Supply Chain & Merchandising

Boston – Wayfair reported $915 million in revenue to close the year 2013, with an annual revenue growth rate of 55% and order intake exceeding $1 billion. The company said its portfolio of home brands experienced steady growth throughout 2013 capped off by strong holiday sales in the fourth quarter.

Washington, D.C. - As a result of softer same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) registered a moderate decline in December 2013. The RPI, a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry, stood at 100.5 in December, down 0.6% from November and the first decline in three months.  

Seattle – The price of subscribing the Amazon Prime preferred shipping program will reportedly increase. According to the Huffington Post, Tom Szkutak, CFO of Amazon, said on a Jan. 30 investors call that the company is considering raising the current $79 yearly fee for Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping, by $20 to $40 in the U.S.

Dennis Hernreich, EVP, COO and CFO of Destination XL Group, has resigned and board member John E. Kyees has been named interim CFO. In addition, the company has elected Will Mesdag, 60, to its board of directors.

Kyees, who has served on the Destination XL board of directors since 2010, was CFO of Urban Outfitters from 2003 until his retirement in 2010, and has served as a senior financial executive at several other prominent retailers. The company is conducting a search for a permanent CFO.

Kenco, a leading provider of integrated logistics solutions, real estate services, and material handling equipment, has named Frazer Middleton as chief information officer.
 
In this newly created role, Middleton will direct the technology strategy of the company and lead the IT team to enhance performance and functionality. Middleton will also focus on opportunities to expand Kenco’s technological capabilities.
 

New York -- In a study of the returns and refunds performance of the 25 largest online retailers, StellaService found that the majority of retailers evaluated aren’t meeting consumer expectations.

StellaService analysts ordered the same product from each retailer to be delivered to the three separate regions of East, West and Midwest. They then returned the product, tracking metrics such as the presence of a prepaid, adhesive return label, total time to receive a return authorization and refund speed. The average refund speed of was 10.7 days.

Montreal, Quebec – LightSpeed has unveiled LightSpeed Web Store for Cloud, giving retailers a single web-based system for managing sales, inventory and customers both in-store and online. The inventory-centric solution empowers brick-and-mortar retailers to manage their business across all channels, from any device.

Samuel Adams is ready to share Rebel IPA with drinkers across the nation. The IPA offers consumers citrus aromas along with piney, resinous notes that come from West Coast hops.

Rebel IPA was one of the first beers to be developed in the Samuel Adams nanobrewery, a small batch, 10-gallon brewery system that operates within the confines of the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery.