Walmart

Dollar Tree has appointed Duncan Mac Naughton as president and COO of its Family Dollar subsidiary.   Mac Naughton, 54, most recently served as CEO of Mills Fleet Farm. He has held numerous leadership roles at Wal-Mart Stores, including chief merchandising and marketing officer of Wal-Mart U.S. from 2011 to 2014, executive VP of consumables health and wellness and Walmart.com from 2010 to 2011, and chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada from 2009 to 2010.  

Holiday online sales surpassed predictions, generating $1 billion daily for the majority of a two-month period.  

As a result of the labor community’s failure to produce critical outcomes it pursued for the presidency, Congress and governorships, unions will be forced to abandon much of the political and legislative agenda they had developed in hopes of a friendly Clinton administration.

As Amazon expands across the globe, enhancing its logistics capabilities as well as adding to the list of perks for its Amazon Prime members, retailers and logistics providers are taking note.

The pressure is on for retailers to not only meet customer expectations, but to also exceed them as differentiation in the retail industry becomes paramount. Amazon has raised the bar for expectations with offers such as same-day delivery and free shipping, and its influence is spreading as it becomes one of the world’s biggest retailers.

A new acquisition gives Walmart an even stronger foothold in the world of e-commerce.   Jet.com, which was purchased by Walmart in September for approximately $3 billion, has acquired online footwear retailer ShoeBuy for approximately $70 million. The purchase expands Jet.com’s footwear offerings, and gives Walmart more firepower in its battle against Amazon, which owns ShoeBuy’s main competitor, Zappos.   The deal closed on Dec. 30.  

Innovation is today’s buzzword. And it was all the talk at Chain Store Age’s X/SPECS 2016, as key executives from some of the nation’s leading retail and restaurant chains zeroed in on real-world strategies designed to innovate stores and elevate customer experiences.

While most retailers reduced traditional advertising spend in favor of digital sources this holiday season, Amazon made an unprecedented move to television.   This was according to the “MediaRadar Trend Report” that examined holiday advertising spend among Amazon, Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, and J.C. Penney, between October and November 2016.    When comparing holiday ad spend by retailer, here is how the companies fared:  

Logistics and supply chain executives from such retail powerhouses as Walmart, Target, Hudson’s Bay Company,  7-Eleven, Neiman Marcus, and The Home Depot will be among the speakers at the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s annual Retail Supply Chain Conference.