Supply Chain & Merchandising

Amid continued market share growth by Amazon and a rapidly changing digital environment, traditional retail profitability metrics are under siege and not sustainable.   

Nordstrom’s longtime CFO is stepping down.    Nordstrom announced that executive VP and CFO Mike Koppel has decided to retire from the company in spring 2017. Koppel will remain in his role until then to support the search for a new CFO and assist with his successor's transition.    Koppel joined Nordstrom in 1999 and has been the company's finance head since 2001.  

Google is expanding the reach of its online delivery service.   Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 25, Google Express is now available in another 13 states, according to USA Today. Shoppers access the online marketplace via Google’s web site or through an app. Deliveries, which are made by third party delivery companies, arrive within two days.   

Relatively slow supply chains are hindering department stores’ ability to compete effectively in today’s retail market.     

Optimizing shipments between warehouses and customers homes is not an easy task.    For Ashley Furniture this process becomes even more complex as it continues to create more efficient means to manages more than 7,000 storekeeping units (SKUs) filtering through the company’s retail network, which is comprised of 660 Ashley HomeStore locations in 35 countries.  

Looking to attract shoppers in what is expected to be a highly competitive season, Best Buy is waiving online shipping fees.   For the second year in a row, the electronics retailer is offering free shipping on all online purchases — with no minimum threshold — made during the holiday shopping season. The perk will run between Oct. 25, and Jan. 2. Best Buy typically charges a fee for all orders below $35.  

A spat with a toy vendor could make for a difficult holiday shopping season for Sears Holdings.   Due to claims of financial difficulties, reports claim that toy manufacturer Jakks Pacific has halted sales of its Star Wars and Disney Princess toys, among other merchandise, to “a major U.S. customer," which was presumed by some to be Kmart, according to CNBC.  

Target’s voluntary recall is helping keep Halloween safe for young children.   The mass merchandiser recalled 127,000 Halloween-themed LED gel window “clings” because of the choking hazard they pose to children. The decals, an easy and affordable way to decorate windows and glass doors, light up when a dedicated button is pressed.