Distribution

Publix Super Markets has signed two leases for its first stores in Virginia.

The first Publix locations in that state will be in Bristol and in the greater Richmond area of Glen Allen. The Bristol store, at 54,000 square feet, will be located at the northeast corner of Lee Highway & Clear Creek Road in Washington County. In the greater Richmond area, the Glen Allen store, at 49,000 square feet, will be located at the northeast corner of Nuckols Road & Twin Hickory Road in Henrico County.

Vertical omnichannel footwear retailer Allen Edmonds Corp. needs to ensure brand and price consistency across a dizzying array of consumer touch-points.

Port Lake, Wisconsin-based Allen Edmonds is using the Ugam brand intelligence solution to monitor channel pricing, enforce minimum advertised price policy and manage channel relationships. Allen Edmonds needs to manage these activities in its 59 corporate stores and e-commerce site, as well as with third-party retail partners.

The retirement of Kroger’s Nashville division president Rick Going and the earlier appointment of a new Fred Meyer president gave the supermarket company the opportunity to elevate two other executives.

dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc. will open a 20,000-sq.-ft. store at Parkshire Center in Wilcrest, Texas on Feb. 6. The location is 14 miles southwest of downtown Houston, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Wilcrest Drive.

The new store ups dd’s store count in Texas to 37 locations, making it the retailer’s second largest state. With the new opening, the chain will operate 175 locations in 15 states.

Landover, Maryland-based Giant Food is joining the trend of retailers making online deliveries to places beyond consumer homes.

The Peapod by Giant online delivery service is now allowing Washington, D.C.-area shoppers to place their orders online and pick them up at one of three Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) stations: Fort Totten, Glenmont and Vienna. Peapod is an online grocer that shares its Ahold parent company with Giant and will execute deliveries for the service.

Soft Surroundings has completed a dividend recapitalization that was financed through an expansion of the existing credit facility.

The women’s lifestyle retailer is in the midst of a nationwide store expansion strategy, and the new debt financing includes a designated facility to fund future store openings. The company opened 11 new stores in 2015 and has identified over 15 locations for 2016.

H&M isn’t letting a challenging retail environment stand in the way of its physical expansion.

The Swedish retail powerhouse plans to open 425 stores in 2016, with a focus on expansion in the United States and China. The company will also enter several new markets this year, including New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Cyprus.

In addition, the chain will expand its e-commerce site to several markets, including Ireland, Japan, and Greece.

At the close of its fiscal year, H&M operated 3,924 stores in 61 markets.

Tuesday Morning's value proposition clearly resonated with shoppers over the holidays as the off-price retailer reported an impressive increase in same-store sales for the second quarter.

The Texas-based retailer said that for the second quarter and six months ended Dec. 31, net sales were $319.9 million for the second quarter, an increase of $18.5 million from the prior year period. Same-store sales increased 8.4%. Operating income for the second quarter was $20.6 million. Diluted income per share was 43 cents.