Supply Chain & Merchandising

SAN BRUNO, Calif.- It was a very busy Monday—Cyber Monday to be more specific— for Walmart. The discounter said  that Cyber Monday 2014 (Dec. 1) was the biggest online day in its history for orders. Customers viewed more than 1.5 billion pages on Walmart.com between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.

In a move to showcase its advanced shipping capabilities to holiday shoppers Amazon.com is touting the finer points of its eighth generation fulfillment centers.

The online giant said its eighth generation fulfillment centers embody two decades worth of software and mechanical innovations including extensive robotics technology from Kiva Systems, a company Amazon acquired several years ago.

Evansville, Ind. – Net income dipped to $10.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $10.9 million the same period the prior fiscal year. Net sales fared better, climbing 7% to $254.69 million from $235.77 million, ahead of previously issued guidance.

Just a few weeks after taking over several regional bedding companies, Mattress Firm reported profits of $15.6 million or 45 cents per share, compared to $18.1 million or 53 cents per share for the year-ago quarter. Sales for the third quarter increased 42.3% to $464 million from $326 million a year ago, reflecting same-store sales growth of 8.5%.

HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster will report to HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman.

Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as EVP and chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.

St. Petersburg, Fla. - HSN Inc. has named Jeffrey Kuster as president of Cornerstone and executive officer of HSNi. Kuster, 48, has held various leadership positions in the apparel, fashion and retail industries, most recently as executive VP, chief marketing and strategy officer for Berkshire Hathaway's Fruit of the Loom.  

BOSTON - Discount Tire has selected OneView Commerce to enhance the retailer’s “customer for life” brand experience in its more than 875 stores nationwide.  

The world's largest retailer reported a robust Black Friday weekend — including record online sales — as part of its kickoff to the 2014 holiday sales season.

“In a few short hours, we flipped from being the largest grocery store in town to the best gift shop on the block," said Laura Phillips, SVP of merchandising at Walmart. "Not only did we have millions of customers shopping our stores, but we’re confident Walmart was the first stop of the night for most of them."