Supply Chain & Merchandising

City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening a new store in Ladera Heights, Calif., on Nov. 14. The new store is approximately 19,000 sq. ft. and will feature a perishable food department, including produce, dairy and frozen foods.

99 Cents Only Stores currently operates 334 extreme value retail stores consisting of 240 stores in California, 44 in Texas, 33 in Arizona, and 17 in Nevada.

Bentonville, Ark. – A glitch on the U.S. website of Wal-Mart reportedly provided consumers with enormous discounts for a short time on the morning of Nov. 6. According to Reuters, treadmills that normally cost hundreds of dollars were selling for $33.16 and widescreen computer monitors were selling for $9.

Wal-Mart has not said how many discounted items were sold before the glitch was discovered. The retailer has also said it will not honor any sales resulting from the glitch, but will give those consumers a $10 gift card.

Leveraging inventory while driving consumption is the topic of a presentation scheduled for next week in Northwest Arkansas by Walmart’s senior director of consumables replenishment Kendall Trainor.

Trainor is the featured speaker at a breakfast meeting organized by Doing Business in Bentonville. From 7-9 a.m. Wednesday, November 13, Trainor will share insights on Walmart’s top five inventory priorities for the coming fiscal year.

Austin, Texas - Multichannel selling is a reality for a majority of small-to-medium sized retailers, but payment processing capabilities lag far behind. According to a new research study commissioned by SecureNet Payment Systems and conducted in partnership with First Annapolis Consulting, more than 60% of retailers surveyed already accept payments in more than one channel, but are not well served by the payments industry today.

Whole Food’s said it gained market share during the third quarter, but the 5.9% same store sales increase the company reported fell short of expectations and the company tempered its outlook for 2014.
 

Scotts Miracle-Gro has made up for lost time in the second half of the year, finishing with fiscal year sales essentially flat from the previous year.

The company's full year net sales were $2.82 billion, after a 9% increase in the second half, including a 10% increase in the fourth quarter.

Englewood, Colo. -- Blockbuster L.L.C., will end its retail and by mail DVD distribution operations by early January 2014. The company will close its approximately 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – The Wet Seal reported net sales of $127.7 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2013, down 5.8% from the same quarter in the prior year. In a partial release of third quarter figures, the company also reported a 0.8% increase in same-store sales.