Supply Chain & Merchandising

Sears Holdings plans to hire an investment banking firm to explore strategic alternatives regarding its 51% ownership stake in Sears Canada.

The strategic alternatives are said to include the potential sale of Sears Holdings’ interest or Sears Canada as a whole, according to a statement by the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company. In a separate statement, Sears Canada said its board of directors intended to cooperate fully with Sears Holdings in the strategic alternatives exploration process to achieve full value for all shareholders.

Burlington, Mass. — Big Lots has signed a lease for 31,000 sq. ft. at Wonderland Marketplace in Revere, Massachusetts. KeyPoint Partners represented the landlord in the transaction.

Wonderland Marketplace is a 135,000-sq.-ft. shopping center anchored by Marshalls and Staples. In line tenants include Hair Cuttery, Ninety-Nine restaurant, and the U.S. Post Office. The Big Lots space is in a former Stop & Shop. Another 33,687 sq. ft. is available for lease in that building.

Chicago -- General economic conditions, federal, state and/or local regulations, and retail competition/consolidation ranked as the top three risk factors cited by retailers, according to a survey by BDO USA. Rounding out the top five: U.S. and foreign supplier/vendor concerns and labor (health coverage, union concerns, staffing) concerns.            
 

Seattle – Slightly more than half (51%) of retailers do not have a plan for responding to security breaches. According to a new study conducted by Microsoft, “Security Trends for Retail Services,” almost three-quarters (72%) of retailers do not have budgeted disaster recovery plans.

Those of us who’ve been around retail for a while remember the shutdown that brought West Coast port operations to a halt in the fall of 2002.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- JDA Software Group, a leading provider of supply chain, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and collaborative category management solutions, announced that CEO Hamish Brewer is leaving the company. Baljit (Bal) Dail, a technology executive who has served as JDA’s chairman since May 2013, has been named interim CEO, effective immediately. Dail will lead the search for a permanent successor.
 

By Ron Chan, director of marketing, Posiflex USA

JDA Software Group, a leading global supply chain planning and execution solutions provider, has appointed Baljit (Bal) Dail, a technology executive who has served as JDA’s chairman since May 2013, as interim CEO, effective immediately, replacing Hamish Brewer, who is leaving the company.

Dail will lead the search for a permanent successor to lead the company in the next phase of its strategic growth plan.