Supply Chain & Merchandising

NEW YORK — Tiffany & Co. saw sales growth and an improved operating margin for the second quarter ended July 31, fueled largely by its performance in China. 

The company’s total sales in the Americas region were lackluster, increasing 2% to $444 million in the second quarter. Comparable-store sales remained flat for the quarter.

ST. LOUIS — Brown Shoe Company saw a shift in sales to the second quarter from the third quarter which helped deliver net sales of $621.7 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 3, up 10% from $564.9 million last year.

To provide customers with true omnichannel shopping capabilities, retailers must internally align all store and ERP functions. Mike Burge, founder and CEO of integrated retail enterprise platform provider MI9, recently spoke with Chain Store Age about how effective omnichannel retailing works and how retailers can leverage IT systems to achieve success in an omnichannel environment.

What are the main objectives of omnichannel?

Generating revenue through electricity contracts

The U.S. retail and wholesale establishments make up one of the largest sectors of electricity consumption in the nation. And they’re likely to use even more within the next few years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, whose recent annual report indicates that commercial and industrial entities will lead domestic growth in primary energy usage through 2040.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

It's no secret that the volume of returned items goes up dramatically during the holidays, and providing a streamlined returns mechanism that effectively guards against fraud is a big and often overlooked part of the in-store holiday experience. Here are two solutions that take a slightly different approach to helping retailers deliver a returns process that rewards good customers, while detecting those with less savory motives.

Milford, Conn. — Subway opened its 40,000th location at an AppleGreen petrol station in Ipswich, England. The company has opened 1,761 locations around the world since the start of 2013. The largest chain of sub shops in the world, Subway leads the next largest chain by more than 5,500 locations.

The U.K. is the brand’s third largest market, behind the U.S. and Canada. There are 14,000 international locations in 102 countries outside the U.S.

St. Louis – Brown Shoe Company swung from a net loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 to net earnings in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. The retailer also boosted net sales and same-store sales.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company is making its Evolution Fresh juice and Evolution Harvest premium brands available at Whole Foods Market stores across the United  States. This expansion advances Evolution Fresh growth plans to be in approximately 8,000 Starbucks and grocery locations by the end of the year.