Supply Chain & Merchandising

Conshohocken, Pa. – Ikea has plugged-in an expansion of the solar array completed in April 2013 on the roof of its 1.7 million-sq.-ft. Perryville, Maryland, distribution center. Installation of the new panels began in fall 2013, and since then have nearly doubled the size of the original project.

Online consumer electronics retailer Newegg has begun offering its 25 million registered users the ability to pay for 10.5 million products using the bitcoin digital currency.

The new payment capability is being offered through a relationship with BitPay, a payment service provider specializing in the bitcoin digital currency.

Seattle -- REI will set up shop in two new locations next spring. The national outdoor retailer will open in Princeton, New Jersey. REI is also extending its presence in the Atlanta area, with a 24,000-sq.-ft. store in Alpharetta, Georgia.

REI’s 23,000-sq.-ft. store in Princeton will be located at Mercer Mall.

Stater Bros. Charities is donating $150,000 to 13 local food banks and pantries in an effort to make sure children have enough to eat during the summer months when food reserves are traditionally low and when they don’t have access to meals through school food programs.

The funds were donated by Stater Bros. customers and employees this past holiday season during the Harvesting Hope in Our Community program.

ConAgra Foods has completed expansion of its Lamb Weston frozen potato facility in Boardman, Oregon. The $200 million investment announced in 2012 adds a new processing line to the plant, increasing capacity for making french fries and other frozen potato products, and also adds more than 100 jobs to the local economy.

During a special grand opening ceremony held last week, Lamb Weston employees were joined by representatives from Columbia River Enterprise Zone, Port of Morrow, city of Boardman, Morrow County and state of Oregon.

Meriden, Conn. -- Vestis Retail Group, made up of the East Coast-based Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, has signed an agreement to acquire Los Angeles-based Sport Chalet.

Omnichannel beauty brand Julep has tapped former Blue Nile executive Dwight Gaston as chief delivery officer. In his new role, Gaston will oversee Julep's operations, customer service, fulfillment and product development teams to ensure efficient delivery of products to its customers.

The company develops more than 300 new products each year for its Maven subscribers and e-commerce customers, and shipments are growing exponentially, it said.

New York -- Online beauty subscription brand Julep has tapped former Blue Nile executive Dwight Gaston as chief delivery officer. In the role, he will oversee Julep's operations, customer service, fulfillment and product development teams to ensure efficient delivery of products to its customers.

Julep said it develops more than 300 new products each year for its Maven subscribers and e-commerce customers, and shipments are growing exponentially.