Supply Chain & Merchandising

Duluth Trading Company has promoted Stephanie Pugliese to president and chief executive officer.

Pugliese is a former executive with Ann Taylor and Lands’ End.

The previous CEO and principal owner of Duluth Trading, Steve Schlecht, will continue as the company’s executive chairman. Pugliese’s appointment is effective immediately.

Mississauga, Canada – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly expanding its Canadian operation, even as chief rival Target is exiting the country after spending $4 billion in an effort to open stores there. According to the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart plans to spend $270 million on building 29 new Canadian supercenters and an expanded distribution network to support them.

Bentonville, Ark. – Phoenix area consumers have a new option for online grocery shopping, at least for now. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Wal-Mart is piloting an online grocery service in and around Phoenix.

Charlotte, N.C. - Belk Inc. has named Scott Kessler as CIO, effective immediately. Kessler, who will report to John R. Belk, president and COO, has served as Belk’s senior VP of omnichannel solutions delivery since March 2014.
 
Prior to that role, Kessler has more than 20 years of IT experience, nearly 10 years of which was with GSI Commerce Solutions where he was senior VP of products technology.

New York -- Shipping operations will be suspended at U.S. West Coast ports over the coming long weekend, the Pacific Maritime Association announced Wednesday. The planned shut down comes amid  stalled labor talks between the companies and the union representing 20,000 dockworkers.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has inked a deal with a cloud management firm to improve its operational efficiency and cost competitiveness.

Minneapolis -- Shorenstein Properties LLC announced Sports Authority signed a lease for 21,877 sq. ft. at Minneapolis City Center.
 
Sports Authority has ten stores in the Minneapolis area but this marks the company’s first store in downtown Minneapolis.  The store is expected to open in fall 2015.

Discontinuing tobacco sales a year ago may have been the right thing to do for CVS Health, but the company’s fourth quarter results offer other retailers contemplating a similar move a glimpse of the short term impact on sales.

Non-pharmacy front of store same store sales at CVS Health locations declined 7.2% during the fourth quarter but would have registered a slight increase were it not for an 800 basis point negative impact associated with lost sale of tobacco and related products.