Distribution

Amazon is looking to give Alibaba and JD.com a run for the money on their home turf.   The online giant is making its Amazon Prime subscription service available in China, a country where it has struggled to gain market share.     

The nation’s largest auto dealership chain is expanding its brand into new areas of the automotive retail sector.    AutoNation announced it will debut a new format, a standalone concept called AutoNation USA, that will be dedicated to used-car sales and also serve as service centers, offering scheduled maintenance and repair work along with express service. The company has identified 25 sites to launch the concept, with five expected to open in 2017.     

Based on its third quarter earnings, Carter’s predicts that is on its way to its 28th consecutive year of sales growth.   The brand specializing in babies and young children’s apparel and accessories reported a net sales increase of 6.1%, totaling $901.4 million. The company credits this growth on its U.S. Carter’s and OshKosh retail businesses, Carter’s wholesale business, and international segment.  

Boot Barn’s second quarter performance rose slightly, meeting Wall Street estimates.    The western-influenced specialty retailer reported $134 million in revenue for the second quarter ending Sept. 24, 2016, a 3.3% increase from $129.7 million in the prior-year period. This jump also exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of $131.61 million. Boot Barn credited the increase to 13 new stores opened over the past 12 months, and a 1.8% increase in same-store sales. Two of those stores opened the chain during the second quarter.

Constraints due to inventory levels took a toll on Tuesday Morning’s first quarter earnings.    The off-price home decor retailer reported a net loss of $8.9 million for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2016. Net sales for the quarter were $211.9 million, which is an increase from $9.6 million from the prior year. Same-store store sales increased 5.1%, however the company’s operating loss for the first quarter was $9.2 million.   

The nation’s largest online retailer has big plans for brick-and-mortar expansion.  

Town Center Plaza, an 82,000-sq.-ft. center in Palm Desert, California, near Joshua Tree National Park, has been acquired by Citivest Commercial Investments for $19.8 million.   Constructed in 1993, the center’s tenants include Trader Joe’s, Michael’s, Fisherman’s Market and Grill, and Tuesday Morning. Colliers International brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, Town Center Plaza LP.  

The retail loss burden overall is expected to be $132 per person this year.   However, $50 of this loss — about twice as much as in other calendar quarters — is expected to be incurred in this holiday season, according to “The 2016 Retail Holiday Season Global Forecast” from Checkpoint Systems. The report provides an analytical view of business risks that major retailers face during this holiday season.   

Optimizing shipments between warehouses and customers homes is not an easy task.    For Ashley Furniture this process becomes even more complex as it continues to create more efficient means to manages more than 7,000 storekeeping units (SKUs) filtering through the company’s retail network, which is comprised of 660 Ashley HomeStore locations in 35 countries.  

Nordstrom may be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but a new team of associates will be ready to serve shoppers come Black Friday.    The chain will hire approximately 11,400 seasonal employees that will be trained to serve customers at its Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores, as well as in its fulfillment and distribution centers that support stores, Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook and Trunk Club.