Supply Chain & Merchandising

The nation’s largest supermarket operator reported profit that surpassed Wall Street expectations and raised its annual forecast.

Following its launch of delivery to the Empire State Building in October, Starbucks is offering one-hour delivery in a new, larger location.

Starbucks is partnering with on-demand delivery service Postmates for a pilot program where customers in Seattle can have food or beverages delivered to them within designated areas. The offering is an extension of the Starbucks mobile order and pay feature on its app.

Everything old is new again at American Eagle Outfitters, apparently with good reason.

The teen apparel retailer on Wednesday named Jay L. Schottenstein as CEO,  effective immediately.   Schottenstein, who has served as interim chief  since January 2014, will also continue in his role as executive chairman of the board. The news of  his appointment came as the retailer reported a strong increase in its third quarter earnings.  It was the chain’s third consecutive quarter of increased sales and profits.

The nation’s largest supermarket operator reported profit that surpassed Wall Street expectations and raised its annual forecast.

Kroger Co.’s third-quarter earnings rose 18% to $428 million.

Revenue inched up 0.4% to $25.08 billion for the quarter, ended Nov. 7. missing Street forecasts of $25.22 billion. Kroger cited lower fuel prices as impacting sales.

Same-store sales, excluding fuel, rose 5.4%, more than expected. It was the chain’s 48th consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales growth (excluding fuel.)

Retailers and academics are coming together to help drive continuing innovation in digital retailing.

“Our main mission is the advancement of digital retail through collaboration among academic and retail partners,” said Richard Last, senior director of the Global Digital Retail Research Center at the University of North Texas, during an interview with Chain Store Age.

Amazon.com is noted for a focus on operational efficiency that is intense, to say the least. However, as the Seattle Times reports, Amazon consistently ranks near the top of customer service rankings by using customer service agents and technologies to ensure customer satisfaction, not rapid turnover. [Seattle Times]

Ulta Beauty's formula of one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon beauty products continued to produce impressive sales growth in the third quarter.

Express continues to make all the right moves, reporting better than expected results for its third quarter and raising its 2015 outlook.