Retail

Bentonville, Ark. - Sam’s Club is launching Sam’s Club Travel, a savings-centered online booking service for business and leisure travel needs of Sam’s Club members. The new digital service is a collaboration with wholesale travel services provider Tourico Holidays.

Woods Supermarket improves loss prevention at POS

Cameras at the point of sale have become a routine feature of brick-and-mortar stores. They help ensure that items do not get stolen or accidentally passed through checkout lines without being scanned. But the “tale of the tape” by itself is not always obvious when it comes to detecting and preventing loss at the POS.

“I’ve been a cashier, so I know a cashier can miss something,” said Doug Haworth, director of loss prevention, Woods Supermarket.

Framingham, Mass. - Staples Inc. is offering a new back-to-school 110% price match guarantee. Starting June 29, Staples customers are guaranteed to pay the lowest price every time they shop in store or online. Staples will price match items sold and shipped by Amazon.com or any retailer who sells products in both retail stores and online under the same brand.

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Fast Retailing Co.’s Comptoir des Cotonniers division has launched “Fast Shopping,” which allows European shoppers to purchase items in 20 seconds on their mobile devices via an application from Powa Technologies, London. Shoppers using the PowaTag app can scan items they see on ads in various places to make the purchase and with one click, complete the transaction and have the goods delivered to their home within 48 hours.

Tewksbury, Mass. – Demoulas Supermarkets Inc. has fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. The retailer also fired director of operations Bill Marsden and VP of grocery Joe Rockwell.

Demoulas had been waging a public battle with his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas, a stakeholder and director of the company, about finances. Arthur T. Demoulas has claimed that his cousin seeks to raise prices and lower wages. The cousins have also publicly disagreed about agreements with suppliers and vendors.

 

Retailers employing variety of solutions to reinvent the checkout

The store is generally considered to represent the “last mile” of the retail supply chain. In recent years, retailers have focused on making this final, crucial step as easy and convenient for customers as possible.

As the key cog in the wheel of a retail chain’s financial structure, today’s retail CFOs find themselves caught in the crosshairs of senior management and stakeholders demanding maximum profit and measurable growth amid increased consolidation and tightened revenues.

But that’s nothing new. Financial chiefs have always had to balance profit and loss with expansion strategies.