Supply Chain & Merchandising

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Inflationary increases, sales growth at remodeled stores and a boost from fuelperks! helped drive up Winn-Dixie's second quarter identical-store sales, while net sales dipped.

According to Winn-Dixie's chief Peter Lynch, Winn-Dixie is riding a strong headwind into fiscal 2012 powered by a number of influencers — a marketing program that better sustains margins, its loyalty program Fuelperks!, an improved stocking system and a significant focus on improving the customer experience.

New York City -- Saks Inc.’s Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced the addition of five stores for 2012. The new stores will be located in upscale outlet, lifestyle, or strip centers.

The new locations are in Merrimack, N.H., Syracuse, N.Y., Livermore, Calif., Grand Prairie, Texas, and Nashville. The Merrimack store will be the first Off 5th in New Hampshire, and the store in Nashville will be a replacement store for the one lost in the 2010 flood in Tennessee.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- JDA Software Group announced that MC Sports, which operates  more than 70 stores in seven Midwestern states, selected JDA Allocation and JDA Size Scaling to help increase revenue while reducing inventory levels.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The small business customer may have a greater reason to visit Office Depot now that the retailer has expanded its shredding and secure document archiving service program through a new partnership with information management company, Iron Mountain.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced it is now offering free standard shipping and returns from Nordstrom.com -- every day, for online orders of every size. The company said it is broadening its online free shipping and returns policy to all customers in an effort to improve the online shopping experience.

Previously, Nordstrom offered free shipping for online purchases above $200 or through special promotional offers. The new policy applies to Nordstrom.com orders shipped within the United States regardless of the amount or size of the orders.

America is on sale for foreign tourists thanks to the weak U.S. dollar, and it has been a boon for retailers who operate stores in key destinations. Nowhere was this phenomenon more evident than last week when Tiffany & Co. reported spectacular second quarter results that were aided by a 41% sales increase at its flagship New York store. That location is frequented by tourists, and so is the Saks flagship New York location, which reported a second quarter comp increase in the neighborhood of 15%.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s Cos. is consolidating its store operations and merchandising organizations. The move is designed to improve efficiencies, increase speed to market for new products and services, and enhance the shopping experience for customers, the chain said.

New York City -- Many New Yorkers remain at home on Monday, as Irene -- though not the monster it first appeared to be -- left widespread flooding and power outages in its weekend wake.