Supermarket/Grocery

Publix continues to demonstrate that its customers indeed find that shopping there is a pleasure, judging by the grocery chain's first quarter results.

Publix’s sales for the first quarter of 2015 were $8.3 billion, a 6.8% increase from last year’s $7.8 billion. Same store sales increased 5.3%. Net earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were $548.9 million, compared to $493.7 million in 2014, an increase of 11.2%. Earnings per share for the first quarter increased to $0.71 for 2015, up from $0.63 per share in 2014. T

Greenboro, N.C. – The Fresh Market Inc. has elected Michael D. Casey, CEO and a director of Carter’s Inc., and Robert K. Shearer, formerly CFO of V.F. Corp, and currently a director of Church & Dwight Co. Inc., as independent directors. With these additions, The Fresh Market’s board has nine directors, eight of whom are independent directors.

Operational changes keep coming at Walmart with another round of senior executive moves – and several retirements – announced late Friday that involve some familiar leaders in new roles focused on supercenters, small format and the rollout of grocery home shopping.

Sunbury, Pa. – A reduction in pretax income drove an 11% year-over-year decline in net income at Weis Markets Inc. during the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income fell to $13.11 million, from $14.77 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Net sales fared better, rising 4% to $712.43 million, from $687.13 million. Same-store sales rose 3.4%.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shuffling a number of key executives and also tinkering with its organizational structure. Veteran Wal-Mart operator Mike Moore, who currently serves as executive VP of the 613-unit Neighborhood Market division, will transition to a new executive VP role with oversight of Wal-Mart’s much larger 3,421-unit supercenter operation in the U.S.

Assuming Moore’s previous position is Wal-Mart West executive VP Julie Murphy.

The CEO of Carter's Inc. and the former CFO of V.F. Corp. have joined the board of directors at the Fresh Market.

Michael D. Casey, CEO and a director of Carter’s Inc., and Robert K. Shearer, formerly CFO of V.F. Corp., have been named as independent directors effective May 1. With these additions, the Fresh Market’s Board has nine directors, eight of whom are independent directors.

By Jessica Lee, senior manager of mobile, HelloWorld

Front-end omnichannel success relies on back-end fulfillment

The front-end promise of omnichannel retail cannot be delivered without investment in back-end technology and processes that allow fulfillment of orders across multiple channels. Retailers must eliminate internal silos and obtain real-time awareness of their full inventory.

Omnichannel fulfillment is a difficult, but not impossible, task.