Supply Chain & Merchandising

Pittsburgh -- Ikea has plugged in the new solar energy system installed at its Pittsburgh-area store in Robinson Township, Pa. The 86,800-sq.-ft. PV array consists of a 694-kW system, built with 2,884 panels. It will produce approximately 852,200 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 648 tons of carbon dioxide, eliminating the emissions of 115 cars or powering 73 homes yearly.

Henderson, Nev. -- Efficiency upgrades at 621 7-Eleven stores in California, Washington, and Oregon, will result in an anticipated energy savings of approximately $1.2 million annually.

The upgrades were completed by Castrovilla, a subsidiary of Blue Earth, an energy efficiency and renewable energy services company. The project involved the installation of energy efficient electronically commutated motors, anti-sweat heater controls, evaporator fan controls, gaskets, door closers and strip curtains.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — For the second quarter, Mattel reported net income of $96.2 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with last year’s second quarter net income of $80.5 million, or 23 cents per share.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- Improving the cross-channel customer experience and optimizing the supply chain ranked as retailers’ biggest challenges in a new study by Oracle. The report also found that mobile access is key: Forty percent of retailers said that providing store associates with mobile access to customer, product, inventory and other information is critical to their business, along with providing the entire organization with a more consistent and complete view of the customer (40%).

Minneapolis -- A Monday report in the Wall Street Journal said that grocery supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers is said to be interested in buying the distribution business of Supervalu Inc.

On July 11, Supervalu – which owns such grocery banners as Albertson’s, Jewel-Osco and Save-A-Lot – revealed it would explore a sale of all or part of the company. It said it had hired Goldman Sachs and Greenhill & Co. to launch a review of strategic options, including asset sales.

Family Dollar is growing like a weed. To see why, click here.
 

By David Asselin, [email protected]

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Electrolux has assigned Scott Bolbock to its Canadian headquarters to lead the development of canister vacuums for Electrolux Home Care Products across North America.