Supply Chain & Merchandising

Macerich, Simon, and Westfield have all signed on for a new service that accepts returns of online purchases at their malls as a way to win a bigger share of Web-shopper’s dollars at their properties.  

The world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart, has eliminated the membership fee on its two-day shipping program ShippingPass – its strongest response yet to the growing dominance of Amazon Prime (which is not estimated to 65 million members worldwide).    

Commentary by Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, comments on J.C. Penney’s fourth quarter:     Although JCP ended its fiscal year with a shrink in sales, it can take some comfort from the fact that the decreases are modest and that it managed to outperform its main department store rivals.  

Raley’s has given COO Keith Knopf the additional title of president.   Raleys owner & CEO, Michael Teel announced the promotion of Knopf, who joined the company nearly two years ago, around the time Teel took majority ownership of the company. Teel will continue to direct the development of Raley’s overall strategic plan.  

Despite a softer sales environment, Foot Locker reported strong fourth quarter earnings — surpassing analyst estimates.   For the fourth quarter ended January 28, 2017, the specialty athletic retailer’s profits hit $189 million, or $1.42 per share, compared with net income of $158 million, or $1.14 per share in the same period of 2015. This exceeded analyst estimates of $1.31 per share.  

Regency Centers has promoted 14-year veteran Michael Mas to managing director of finance. In this role, he will oversee capital markets, co-investment partnerships, investor/lender relations, underwriting, and due diligence of new investments and information technology.   Mas was senior VP of capital markets prior to the promotion and earlier directed financial and operational aspects of joint ventures for the Jacksonville-based owner, operator, and developer of grocery-anchored centers.  

While RH continued to make investments to transform its business model, these efforts impacted the company’s preliminary fourth quarter earnings.   The furniture and housewares company, which officially changed its name from Restoration Hardware to RH last month, posted net income of $8.75 million, or 21 cents per share, for the quarter ended January 28, 2017. This was a drop from $33.3 million in fourth quarter 2015. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 68 cents per share, beating analyst estimates of 65 cents per share.

Digital transformation is CEOs’ number one priority this year.   To make this a reality, chief executives are investing their capital in the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, and augmented reality, according to “CEO Viewpoint 2017: The Transformation of Retail,” a report from JDA Software Group and PwC.