Supply Chain & Merchandising

Long Beach, Calif. –- To meet the growing demand for cost-effective, reliable peripheral connectivity in mobile and tablet POS environments, Epson offers two new OmniLink smart printers, the TM-T88V-i and the TM-T20II-i.  

Omaha, Nebraska -- Lozier Corporation, a provider of store fixtures to major retailers around the world, announced the acquisition of the Leggett & Platt Store Fixtures Group, another leading manufacturer of retail fixtures.  

New data from JLL’s 2014 Holiday Sentiment Report, which includes feedback from 800 largely national or global retailers in JLL-managed shopping centers across the United States, suggests retailers are optimistic about store performance, but are fighting the “survival of the fittest” match.  

Customers and Shop Your Way members can shop Black Friday deals at most Sears stores starting as early as 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Sears’ subsidiary Kmart, continuing a 23-year tradition as a destination for early-bird shopping, will open for 42 hours straight, from 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving to midnight on Black Friday.

New York –- Kurt Salmon has named Brian Ehrig as a partner in its Retail and Consumer Products Group.   Ehrig has spent the last 16 years creating new operational strategies and product offerings for retail and consumer goods companies, as well as leading transformation projects, including those for new market entrances and involving new retail concepts. Ehrig's most recent role was director at PwC.  

Boise, Idaho-- WinCo Foods LLC will open two new stores on Thursday, Nov. 6. One store will open in Lewiston, Idaho and one will open in North Richland Hills, Texas. The Lewiston store is 59,400-sq.-ft. in size and will initially employ about 100 individuals, 90 of whom have been hired locally.

New York --Forrester Research said Monday it expects U.S. online sales to reach $89 billion in November and December. That's up 13%, or about $10 billion, over a year ago. But Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru noted that the expected growth is not as high as it could be due to a few unique constraints, including fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and capacity constraints in the already constrained carrier networks.

Retail buyers are no longer bound by the constraints of their desk top work station thanks to new mobile capabilities resulting from TradeStone Software’s acquisition of Leap Ahead Solutions.