Supply Chain & Merchandising

Beaumont, Texas -- Conn's said Thursday that it lost $3.4 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, reflecting charges tied to planned store closings and other items.

Conn's, which sells consumer electronics, home appliances, furniture, mattresses and lawn and garden products, operates 76 stores in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. It plans to close five underperforming stores and let the leases expire for two additional locations.

The PFresh initiative at Target, which results in the addition of fresh food and an expanded offering of consumables, arrived in more Target discount stores last month, further elevating the competitiveness with Walmart supercenters.

Walmart’s past and future collided this week in a stark juxtaposition of events. While the company’s lawyers were engaged in oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court stemming from events in the past, senior executive of the international division were gathered with financial analysts in a hotel ballroom in Shenzhen, China to discuss the future.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Staples announced that it has formed a new strategic alliance with one of the leading Swiss office products companies, Büro Schoch Direct AG. Within Switzerland, Staples and Büro Schoch Direct will work together exclusively on international accounts and collaborate to exchange best practices, the company reported.

Columbia, S.C. -- Edens & Avant announced it has appointed Peter Melmed as VP construction and development. 

Melmed will be based in Bethesda, Md., and will oversee the construction of large-scale development and redevelopments throughout the Edens & Avant portfolio.

Prior to joining Edens & Avant, Melmed was a real estate consultant at PJM Realty.

When Walmart executives speak about prices, inflation or the nation’s economic condition their comments create quite a stir, and that’s what we saw again this week when Bill Simon spoke to USA Today.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack in Boise, Idaho.

The 37,000-sq.-ft. store will be part of the Boise Towne Plaza shopping center and is expected to open in spring 2012.

With 329 stores in China producing $7.5 billion in sales annually, Walmart has experienced dramatic growth since it entered the market in 1996 with two stores. Last year, the company pursued its most aggressive expansion to date with the opening of 49 stores, and at a meeting for financial analysts earlier this week in Shenzhen, China, senior executives detailed plans to get a lot bigger.