Supply Chain & Merchandising

Salisbury, N.C. -- Bottom Dollar Food announced grand opening dates for its first 14 stores in the greater Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio, markets, with its first seven stores opening on Jan. 26. Seven additional stores will open on Feb. 9.

Norwell, Mass. -- Bluestone Energy Services has helped The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company substantially reduce energy consumption in hundreds of store locations and warehouses, enabling the supermarket operator to meet aggressive sustainability goals, cut costs, and receive over $4 million in utility incentives.

New York City -- Target Corp. is mulling a  new pricing strategy amid increased competition from online and brick-and-mortar rivals, according to reports by the Associated Press and Dow Jones.

The reports said that Target  has sent a letter to some of its key vendors as part of a potential new strategy to bolster its competiveness. The news comes just days before J.C. Penney is scheduled to announce a major overhaul in which pricing is likely to play a key role.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — In an unexpected turn of events, Brian Cornell is stepping down as Sam’s Club president and CEO and will be replaced by Rosalind Brewer who currently serves as president of the Walmart U.S. East business unit. The company announced a number of other senior personnel changes as well in advance of new fiscal year.

Matt Kistler is in a relatively new role at Walmart as SVP of merchandise execution and to explain what that means he is on the agenda for an upcoming event presented by Doing Business in Bentonville.

Kistler is scheduled to speak on February 8 at the DBB event which runs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center. He is expected to provide an overview of Walmart’s merchandise services unit that was created last year.

Beaumont, Texas -- Conn’s announced that it plans to close five underperforming stores during January 2012.

“The closing of the five stores this month is a continuation of our previously communicated plan to evaluate our existing store base and close or relocate underperforming stores. Additionally, we are progressing on our plans to open five to seven new stores in fiscal 2013, in areas with compelling demographic characteristics that we believe are favorable to our business model,” commented Theodore Wright, the company’s CEO.

Atlanta -- RedPrarie Corp., a global supply chain and retail technology provider, announced that BJ’s Wholesale Club plans to use RedPrairie’s transportation management system to streamline its transportation operations and reduce costs. The solution is designed to enable wholesale clubs and retailers to improve operational efficiencies by automating transportation tasks and optimizing the planning of shipments. BJ’s Wholesale Club will be able to better monitor carrier performance and shipment activities throughout the supply chain.

Dallas -- 7-Eleven said it has completed the transaction with ExxonMobil to acquire retail interests in 51 North Texas sites. The transaction concluded Jan. 20, and terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The majority of locations will be rebranded as 7-Eleven stores.

"This acquisition fits well with our aggressive growth strategy," said Robbie Radant, 7-Eleven's new VP of mergers and acquisitions. "We met our goal of opening 650 stores in 2011, and with this acquisition 2012 is off to a great start."