Supply Chain & Merchandising

Walmart has enhanced its mobile pharmacy app to help customers make better saving decisions and allow quick access to its list of $4 prescriptions.

According to the company, the enhanced app will allow customers to:

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings Corp. on Thursday said it plans to close at least 80 stores this year as the retailer continues to deal with mounting losses. The retailer reported that its fiscal first quarter net loss grew to $402 million, from $279 million in the prior year first quarter.

First quarter same store sales at Best Buy fell a greater than expected 1.3% due to declining sales of consumer electronics and competition from online retailers.

While the retailer experienced growth in computing, gaming and appliances, it was more than offset by declines in other categories, including tablets, services and home theater. President and CEO Hubert Joly focused on the positive, however.

Secaucus, N.J. – The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. saw net income and sales fall during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same quarter a year earlier. The company plans to open 25 new North American stores, 10 fewer than originally planned, and close 35 stores for a net reduction of 10 stores during the fiscal year.

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates with net income of $138.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up 4% from $133.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Net sales rose 7% to $2 billion from $1.87 billion, and same-store sales increased 2%.

Lynnwood, Wash. -- Teen active-sports retailer Zumiez reported net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 of $2.5 million, flat with the year-ago period. The retailer intends to open approximately 55 stores in fiscal 2014, including up to seven locations in Canada and five in Europe.

Total net sales for the first quarter ended May 3, 2014, increased 9.7% to $162.9 million from $148.5 million last year. Same-store sales increased 1.8%.

Land O'Lakes' initiative to leverage technology to manage risk associated with weather and climate change will be part of a conversation this week focused on food security and climate change that brings together experts from the public and private sectors.

Walmart is reportedly planning to substantially expand its e-commerce operation based in Sunnyvale, California. According to the Oakland Tribune, Walmart intends to add hundreds of staffers to its global e-commerce unit there, bringing the total number of e-commerce employees to about 1,000.
 
In addition, Walmart will lease a 107,000-sq.-ft. space in Sunnyvale to help house its e-commerce operations. Currently, the retailer employs about 550 e-commerce employees in Sunnyvale at an existing facility it will maintain.