Supply Chain & Merchandising

By Niclas Qvist, Pricer

A five-year plan spearheaded by Walmart, Gap and other U.S. retailers requiring factories in Bangladesh to be inspected within a year is under fire, according to a Bloomberg report.

Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas -- Venture Commercial has completed eight retail leases spanning 133,000 sq. ft. for landlords and tenants across North Texas.

“Significant leasing activity across the area in recent months shows that the DFW market is really heating up,” said Bryan Cornelius, a partner with Venture Commercial.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco has started the summer right, reporting sales of $9.92 billion for the month of June, the five-week period ended July 7, an 8% increase over the same period last year. 

For the 44-week period that ended Sunday, sales were $87.05 billion, also an 8% increase over the same period last year. For the month and the 44-week period, same-store sales rose 6%.

Weymouth, Mass. -- Whole Foods Market has opened at Pleasant Shops in Weymouth, Mass., according to Federal Realty Investment Trust, one of the center’s joint venture owners.

The 40,000-sq.-ft. store, Whole Foods’ 23rd location in Massachusetts, will employ 140 full and part time workers.

London -- Wm Morrison Supermarkets said Thursday it will have the technology systems, online presence and c-store counts by 2015 to significantly close the gap on its closest competitors.

Britain’s No. 4 grocer trails Tesco, Wal-Mart's Asda and J Sainsbury in annual sales. Its CEO Dalton Philips is optimistic about the chain’s ability to compete. “I've only been here three years,” he told Bloomberg. “There was no plan for online, there was no plan for convenience and we had systems, which were 20th century.”

New York -- Uniqlo is expanding its U.S. footprint. The Japanese apparel retailer, a division of Fast Company, will open 10 more U.S. stores this fall, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.
 
The new locations, all in shopping centers, will bring the brand’s presence in the United States to a total of 17 sites.

The 10 new Uniqlo locations include:

Evansville, Ind. -- Value-priced footwear retailer Shoe Carnival will grand-open 12 stores in 11 different cities in July, bringing its store count to 367 stores in 32 states and Puerto Rico.

“We are excited to be growing rapidly across the country,” said Todd Beurman, senior VP marketing. New stores will open in: Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Lansing, Mich.; St. Louis; Greenville, N.C.; Cincinnati; Atlanta; Phoenix; Louisville, Ky.; and Grand Rapids, Mich.