Convenience Stores

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Starbucks has launched its first-ever animated web series — with the help of some veteran comedy writers. 

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.

CVS Health has embarked on a three-step streamlining initiative with a goal of saving approximately $3 billion from 2017 to 2021.     Two-thirds of the savings will be seen in CVS’s retail/long-term care segment, with the remaining one-third of savings seen in the pharmacy benefits manager category.        

Love’s Travel Stops is known for its fresh restaurant offerings, so ensuring food quality throughout the supply chain is paramount.   By adding a food temperature monitoring and task logging system from Digi International, the convenience store chain is simplifying employee tasks, and ensuring public health compliance.   

The past year brought with it seismic shifts as the retail industry continued to adapt to the evolving digital landscape and changing shopping habits. It also brought with it a changing of the guard, as many companies anointed new leaders to steer their ships in a transformed marketplace.    Here are six newly arrived (or soon to arrive) CEOs to keep an eye on in 2017:    Jeff Gennette, Macy’s Inc.

Lidl has made bold moves this week in preparation of its upcoming United States launch.   The company has acquired the site of an industrial building in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood, which could be the chain’s first location in Philadelphia, according to philly.com.   

Sears is taking the saying, “it is better to give than to receive” to heart.   Coinciding with its “Season of Wishes” holiday campaign, the department store chain is rewarding shoppers at Sears Hometown and outlet stores who donate $5 to Make-A-Wish with a “Very Merry Santa Sale” pass for an extra discount between Dec. 15 and Dec. 24.   

When the Northern Lights Center in Anchorage, Alaska, was owned by folksy former governor Wally Hickel, things were good for Title Wave Books. The midtown neighborhood was in decline, rent was cheap, and husband-and-wife owners Julie Drake and Steve Lloyd were able to make a living from their low-margin inventory.  

It would appear that news accounts of Amazon’s plans to opens thousands of grocery stores are greatly overblown — at least for the time being.     Amazon’s brick-and-mortar fledgling initiatives have been in the spotlight in recent weeks with the opening of its checkout-less convenience store, Amazon Go, in Seattle. Last week, some reports had the e-commerce giant planning to open 2,000 grocery stores.     

President-elect Donald Trump will name Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as labor secretary, according to several media reports.   Puzder, whose company operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger retail chains, has argued against raising the minimum wage to more than $9 per hour. He also has been an advocate of cutting back or eliminating regulations he claims have been a detriment to the restaurant industry and has been critical of the Affordable Care Act.