Sales & Marketing

Advanced omnichannel retailing is not just for big chains anymore.

Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply, a Bozeman, Montana-based specialty retailer with 30 stores in the upper Midwest, has implemented Kibo’s order management platform to provide real-time local inventory availability and omnichannel fulfillment capabilities within its new retail website.

With an existing e-commerce presence, Murdoch’s saw Kibo’s solution as an opportunity to better serve its customers and create a seamless online and offline experience.

Consumers are generally willing to use mobile apps to assist with grocery shopping, and there is one retailer whose app is the clear favorite.

According to a new study from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions,’ “How Grocery Shoppers Shop: Changing Trends in Grocery Shopping,” the top used grocery app among U.S. consumers by a wide margin is Amazon (71%). This is followed by grocery store apps (28%), Walmart (26%) and Target (25%). Third-party savings apps are not used much, with use in the low single digits for the grocery channel.

Retailing Today sister publication Chain Store age announced the winners of its first annual Breakout Retailer Awards, which honors emerging retail/restaurant concepts that are innovative in their segment and show strong potential for growth.

Fourth quarter sales at CVS Health surged 11% to $41.1 billion, enabling the operator of nearly 10,000 stores to surpass a significant annual sales milestone.

The company opened 53 new retail stores and acquired 1,672 pharmacies from Target to end the year with 9,655 retail stores, including pharmacies in Target stores, and annual sales of $153.3 billion, an increase of 10%.

Old Navy, the division that has been performing the best for Gap Inc. for years, suffered a serious sales slump in the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Gap Inc.’s net sales were $4.39 billion compared with $4.71 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Same-store sales at Gap Inc. were down 7% versus positive 2% last year. Same-store sales by global brand for the fourth quarter were as follows:

• Gap Global: negative 3% versus negative 6% last year

Transition versus transformation. Evolution versus revolution. These strategies inherently plague the retail sector as companies decide what to do next to stay ahead of the curve.

It’s a matter of checks.

Burberry Group Plc on Tuesday filed suit against J. C. Penney Co., accusing the U.S. retailer of trademark infringement regarding the high-end brand’s signature "Burberry check" pattern, which dates back to the 1920s.

In a U.S. district court in Manhattan, Burberry claimed that Penney illegally sold "quilted jackets" with the pattern, as well as "scarf coats" in which scarves carrying the pattern were sold with matching coats, Reuters reported.

Fourth quarter sales at CVS Health surged 11% to $41.1 billion, enabling the operator of nearly 10,000 stores to surpass a significant annual sales milestone.