Retail

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will hold its annual shareholders meeting on June 6.

The meeting will be at Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus at Fayetteville.

Leiden, Netherlands – Ikea Group reported progress in its “People and Planet Positive” sustainability strategy during fiscal year 2013. Highlights include:

• Sold 22.4 million LED products, including 12.3 million LED bulbs.

• Ikea Group has committed to own 137 wind turbines and installed 550,000 solar panels, taking the company closer to producing more renewable energy than the total energy it uses by 2020.

The Home Depot has opened a new direct fulfillment center (DFC) in the Locust Grove suburb of Atlanta.

It is the first of three new DFCs the company will open across the U.S. in the next two years, adding more than 3 million sq. ft. and approximately 1,000 jobs to its supply chain. The new distribution centers will increase the number of orders the company can ship the day they are received, increasing the speed of delivery for HomeDepot.com orders.

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Silver Jeans Co. will open a store at Woodfield Mall on April 11, in Schaumburg, Ill.

"We put a lot of work into making sure the store environment represents our brand," says Michael Silver, CEO, Silver Jeans Co. "Consumers will be able to experience our brand values by visiting one of our lofts. We've created an environment that has a comfortable modern feeling but also lets our guests know that we're a historic brand with a rich 92-year history."

Waconia, Minn. - Mackenthun's Supermarket hopes to gain insight into shopper behavior through analyzing scans performed with the ShopWell nutrition personalization app. Shopper preferences and behaviors can now be segmented by gender, age, food allergies, or nutritional goals.

Omnichannel is omnipresent in conversations throughout our industry. I heard the term — and the angst, confusion, tests and even some initial successes around it — again and again at NRF’s 2014 BIG Show. In many cases, delivering on omnichannel is a tall order, requiring significant soul-searching for retailers in terms of what it means to them and their customers, often followed by equally significant investments in fundamental areas such as inventory management and customer relationship management systems.

Pittsburgh – Same-store sales at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. rose 6% during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, unshifted for the 53rd week in fiscal 2012. The same-store sales results compare to guidance provided in November 2013 for a 2% to 3% increase on an unshifted basis.

Supervalu plans to host its first-ever national sales expo, Sales 4 All Seasons, this summer.