Supply Chain & Merchandising

Without a store base to support any fulfillment, pure-play home improvement retailer Build.com lives and dies by efficient product shipping.   Further complicating the retailer’s efforts to provide quality shipping while maintaining reasonable internal costs is the nature of its product assortment.  

Boots, the U.K.-based pharmacy and beauty retailer, and IBM announced that Boots has launched Sales Assist, an IBM MobileFirst for iOS app, across its U.K. stores to make it easier for customers to find the products they need.   Sales Assist is one of the 100-plus enterprise-focused apps that IBM has produced in collaboration with Apple for iPhone and iPad, aimed at a range of specific industries and professions.  

H&M isn’t letting a weak second quarter performance stand in the way of its ambitious expansion plans.   The Swedish retailer’s profit in the quarter, which ended May 31, fell 17% to 5.357 billion Swedish kronor ($649.6 million), according to MarketWatch, as unusually cool weather dimmed sales of spring clothing and a strong U.S. dollar added to its costs. The strong dollar will have a negative impact on purchasing costs for the third quarter and a neutral effect in the fourth, the chain said.  

The latest planned fulfillment center for Amazon.com will have a big impact on operations in the South.   The e-tail giant will open a new 600,000-sq.-ft. facility in Braselton, Georgia. When opened, it will create more than 500 new full-time jobs. Amazon currently has more than 1,500 full-time employees at its existing facilities in the state.   Employees at the Braselton center will pick, pack and ship large items for customers like household décor items, sporting equipment and gardening tools.

The nation’s largest specialty pet supplies retailer is upping its store growth this year.   PetSmart said it expects to open approximately 80 net new stores in fiscal 2016, up from 50 locations in fiscal 2015.     PetSmart is on its way to meeting its goal, having opened 12 net new stores in the United States and Canada during the quarter ended May 1, 2016. The new locations average over 12,000 sq. ft., and include service offerings such as grooming and pet training.  

With all the attention placed on cybercrime, it is easy to overlook the threat posed by old fashioned shoplifters and dishonest employees.  

After 44 years of service, Donna Giordano, president of the Ralphs division of The Kroger Co., is retiring.   Giordano’s retirement from the company will be effective July 23. She joined the company's King Soopers banner as a courtesy clerk in 1972, while still in college, and was named store manager at King Soopers in 1982. Giordano later held various director-level positions in key areas, including advertising, bakery, general merchandise, grocery, and pharmacy.   

Launched in 2013, Drizly facilitates the sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages online. Chain Store Age recently visited the company’s Boston-based headquarters and spoke with Nick Rellas, co-founder and CEO, about Drizly’s business model and the evolution of e-commerce.   What made you decide to enable the online sale and delivery of liquor?