Supply Chain & Merchandising

ABILENE, Kan. — Alco this week began offering products for sale on its website. The company has launched an e-commerce site that will offer more than 10,000 items. Features of the site include "24/7" online shopping in a secure, searchable web environment, plus delivery to home or place of business.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the second quarter dropped to $121.7 million from $146 million in the same period last year.

Sales inched up 1.9% to $10.4 billion, and same-store sales rose 0.8%.

For the year, Safeway said it expects to invest $900 million in capital expenditures to open approximately 10 new Lifestyle stores, complete 10 Lifestyle remodels, refurbish in-store pharmacies and develop properties through its Property Development Centers subsidiary.
 

Salisbury, N.C. -- Food Lion on Wednesday expanded its new brand strategy to 269 stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. With the expansion, Food Lion has more than 700 locations operating under rebranding, representing more than 60% of its store base. 

The new strategy offers customers lower prices on 6,000 items, a greater emphasis on private brands,  enhanced produce and an easy and convenient shopping experience, such as faster checkout. To support its new strategy, the company created approximately 800 new jobs.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion continues to roll out its new brand strategy, this time bringing the program to 269 stores in North Carolina and South Carolina, including its headquarter city of Salisbury, N.C. 

Food Lion's brand strategy offers customers lower prices on 6,000 items throughout the store and access to quality store brand products at lower prices, including the company's my essentials value tier, as well as enhanced produce and an easy and convenient shopping experience, such as faster checkout.

New York -- J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson said that he is sticking with the chain’s new pricing strategy and that the company’s board of directors was “totally supportive.”

In remarks at Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Col., Johnson acknowledged that J.C. Penney initially confused customers when it came to explaining the new pricing strategy.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — JCPenney will implement a complete, open and integrated suite of Oracle Retail solutions designed to streamline operations and improve the cross-channel customer experience. The department store retailer will deploy applications in a host of critical areas, including merchandising, supply chain and store operation, to support its transformation initiatives.
 

By Mark Robinson, UPS Capital Corp.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- J. C. Penney Co. will implement a complete, open and integrated suite of Oracle Retail solutions designed to streamline operations and improve the cross-channel customer experience. The department store retailer will deploy applications in a host of critical areas, including merchandising, supply chain and store operation, to support its transformation initiatives.