Supply Chain & Merchandising

Walmart is leveraging its mighty store network to gain a competitive advantage over Amazon for last-minute holiday shoppers.    The discount retailer announced Tuesday it will offer shoppers a Christmas Eve store pickup commitment for eligible orders placed online by 6 p.m. local time on Dec. 23.   

Lowe's Canada has made some strides since it acquired RONA Inc. in May.   At the time, the company had made a number of promises to RONA stakeholders, including that it would maintain RONA's multiple retail banner strategy, its local and ethical procurement strategy, and the vast majority of its employees and senior executives. It also promised to enhance distribution services to affiliate dealers, among other things.  

Neiman Marcus Group doubled its loss in its first quarter amid sliding sales.   The luxury department store retailer posted a net loss of $23.5 million in its first quarter, ended Oct. 29, compared to a loss of $10.5 million in the year-ago period.    Sales fell 7.4% to $1.08 billion, from $1.16 billion last year.   Same-store sales fell 8%. It was the fifth straight quarter of decline.  

A mixed bag of activity for the second week of December indicates that weekends — and perfectly timed promotions — will make or break the remainder of holiday e-commerce sales.  

Lidl has made bold moves this week in preparation of its upcoming United States launch.   The company has acquired the site of an industrial building in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood, which could be the chain’s first location in Philadelphia, according to philly.com.   

A recent Washington Post article pointed out that Anthropologie posted four straight quarters of flat or declining comparable sales and J. Crew saw comparable sales drop 10% in the last year. Banana Republic has seen a decline in comparable sales for the past 13 months, including a staggering 14% plunge in July. Weak sales numbers have also plagued Gap and Ann Taylor.  

Nordstrom is making it even easier for its online customers to pick out the perfect holiday gift.   Through its partnership with CashStar, the department store chain now features Product eGifting, a platform that enables customers to visit Nordstrom.com, select a gift and send it, along with a personal message, via email. Shoppers select a product and enter the recipient’s email to send the e-gift. Recipients receive an email that contains a personal message and gift description.   

Retailers will engage new channels, “geek up” their stores, and use technology to refine inventory management and anticipate customer desires in 2017.   That’s according to Software AG, which released a list of six disruptive digital trends retailers must address in 2017. Here’s a recap: