Distribution

To uphold its reputation of providing the fastest possible delivery to its shoppers, Amazon is preparing to open a new fulfillment center in Monee, Ill. This is the third warehouse planned for the suburbs of Chicago.   The 850,000-plus-sq.-ft. facility will facilitate the picking, packing and shipping of small items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods.  

The Body Shop is staking a new claim in South American as it opens its first location in Chile.    Lured by a population of 17.8 million, and a stable and prosperous customer base, The Body Shop’s new store is located in Santiago, Plaza Egaña Mall — a property that is called the most sustainable mall in Chile.  

Nordstrom shoppers will now be able to purchase J.Crew apparel, as well as its sister brand Madewell.   Continuing to expand its partnerships with select brands, the department store retailer has entered into a new deal with J. Crew Group to sell an edited assortment of J.Crew apparel at select full-line Nordstrom and on its website beginning Sept. 12.       The assortment, to be featured in 16 Nordstrom locations, will include women's apparel, accessories and petites (online only).

Amazon announced plans to open a fulfillment center in Coppell, Texas. It will be the Internet giant’s eighth center in the Lone Star State.   “Our ability to expand Texas operations within three short years is the result of two things: incredible customers and an outstanding workforce in the state,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s VP of North American operations.   

Michaels Cos. said increased spending cut into its bottom line in the second quarter. The chain lowered its same-stores outlook for the rest of the year, citing a “choppy” retail environment.    For the quarter ended July 30, the company posted a profit of $35.6 million, compared with $35.7 million in the year-ago period, amid spending to integrate recently-acquired arts and craft wholesaler Lamrite West and the timing of distribution expenses.  

Chain Store Age recently sat down with Stefan Weitz, chief product and strategy officer of omnichannel commerce and service provider Radial (formerly eBay Enterprise), to discuss how retailers can offer a seamless experience and have a successful holiday.
    
What is the biggest challenge retailers face when trying to enable omnichannel?

In many cases, it’s thinking they can do omnichannel by themselves.

CommerceHub, a distributed commerce network for retailers and brands, is expanding its existing partnership with Walmart, integrating directly with Walmart’s online third-party marketplace.   Under the new agreement, CommerceHub’s network of approximately 9,500 customers, including many of the largest retailers, marketplaces and brands in North America, will be able to team up with Walmart.com.    

Shoppers in select foreign markets have a new way to purchase goods from Abercrombie & Fitch.   The retailer on Wednesday announced a wholesale agreement with Zalando SE, a Germany-based online retailer that carries more than 150,000 styles from some 1,500 brands for women, men and kids and counts more than 18 million active customers. Beginning this week, Zalando will start selling Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and abercrombie kids products through its online stores in the 15 European markets it serves.   

Not all retailers are reducing their store portfolios.    DSW Inc. announced it will open 21 stores nationwide between August and October. The footwear and accessories retailer currently operates 482 stores in 42 states.     "New store growth is an important and exciting piece of the DSW formula,” said Valara Gee, VP of stores, DSW.   

Bonobos has decided to move from a consumer file sync and share solution to enterprise-wide content management in the cloud.   The menswear retailer is deploying Box’s content management platform enterprise-wide for managing and collaborating on content in the cloud.