Supply Chain & Merchandising

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Supervalu banner Cub Foods has partnered with a local produce grower to provide year-round local produce to locations throughout the Twin Cities.

New York -- The Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Party City Holdings Inc., Rockaway, N.J., in a deal valued at $2.69 billion.

Walmart shareholders may wish the company were investigated more often, judging from the performance of shares since alleged violations by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act first surfaced.

Walmart share’s closed Friday at $65.55, or 5% higher than the $62.45 price they were trading at on Friday, April 20 before The New York Times first reported on allegations of FCPA violations.

Bowling Green, Ky. -- Pan-Oston was awarded the Domino’s Pizza Teamwork Award for 2011 at its annual Supplier Summit. The award was in recognition of Pan-Oston’s  teamwork and execution of the New Image Counters, which the supplier engineered, manufactured and delivered within 90 days to six stores.

This is the second award given to Pan-Oston by Domino’s Pizza, the first award being the prestigious Partner Award for 2007.

New York -- Dollar General Corp. on Monday reported a 36% jump in quarterly profit and raised its expectations for the year as its momentum continued.

Dollar General earned $213.4 million in the fiscal first quarter ended on May 4, up from $157.0 million a year earlier. Sales rose 13% to $3.9 billion. Same-store sales increased 6.7%.

RESTON, Va., and ATLANTA — A simple and convenient returns policy is an important factor in the decision to make a purchase online, a new study form comScore and UPS found. According to the Online Shopping Customer Experience Study, 63% of online shoppers look at a retailer’s return policy before making a purchase. Nearly half said they would shop more often and recommend a retailer with a lenient returns policy, indicating its value in driving customer loyalty.

EDLP (every day low price) and EDLC (every day low cost) are the most familiar acronyms at Walmart, but FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) is giving them a run for their money these days.

Reston, Va. -- A significant 63% of online shoppers look at a retailer's return policy before making a purchase, and nearly half said that they would shop more often and recommend a retailer with a lenient returns policy, according to a new study by comScore. The report, commissioned by UPS, evaluates consumer shopping habits from pre-purchase to post-delivery. It is based on a comScore survey of more than 3,100 U.S. online shoppers.