Supply Chain & Merchandising

New York -- Amazon.com Inc. will begin collecting 7% sales tax from New Jersey residents starting in July 2013. The online giant announced the agreenment on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J.  It also announced it will build two distribution centers in New Jersey.

Each warehouse will measure about one million square feet. The centers will create a projected 1,500 full-time jobs and would enable the state of New Jersey to collect an estimated $30 to $40 million in tax revenue.

Toys“R”Us chairman and CEO Jerry Storch and Nordstrom Direct president Jamie Nordstrom are among the featured speakers at the Shop.org annual summit.

The annual event organized by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, will be held September 10 to 12 and the Colorado Convention Center and is billed as the premier gathering for retail e-commerce, digital and multichannel retailers.

New York -- With only a few exceptions, retailers are posting solid gains in May, with such chains as Target, TJX, Ross and TJX Cos. beating Wall Street forecasts for the month. The Thomson Reuters Same-Store Index, which tracks the stores that release monthly sales reports, is expected to rise 3.6% in May.

"Analysts are taking a careful approach to May same-store sales given the cautious tone issued by most retailers on second-quarter earnings guidance," said Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics, in a research report.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports reported that sales for its first quarter ended May 26 increased 7.9% to $361 million from $335 million in the year-ago quarter. Comparable-store sales for the quarter were up 7.2%.

For the first quarter, the company is expecting  earnings per share are expected to be approximately 16 cents versus last year’s first quarter earnings of 12 cents per share.

Minneapolis -- Caribou Coffee Co. said Wednesday it has opened its 100th international operating location, located in Istanbul, Turkey. The new store, which opened May 10, is in partnership with master franchisee Al Sayer Group and Turkey's Yildiz Holding, and is Caribou's sixth store in Turkey.

Al Sayer Group currently operates 89 of Caribou's 100 international locations in Turkey, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — May sales at Fred's Inc. increased 6% to $152.1 million from $143.6 million in May 2011. Comparable-store sales for the month rose 1.3% compared with an increase of 0.2% in the same period last year.

Fred's total sales for the first four months of fiscal 2012 increased 4% to $652.6 million compared with $628 million for the same period last year. On a comparable-store basis, year-to-date sales increased 0.1% on top of an increase of 0.8% in the same period last year.

New York -- Levi Strauss & Co. promoted Joelle Mahler, senior VP of Americas Retail, to the new post of executive VP of the company, and president of global retail, effective immediately.

Mahler will be responsible for Levi’s retail operations worldwide, including company-owned, franchise and outlet stores, along with e-commerce.
 

New York -- Winick Realty Group said that 7-Eleven has continued its plans for expansion in the New York market by leasing a new 2,300-sq.-ft. storefront at 1235 Second Avenue, on the corner of East 65th Street.