Supply Chain & Merchandising

Amsterdam -- Ahold reported Friday that sales for the fourth quarter rose 7.5% to $10.4 billion, boosted largely by its ability to keep U.S. stores open during Hurricane Sandy, said the company. Same-store sales advanced 2.8%.

Its U.S. business includes the Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover and Giant-Carlisle supermarket banners and the Peapod online grocery service. Ahold posted fourth quarter sales of $6.1 billion in the U.S., marking a 4.3% rise over the year-ago period.

For the full fiscal year, sales increased 8.5% to $43.6 billion.

Delhi, India -- A Monday report by Bloomberg said that Ikea has received the go-ahead from the Indian government to open outlets in the country, making it perhaps the first major foreign retailer to set up its own stores in the region.

The Swedish furniture retailer was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, according to a statement by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. The approval is a turnaround for the Indian government which last year barred Ikea from operating cafes and limited retail wares it could sell in stores.

LANDOVER, Md. — A supermarket chain in the Washington area is marking Inauguration Day by donating lunches to the police officers assigned to guard it.

Ahold banner Giant Food of Landover, Md. — also known as Giant-Landover to distinguish it from fellow Ahold banner Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Pa. — said it would donate boxed lunches and water to the 5,000 officers of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Park Police and National Park Service.

By Jonathan Lapat and Jason Baker, [email protected], [email protected]

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands — Dutch retailer Ahold reported that sales at its U.S. operations rose 4.3% to $6.1 billion during the fourth quarter, thanks to efforts to keep stores open during Hurricane Sandy.

Identical-store sales for U.S. stores rose 2.4%, and comparable-store sales were up 2.8% during the fourth quarter.

Net sales at U.S. stores for the year increased 3.1% to $25.8 billion. Idents rose 1.4% for the year, while comps were up 1.9%, 

San Jose, Calif. -- Sandwich chain Togo's Eateries Inc. announced Monday it is in development on 30 new Togo’s units, as the company executed as many franchise agreements in 2012 in order to add to its West Coast presence.

New York -- From solutions having to do with enterprise business intelligence to mobility, there were a host of retail technology deployments announced at the National Retail Federation’s 102nd Annual Convention & Expo. Here is a quick recap of some key applications:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Best Buy has partnered with Listia, a Web and mobile marketplace where customers can trade used items for new ones.

According to the agreement terms, Listia will enable customers to trade their used items for new Best Buy products via its Rewards Store.