Supply Chain & Merchandising

Millions of people worldwide will be surprised and delighted to receive a little blue box this holiday season, but a strong U.S.

The growth streak at Citi Trends came to a halt in the third quarter, as the urban retailer posted a drop in same store sales.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, same store sales decreased 0.5%. Net income was $0.6 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(2.2) million, or $(0.15) per diluted share, in last year’s third quarter. 

A key figure in the development of Walmart’s small format Neighborhood Market and international operations has joined the board of asset disposal firm Liquidity Services.

Ed Kolodzieski joined the board of Liquidity Services effective Nov. 17 and also serves on the company’s compensation and governance committees. Liquidity Services bills itself as a global solution provider in the reverse supply chain with the world’s largest marketplace for business surplus.

Kmart is adding new features to its app aimed at holiday shoppers, including real-time, opt-in push notifications of exclusive online Bluelight Specials.

Chico's FAS blamed the holiday calendar and a volatile stock market for its disappointing financial results in the third quarter.

GameStop forecast an exceptionally wide range of same store sales possibilities during the fourth quarter following weaker than expected third quarter results.

Over the past 15 years or so, fast-fashion has evolved from a trend to a phenomenon to an industry standard — one that has largely redefined the U.S. apparel retailing landscape.

From home-grown Forever 21 to Swedish import H&M, the market is awash in stores offering cheap, on-trend clothes at low prices. And now another import has entered the mix, Primark, which opened its first U.S. store in September, in Boston, the first of eight initial locations.

Retail cloud technology deployments have been getting a lot of attention lately. However, the most publicized retail uses of cloud technology tend to be flashy, front-end implementations. For example, cloud platforms are frequently deployed to support the seamless customer experience that underpins omnichannel retail strategies. But the cloud is not just suited to running customer-facing systems. Cloud technology can also serve as an ideal platform for back-end systems and functions, such as workforce management.