Supply Chain & Merchandising

Weaker-than-expected demand for guns led to a decrease in same store sales for Sportsman’s Warehouse in the fourth quarter.

The Midvale, Utah-based company’s same store sales declined 5.3% for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Hunting and shooting make up roughly half of Sportsman's Warehouse's sales.

The retailer had net income of $3.2 million, or 8 cents per share, compared to $7.4 million, or 22 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Income from operations dropped to $14.1 million in the latest quarter, versus $16.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Camp Hill, Pa. – Rite Aid’s positive momentum continued in March, with the drugstore chain reporting a 4.3% increase in March overall same-store sales.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 4.1% to $2.026 billion, compared to $1.947 billion for the same period last year. Prescription sales accounted for 69.9% of sales.
 

New York – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly asking suppliers to cut their product costs and also seeking to expand its grocery business. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart is recommending that suppliers forego investing in joint marketing programs with the retailer and use that savings to reduce the price Wal-Mart pays for their goods.
 

Ace Hardware is following the omnichannel retail fulfillment trend of free same-day store pickup for online orders.

The retailer had launched the service at some stores in 2014, but is now rolling it out nationwide.

The program “enables consumers in neighborhoods across the country to complete their home maintenance projects more quickly and easily than they were able to before,” Jeff Gooding, the retailer’s senior director of consumer marketing, said in a statement.

New York -- Technology is both disrupting and revitalizing retail, according to a new report by Fung Business Intelligence Centre Global Retail & Technology (FBIC).

By Rich Thompson, JLL
 
Port problems on the West coast are giving retailers more than just a headache; it’s more like a severe case of sea sickness. But diversifying supply chain strategies can take the edge off.

Sears Holding Corp. is looking to raise more than $2.5 billion by selling its stores to a real estate investment trust.

The REIT, called Seritage Growth Properties, will purchase 254 Sears and Kmart stores for more than $2.5 billion and then lease back the Sears and Kmart stores to Sears Holdings. Seritage will partially fund the transaction through a public rights offering.

What if consumers could just press a button when they run out of Tide detergent or Olay moisturizer? Amazon is seeking to redefine omnichannel retailing by creating commerce channels out of everyday objects. 

The e-commerce giant's latest retail gizmo could forever change how consumers replenish supplies: a branded button called the "Dash Button" that's affixed to an appliance — a coffee maker for coffee, for example, or a washer machine for detergent — and automatically replenishes supplies through Amazon when pressed.