Mass Merchant

VALHALLA, N.Y. — Fujifilm North America has earned Walmart's "Vendor of the Year" award for its photo-finishing services in the mass-merchandise retailer's stores, Fujifilm said.

The company, a division of Japan-based Fujifilm, said it received the award in the photo-finishing category at Walmart's Supplier Summit in Orlando, Fla., last month. Fujifilm said the award recognized its manufacturing, quality and distribution capabilities.

By Greg Munves, [email protected]

If you’re like many mid-level or tier one retailers, online or brick-and-mortar, you’ve probably made a significant investment in Big Data, capturing and analyzing customer buying patterns across your business. You may not realize, however, that this huge IT investment can actually be a profit center, if you sell your data back upstream to your suppliers.
 

Boulder, Colo. -- In survey results released Wednesday by Market Force Information, DSW was named America’s No. 1 shoe retailer by more than 4,000 consumers polled.

Nordstrom, Nike, Shoe Carnival and Famous Footwear rounded out the top five.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens reported Wednesday that sales for the month of March increased 2.3% to $6.2 billion.

Total front-end sales increased 5.4% compared with the same month in fiscal 2012, while same-store front-end sales increased 4.2%. Front-end sales will have benefited from a March 31 Easter — last year Easter sales fell in April. As a result Walgreens said it will report combined comps for March and April with its April sales results.
 

Staples named former Walmart.com CEO Raul Vasquez to serve on its the board of directors.

Vazquez currently serves as CEO and a director of Progreso Financiero, financial services firm focused on serving the needs of "under-banked" Hispanic customers. The election of directors at Staples will take place at the company’s annual meeting on June 3.

New York -- Staples named former Walmart.com CEO Raul Vazquez to serve on its the board of directors.

Vazquez currently serves as CEO and a director of Progreso Financiero, financial services firm focused on serving the needs of "under-banked" Hispanic customers. The election of directors at Staples will take place at the company’s annual meeting on June 3.

Hilton Head Island, S.C. -- Joint-venture partners Kroger Real Estate and Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial announced Wednesday the launch of construction on the Shelter Cove Towne Centre, a 42-acre mixed-use development on Hilton Head Island, featuring the debut of Kroger Marketplace on the Island.

New York -- Best Buy Co. Inc. and Target Corp. ended a partnership that positioned Geek Squad agents in Target stores in Denver and Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The six-month pilot allowed Geek Squad personnel to offer services such as installation and repair to electronics customers at 29 Target stores. The program covered a wide range of consumer electronics products, according to the report.