, the collection will embody the "Modern Family" star's signature style of glamour and sexiness with an air of approachability, according to a press release.

The collection, which will include sportswear, dresses, handbags, jewelry, and footwear will be available at over 800 Kmart stores nationwide and Kmart.com beginning this fall.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Building on the success of its store brands O Organics and Eating Right, Safeway is boosting its portfolio with a new line of healthy, nutritious food.

Open Nature includes more than 100 products made with 100% natural ingredients from natural sources. The first Open Nature items now are available in Safeway’s meat departments, with additional products to be added to the store brand throughout the year.

Current items up for grabs are priced between $3.99 and $5.99, the retailer said.

Morrisville, N.C. -- Lowe's Cos. announced Tuesday that it is laying off approximately 1,700 middle managers across the United States in an effort to cut costs as its profit trains rival The Home Depot. The retailer also plans to add 8,000 to 10,000 weekend sales assistants to improve staffing during its stores’ busiest times.

Irving, Texas -- NEC Corp. of American announced that OXXO, the largest convenience store chain in Latin America, has selected NEC’s new point of sale hardware platform, TWINPOS 4500 as its standard.

With more than 8,000 stores strategically located throughout Mexico and Colombia, OXXO offers convenient services and products, 24-hour service in most areas and a fast and comfortable shopping experience.

Berwyn, Ill. -- The city council of Berwyn, Ill., has unanimously approved a redevelopment agreement with Meijer to anchor the city’s Cermak Plaza shopping center. Meijer currently has nearly 200 locations in the Midwest, and this newest site will be the closest location to downtown Chicago.

Meijer recently announced a new format, Chicagoland, for the urban marketplace. These urban infill stores will focus largely on grocery and pharmacy but will still offer general merchandise for a one-stop-shopping experience.

WASHINGTON — The largest retail trade association on Wednesday said that President Obama's State of the Union address recognized the industry's role in job creation.

The National Retail Federation said that the president's "continued support of 'commonsense safeguards,'" which included support of such proposals as swipe fee limits, "will help retailers innovate and support the consumer spending that is crucial to job creation."

NEW YORK — The Motley Fool on Tuesday suggested all three national pureplay drug chains were in a better position today than five years and three years ago based on a metric called the “cash king margin.”

The metric teases out the amount of free cash flow a company actually can use to monetize shareholder value by paying dividends or buying back stocks. Companies that can create cash king margins (calculated by dividing free cash flow by sales) of more than 10% are the most attractive to investors, the Fool surmised.

Orange, Va. -- Wal-Mart Stores has abandoned its plans to build a Walmart Superstore near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia. The retailer’s lawyers made the announcement Wednesday in a northern Virginia court, where a judge has been hearing a case to block the plan.