Supply Chain & Merchandising

Kip Tindell, chairman and CEO of The Container Store, is giving up his CEO title. He will continue as chairman of the company, which he co-founded in 1978..

While some retailers focus on the promise of the Store of Tomorrow, others are using leading-edge technologies to deliver the Store of Today — offering unparalleled customer experience that drives satisfaction, traffic, frequency of visits, and sales. How do they do it?

A company that achieved global fame for its simple glazed doughnuts has been acquired by the owners of a growing coffee empire. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has agreed to be acquired by JAB Beech Inc., a unit of German investment firm JAB Holding Company, for about $1.35 billion. The deal, which would take Krispy Kreme private, is the most recent in a string of purchases by JAB Holdings, including its acquisition in late 2015 of single-serve coffee maker Keurig Green Mountain.

Traditional supermarket retailers are facing competition on all fronts, from online pure players, discount grocery chains and from the extreme-value general merchandise retailers (dollar stores). While dollar stores remain a niche segment, consumables are becoming a more important part of the sector, according to a report on forbes.com.

BJ's Wholesale Club has appointed Lee Delaney as executive VP, chief growth officer, effective May 9.

Delaney will be responsible for the company's merchandising and supply chain organization.

Prior to joining BJ's, Delaney was a partner in the Boston office of Bain & Company, and a leader in the firm's consumer products practice.

Prior to joining Bain in 1996, he worked for Electronic Data Systems and Deloitte Consulting advising clients on a variety of engagements.

Michaels Companies will unveil a 26,500-sq.-ft. Pat Catan’s Crafts and Floral store on May 13 – the first opening since Michaels acquired Pat Catan’s parent company earlier this year.

The e-commerce giant has entered into an agreement with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings for Atlas to operate 20 Boeing Co. cargo planes for Amazon. Atlas Air will operate the 20 converted freighters for Amazon on leases from seven to 10 years. “We are excited to welcome a great provider, Atlas Air, to support package delivery to the rapidly growing number of Prime members who love ultra-fast delivery, great prices and vast selection from Amazon,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior VP of worldwide operations.

Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea is testing a mobile application feature that generates QR codes for the products in shoppers’ carts to help speed up checkout, according to a report by mobilecommercedaily.com.

The program eliminates the need for users to scan multiple items at checkout, according to the report.