Supply Chain & Merchandising

Burlington, Mass. -- OrderMotion, a web-based platform for direct-to-consumer (D2C) campaign and order management, announced that Midwest consumer goods retailer Alco Stores selected OrderMotion's OMX platform as the back-office technology best suited to grow with its online volume demands while also leveraging its Magento eCommerce front-end system.  

Pittsburgh -- First Insight, which provides predictive analytics generated from online consumer engagements, announced an agreement with The Limited. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The First Insight solution uses online social engagement tools to gather real-time preference, pricing and sentiment data on new products. This information is filtered through First Insight’s predictive analytic models to determine which products present the greatest opportunity.

San Diego -- Walmart has completed its 100th solar installation in California, at a store on College Avenue in San Diego. After launching its solar pilot program in May 2007, Walmart strengthened its commitment to renewable energy in the state of California last year when it announced plans to expand its solar portfolio to more than 75% of its stores in California, approximately 130 stores, by the end of 2013. There are now 100 Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs in California using traditional and thin film solar installations.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — O'Reilly Auto Parts reported that sales for its second quarter ended June 30 increased $84 million, or 6%, to $1.56 billion from $1.48 billion for the
same period one year ago. The company posted a 9% increase in net income to $146 million from $134 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per common share for the second quarter increased 20% to $1.15 on 127 million shares versus 96 cents for the same period one year ago on 140 million shares.

Newell Rubbermaid’s net sales declined 1.9% to $1.52 billion in the second quarter ended June 30. Net income declined 23.8% to $111.8 million. But those declines didn’t prevent CEO Michael Polk from looking at the bright side and pointing to momentum.

Core sales, which exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency translation, grew by 0.4%. And net sales for the first six months were $2.85 billion, up 1.0 % from the first-half results last year.

Minneapolis -- Supervalu Inc. said on Monday that its chairman Wayne Sales has been named president and CEO. He replaces Craig Herkert as CEO.

New York -- Lower cotton costs will boost the earnings of US retail apparel companies during the coming back-to-school season, according to a report by Moody's Investors Service.

The report, "Back to School: Lower Cotton Costs, Gas Prices Set Stage for Higher 3Q Earnings,” notes that for the third quarter overall, Moody's expects the apparel-makers' growth in earnings to outpace their growth in sales.

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin' Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced the appointment of Jack Clare to the position of CIO. He previously served as VP, IT and CIO, Yum! Restaurants International, the largest division of Yum! Brands.

In his role at Dunkin' Brands, Clare will be responsible for directing all information technology resources, with a focus on supporting the company's franchisee community to drive restaurant profitability through technology.