Supply Chain & Merchandising

Ahold USA first quarter sales were up 4% to $8.2 billion. Excluding gas, sales increased 4.1% at constant exchange rates. The addition of 25 A&P stores in the New York Metro market in fourth quarter 2015 was the main contributor to the overall sales growth and resulted in an overall market share improvement in both dollars and volume, Ahold reported.

A new report from HRC Advisory finds that retailers’ online sales are eroding in-store sales and taking a big bite out of retail profitability. Chain Store Age editor Marianne Wilson spoke with Antony Karabus, CEO, HRC Advisory, about the study and its implications for retailers. 

What did you find most surprising in the study findings?

With a fast-growing $1.5 trillion grocery market, China is the ultimate prize for Wal-Mart, according to an Associated Press report. But the retailer will have to adapt to succeed in what it is a very different marketplace than America.

“If the Arkansas-based company wants to win over foreign consumers, it has to shed some of its American ways, and cater to very different customs and conventions that are fast changing,” the report said.

A company named after the first reptile to develop the feather for flight is opening freestanding stores.
 
Arc’teryx Equipment, a Canadian manufacturer and retailer of high-performance outdoor apparel and equipment, will open a store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood this July. It will follow that up with a store in Chicago’s Buckhead neighborhood in August, and one at Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall in October, giving it a total of 11 locations.

The long-drawn out battle over the merger of Staples and Office Depot has claimed its first victim.

Staples chairman and CEO Ron Sargent will step down after the chain’s annual shareholders meeting on June 14. His exit comes just weeks after a federal judge struck down Staples’ proposed acquisition of rival Office Depot. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/staples-and-office-depot-call-merger-wake-ruling
 

Letting customers pick up online orders at physical stores may be a hot retail trend, but Target has reportedly decided to terminate a test of the offering.

Ulta Beauty turned in what could be the best retail performance of the first quarter, posting strong brick-and-mortar and online growth and results that easily topped estimates. The company boosted its guidance for the year.    Ulta’s net sales for the quarter, ended May 2, surged 23.7% to $1.07 billion, up from $868.1 million in the year-ago period, and surpassing estimates for $1.03 billion. E-commerce sales shot up 38.8% to $61.0 million from $44.0 million last year.  

Another value retailer has posted a stellar first quarter, outshining traditional department stores and many specialty stores. Big Lots Inc. surpassed Wall Street expectations with net income and revenue performance that one major presidential candidate might term “huge.”