Supply Chain & Merchandising

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market reported that its net income rose a better-than-expected 5.8% to $128 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 28, 2014, from $121 million in the year-ago period.  The company also said it plans to open 38 to 42 stores, including five to six relocations, in fiscal 2015. 

Robert Bacchi, Choice Logistics’ SVP of information systems has been named the company’s EVP and chief information officer.  Bacchi will continue to report to Michael Katz, CEO of Choice.

Jackson, Miss. -- Kate Spade New York and Lululemon Athletica are both opening their first permanent Mississippi locations, as Chestnut Hill, Mass.-based WS Development announced the retailers’ grand opening plans at Highland Village in Jackson, Miss.  

The Houston suburb of Richmond is home to Sam’s Club’s 80th location in Texas following the opening of a new unit there on Thursday, Nov. 6.

Sam’s Club now operates 20 clubs in the sprawling Houston market and the 80 clubs the retailer operates in Texas account for more than 12% of the 643 Sam’s Clubs in operation nationwide as of September 30.

Dan McNutt, Retail, Exel   With the holiday season right around the corner, the coveted shopping season is even closer with Black Friday and Cyber Monday merely weeks away. In years past, holiday shopping was targeted to brick and mortar, Black Friday foot traffic, but with the steady boom in e-commerce, the shopping frenzy is now taking place in the digital world as well.  

ALDI is accelerating its growth and dramatically increasing its presence in the Northeast with the acquisition of 66 Bottom Dollar Food stores from Delhaize Group.

Delhaize said it reached an agreement to sell its 66 Bottom Dollar stores in the greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets for $15 million and associated lease liabilities. Delhaize said it would take an asset impairment charge of $180 million in conjunction with the sale.

Chicago -- The marketing chiefs of U.S. retailers are optimistic about the upcoming holiday season, forecasting a solid 4.1% increase in overall holiday store sales, according to a recent BDO USA survey. The projection is in line with the National Retail Federation’s 4.1% expected holiday sales increase, and is a full percentage point higher than actual retail sales gains in the 2013 season.

Brussels, Belgium -- Delhaize Group has signed an agreement to sell its Bottom Dollar Food stores to deep-discount grocer Aldi Inc. for approximately $15 million, including the assumption of associated lease liabilities. The transaction, which involves  66 Bottom Dollar stores in the greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets, is expected to result in an asset impairment and other charges for Delhaize Group of approximately $180 million.