Supply Chain & Merchandising

New York -- Uncertainty at the West Coast ports has caused a rush of activity, according to a monthly tracking service.

Import volume at major U.S. container ports is expected to total 1.5 million containers this month, says the Global Port Tracker from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. That’s the highest monthly volume in at least five years and follows a trend of unusually high import levels that began this spring as labor strife pushed retailers to import merchandise ahead of any potential problems.

Atlanta – Havertys sales for second quarter 2014 increased 2.4% to $175.1 million, compared with $171.1 million for the second quarter of 2013. On a same-store basis, sales for the quarter increased 3.2%.

Havertys closed its Plano, Texas, store in May. In the third quarter, the company will open a new store in Fort Worth, Texas, and relocate its Fayetteville, North Carolina, showroom.

By Jason Peck, Director of Marketing, Canvas

Business adoption of new technologies often flows from their personal use. This certainly applies to mobile apps and devices. The ability to download an app in seconds, share photos and data via the cloud in real-time, and communicate from any location at any time have evolved from “nice to have” to “need to have.”

Trevose, Pa. - Rita's Italian Ice, has appointed Eric Taylor, a 15-plus-year franchise industry veteran, as senior VP and chief development officer to lead the company’s franchise development and growth. Taylor joined Rita’s in April, and is responsible for the expansion of the Rita's global footprint.

Five hundred suppliers, 200 merchants and 800 meetings equaled made in U.S.A. magic for Walmart as the retailer looked to accelerate domestic sourcing with a first ever event dubbed Open Call.

Walmart held the event at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters on Tuesday, July 8, to discover domestically sourced products from new and existing suppliers that can help the company meet its goal of buying an additional $250 billion in American-made products in the next 10 years.

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Incorporated announced today plans to open a store in Calgary, Alberta. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with a fall 2015 opening.

The 70,000-sq.-ft. store will be located adjacent the Deerfoot Mall, which is currently under plan review as an open air shopping center redevelopment project.

It will be Cabela’s third location in Alberta, joining two locations in Edmonton, which opened in 2011 and May of this year.

Sears and Kmart are expanding free store pickup to more than 2,000 locations. The online/in-store collaboration will allow customers to pick up sears.com or kmart.com orders at any Sears or Kmart store and orders will be ready in five minutes or less.

Salt Lake City - The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) and Smith’s Food & Drug are planning a 78,000-sq.-ft.food and drug store in Holladay, Utah. The 57-acre mixed-use Cottonwood development, located eight miles from downtown Salt Lake Cit, will feature upscale shopping, dining, entertainment and offices in a “Town Square” style setting as well as multi-family residences when complete.