Supply Chain & Merchandising

Montreal - Dollarama Inc. is reporting a significant increase net earnings and sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

 Gross margin improvements and a reduction in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of sales drove net earnings to $95.5 million, up 39% from $68.9 million.

Teaneck, N.J. – Online shopping is here to stay and increasingly occurring across a variety of channels.

According to the sixth annual Shopping Experience Study of more than 5,000 consumers by Cognizant, 64% of respondents said they buy online at least once a month, and 13% make weekly purchases.

Kroger on Thursday announced the appointment of four EVPs to lead key lines of business.  

Arlington, Va. -- A report says that only one in five debit and credit cards are ready for the EMV shift.

As retailers spend billions to upgrade their point of sale terminals to accept new chip cards before the Oct. 1 liability shift deadline, the nation’s largest card network acknowledged that a staggering number of magnetic “swipe” cards have not been replaced with new cards.

Lynnwood, Wash. -- It was tough going for Zumiez Inc. in the second quarter as its profit fell 57% amid increased promotional activity.

The skate and surf apparel retailer reported net income of $3.2 million in the quarter, compared to net income of $7.5 million in the year-ago period. The results included include costs of approximately $0.4 million, for charges associated with the acquisition of Blue Tomato.

Total net sales for the quarter increased 1.8% to $179.8 million, from $176.7 million a year ago.

Berkeley, Calif. - Cheryl Hughes has joined Andronico’s Community Markets as CFO. Recently appointed CEO Suzy Monford leads the all-female team.

Hughes formerly held the role of controller for Chemoil, a global oil trading organization. Prior to this role she was CFO at Pacific Convenience & Fuels based in Pleasanton. Her career in food and retail dates back to her 15-year stint as director of U.S. Finance with Circle K Stores Inc.
 

Markdowns and the costs of expansion hurt Lululemon profits in the second quarter, but the athleisure retailer did post an impressive jump in same store sales.

Austin, Texas – Whole Foods Market and Instacart have officially been partnering for online grocery deliveries for one year, and have moved an impressive amount of merchandise in that time.