Supply Chain & Merchandising

Boston -- The current use of social media data by retailers for merchandise planning is limited, with only 39% using it for product development and only 35% using it for promotional planning.

Coca-Cola Life, a new reduced-calorie beverage with a blend of cane sugar and stevia leaf extract, is hitting the stores nationwide. 

Coca-Cola Life addresses the health concerns over sugary sodas.  The green-labeled can or bottle contains 35% fewer calories than Coca Cola Classic and is said to taste closer to the original than Diet Coke, which is sweetened with aspartame.  

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot on Tuesday reported better-than-expected results for third quarter and raised its outlook for the year.    The retailer posted a profit of $29 million  for the third quarter compared with $133 million in the year-ago quarter. The previous-year quarter included a gain on the sale of the Office Depot de Mexico joint venture.   Sales grew 55% to $4.07 billion, fueled by the addition of OfficeMax.

Like an inconsiderate party guest, Old Man Winter arrived early this year, bringing his trusty cohorts snow, ice, wind and rain. The first official day of winter is still a month away, but many parts of the United States are feeling the freeze, especially in the Northern Plains, where snow fell 11 days before summer officially ended. If that is any indication of the upcoming season, retailers could be in for a long and brutal winter.

Winter Forecast

For many, winter is a magical time of the year.

Minneapolis -- Tuesday Corp. announced that it planned to close 11 stores as of Feb. 1, 2015, citing performance issues.  

Clearwater, Fla. - Net income at MarineMax Inc. fell 2% to $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 from $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. Damages received in connection to the 2010 Deepwater oil spill during the fourth quarter of 2013 helped produce a year-over-year decline in MarineMax’s net income.   Revenue grew 10% to $164.1 million from $149.7 million. Same-store sales increased approximately 10%.   

Boston -- The current use of social media data by retailers for merchandise planning is limited, with only 39% using it for product development and only 35% using it for promotional planning.

Although 83% of consumers say most of their shopping takes place in-store, they still report a variety of disconnects between the in-store and online retail experience.

According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from electronic shelf label (ESL) technology vendor DisplayData, 44% of U.S. consumers think retailers offer different prices online and offline.