Retail

A little more than a month into his new job as chief merchandising officer at Family Dollar, Jason Reiser is refocusing the retailer on its discount store roots and what it means to serve cash-strapped shoppers.

Overstock.com SVP Stephen Tryon has resigned from his position to pursue interests related to his book, "Accountability Citizenship."

Demand forecasting, inventory allocation and replenishment — the unsung building blocks of every successful retail enterprise — have gained a new level of respect with retailers striving to deliver the omnichannel experience shoppers demand.

Government regulators tend to complicate retailers’ lives more often than not, but one federal agency is winning praise from a key trade group for its common sense approach to compliance.

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Notice of Data Availability (NODA) as part of its process to improve existing regulations that have been applied to the handling of unsold or returned consumer products at retail facilities. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) released the following statement today in response to EPA’s notice.

Rick Herring, president of Ahold USA’s Giant Carlisle Division, plans to retire, effective Feb. 14.

Herring has been at Ahold for nearly 25 years and the company credits him with having made many contributions to the organization.

“We would like to thank Rick for his numerous contributions to our companies, as well as for his leadership, dedication and years of service," stated James McCann, Ahold USA COO. "We wish him all the best in this next phase of his life and career.”

Kirkland’s reported improved year-over-year net sales for the full fiscal year 2014 but a decrease in the fourth quarter, thanks to severe weather-related declines in traffic throughout December, which affected important weekend sales days.

Net sales increased 2.7% to $460.6 million during fiscal 2014, compared with $448.4 million the prior fiscal year, while same-store sales rose 0.5%.

During the fourth quarter, net sales decreased 4.2% to $156.1 million, compared with $162.9 million in the previous fourth quarter. Same-store sales were flat.

Walmart is marking the 20th anniversary of its entry into Canada this year by spending big bucks to expand physical stores and distribution capacity while devoting a much smaller portion of a $500 million budget to e-commerce.

Walmart said it would spend close to $500 million in Canada this year with $376 million of that amount dedicated to 35 supercenter projects totaling one million square feet of new selling space. Walmart currently operates 389 stores in Canada, of which 247 are supercenters. By year end it expects to have 395 stores of which 282 will be supercenters.

Shopko is leveraging social media to tout its expanded brand assortment. The retailer is holding an eight-week Facebook giveaway offering participants a chance to win prize packages featuring some of the national brands it carries.

Now through March 28, customers can enter to win a Rachael Ray cookware set, Dyson upright vacuum, SodaStream, Keurig coffee maker, Crock Pot, Ninja kitchen system, KitchenAid stand mixer or Shark steam mop.