Distribution

The nation's largest discount retailer of perfumes and specialty celebrity and designer fragrances has filed for bankruptcy protection with a goal of moving its business forward — and closing more stores.    

Sears Holdings Corp.'s second-quarter earnings beat the Street as it benefitted from cost-saving initiatives. But it continued to struggle with weak traffic and declining sales, and added 28 more locations to its long list of store closings.    Sears reported that its second-quarter loss narrowed to $251 million, or $2.34 per share, in the quarter ended July 29, helped by cost savings resulting from the streamlining of operations and store closings.  

That didn't take very long.    Amazon said on Thursday — the day after the Federal Trade Commission gave the green light to the deal — that its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market will close on Monday Aug. 28. Starting that same day, Whole Foods will offer lower prices on select products. And with time, Amazon will place lockers in Whole Food stores, and make Amazon Prime the grocer's customer rewards program.   

Everything you know about the battle between online and physical retail is probably wrong, according to a report issued this week by CBRE.   As business analysts and retail pundits focus on store closings, they miss the fact that 58% of retail warehouse space was leased by brick-and-mortar retailers last. Only a third of such space was leased by pure-play internet sellers.  

There are some major changes going on at Kohl's stores.   The department store retailer announced plans to make nearly half its locations "operationally smaller through balancing inventory and adjusting fixtures" by the end of 2017. To date, the new interior layouts have been rolled out in 300 Kohl's locations.   

Overall, this is a solid set of results from DSW which shows the company is moving in the right direction. The 0.6% rise in comparable sales may not be spectacular, but given it is the first time in over two years that the measure has been positive, we see it as an encouraging sign.  

Sears Holdings is expanding the distribution of two of its iconic brands.   Cleva North America will manufacture vacuum cleaners and floor cleaning accessories under the Kenmore and Kenmore Elite brands. The company will be able to sell the products to retailers around the world.   

Dollar General is celebrating an important milestone.   The discounter has opened its 14,000th retail location. The store is located in Dauphin, Pa.   “Dollar General is excited to celebrate our company’s continued growth by celebrating our 14,000th store grand opening today,” said Todd Vasos, CEO, Dollar General. “For nearly 80 years, Dollar General has continually been focused on delivering everyday low prices, convenience and value to the communities we serve."