Supply Chain & Merchandising

New York -- Applied Predictive Technologies announced that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will license APT's Test & Learn software to test business initiatives such as menu strategies, pricing, and capital investments.  

London -- Challenged to grow in the U.S., teen apparel chain American Eagle Outfitters is making good on its pledge to leverage the overseas market to kickstart expansion.   

Chicago -- Accounting for over a third of grocery retailers' total sales, promotions are a top priority. Recognizing the profit potential, Australian retailer Woolworths prioritized the implementation of process improvements that would promote efficiency through its promotional strategies.  

The online grocery channel, while a minor part of FMCG/CPG sales in the U.S. currently, is widely anticipated to be a primary driver of growth for the category in the coming years. And the emergence of this channel can’t happen too soon - total dollar sales for FMCG/CPG products increased just 1.5% last year according to IRI. But change is coming.

HHgregg CEO Dennis May said the retailer is approaching Black Friday differently this year, including opening its stores earlier than Best Buy on Thanksgiving Day and offering 40% storewide discounts.

HHgregg will open its stores at 4 p.m. on the holiday, an hour earlier than Best Buy and two hours earlier than most other retailers who plan to open Thanksgiving Day. The retailer also said its Black Friday Now promotion will begin Nov. 20 and run through Nov. 29 and will offer up to 40% off all items in the store.

New York -- A 2014 Kelly Scott Madison Holiday Shopping Study revealed that the top concerns for consumers this holiday season are shipping costs and online security, as 71% of respondents ranked both as top-of-mind.   Other findings focused on timing and returns:  

Spanx, one of the hottest brands in retail, named finance executive Dan Glennon to the new role of COO and CFO to help drive growth at the leading shapewear brand.

Glennon will lead the cross functional teams of global finance, legal, information technology, sourcing, manufacturing and planning as well as data and analytics. He will report directly to Spanx CEO Jan Singer.

Seattle -- Nordstrom has surpassed Wall Street estimates with an unexpected jump in profit and sales for the quarter ended Nov. 1.   The department store retailer reported a profit of $142 million for the third quarter, up from $137 million in the year-ago period.   Sales jumped 9% to $3.14 billion, beating the expected $3.11 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 3.9%.