Supply Chain & Merchandising

London - Almost half (48%) of U.K. online shoppers have made an online purchase with a retailer based outside the U.K. According to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from EDigitalResearch and IMRG, 60% of the respondents who have shopped cross-border said that they choose to purchase with a retailer outside of the U.K. because of better prices, while another 60% said that they made the purchase because they couldn't get the product they wanted in the U.K.

Seattle – Amazon.com has opened a 3D printed products store, an online marketplace that gives customers access to more than 200 unique print on-demand products, many that can be customized by material, size, styles and color variations, and personalized with text and image imprints. The new store features search tools, interactive 3D preview functionality and a product personalization widget.

Expanded farm, ranch, automotive and pet products enabled True Value to grow second quarter same store sales 2.2% and report broad-based strength at its nationwide network of 4,500 stores.
 
Revenue was $429.5 million, an increase of 4.5% from $411.2 million for the same period a year ago. The cooperative posted a quarterly net margin of $23.2 million, down 2.5% compared to $23.8 million from a year ago.

Chicago - Regency Centers Corporation is starting construction on a new 40,000-sq.-ft.Whole Foods Market. The new store, located 25 miles from downtown Chicago in Schererville, Ind., is projected to open in the fall of 2015, joining existing tenants Homegoods, Gordmans, Ross Dress for Less, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and many others.

Niwot, Colo. -- Claire Fahie-Conley, VP of U.S. retail for Reebok, has been appointed Crocs' VP of retail for North America. In this role, Fahie-Conley will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the retail footprint in North America, including the entire fleet of full-price and outlet stores.

Katy, Texas - Academy Sports + Outdoors will open four stores in the Orlando, Florida, area in 2015. The four stores will be located in Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Waterford Lakes and Melbourne.

Minneapolis – Tile Shop Holdings Inc. reported a 38% dip in net income during the second quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier. Net income fell to $3.96 billion from $6.48 billion, with Tile Shop citing adverse macroeconomic conditions, including home sales, as having a generally negative impact on the business.

Boston -- The top company initiative among retail supply chain executives is “to enable a seamless customer experience online and in the store.” According to the new 2014 Supply Chain Benchmark Survey from Boston Retail Partners (BRP), this “unified commerce” initiative as the evolution of both multichannel and omnichannel retailing to provide a seamless shopping experience whether in the store, on the Web or anywhere customers choose to shop on their mobile devices.