Supply Chain & Merchandising

London -- Tesco CEO Philip Clarke announced Wednesday that the British supermarket retailer will likely sell or close its entire U.S. presence, which means that 199 Fresh & Easy stores could be shuttered or sold off.

According to multiple reports, Tesco is close to making the decision after five unprofitable years in the U.S. The retailer launched the concept in 2007, confident there was a niche for a grocery store with fresh food offerings formatted in a unique footprint that was smaller than a typical supermarket but larger than a c-store.

Leading third party logistic provider Transplace has acquired Canada’s Torus Freight Systems.

Transplace, a leading provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, acquired for an undisclosed sum Torus Freight Systems, a Canadian-based logistics services company focused on Canadian cross-border and intra-Canada freight.

Chicago -- Store opening plans for 2013 are at a four-year high even as positive retail trends tempered with uncertain fiscal policies signal a cautious start to the new year, according to a report released Monday by Jones Lang LaSalle.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2013 National Retail Real Estate Outlook, retailers will open as many as 78,325 stores in the next two years – up 11% from year-end plans in 2011. Construction will add 52 million sq. ft. of space in 2013, more than double the 20 million sq. ft. completed in 2012.

ATLANTA — The Coca-Cola Company and Select Milk Producers have teamed up to acquire the newly created Fair Oaks Farms Brands, which owns and operates Core Power, a high protein milkshake.

With the Fair Oaks Farms Brands, the Coca-Cola Company and Select will expand an ever-growing portfolio of brands and products, which will now feature dairy.

New York -- AutoZone said it acquired online automotive retailer AutoAnything.com in conjunction with the release of first quarter earnings Tuesday morning.

Profit at the nation’s largest retailer of automotive products increased 6.4% to $203.5 million during the quarter ended Nov. 17, and sales rose 3.5% to $2 billion. Same-store sales edged up 0.2%.

SmartWatch is the name of a new risk-monitoring tool LexisNexis created to help supply chain management professionals keep tabs on potentially disruptive events.

Framingham, Mass. -- The impact of omnichannel retail on the supply chain, customer experience and merchandise optimization is one of IDC Retail Insights’ Top 10 Predictions for the Retail Industry in 2013.

IDC will reveal the complete list on Dec. 6 (for more information, http://bit.ly/RI_Predictions2013_Retail), but as a “preview,” the company predicts the following three trends will make an impact on the retail industry in the coming year:

Richardson, Texas -- Chain restaurant Wingstop announced Tuesday it has executed a master development deal that will facilitate about 50 unit openings in Russia, the first opening in Moscow.

The chicken wing purveyor -- with more than 530 locations throughout the U.S. and Mexico -- signed a master development agreement with Baxtor Limited for 50 Wingstop restaurants to be opened throughout Russia over the next 10 years.

The first location is expected to open in Moscow by the end of 2013.