Distribution

Staples is expanding its omnichannel capabilities with a new service that hopes to take advantage of small business growth in 2015.

According to a new Staples survey conducted by Research Now, the majority of small business leaders (87%) are optimistic about the year ahead. To help small business customers drive growth in 2015, Staples has launched Print-to-Store.

Neiman Marcus got a boost in the second quarter from its October purchase of mytheresa.com, a German luxury e-retailer.

For the 13 weeks ended Jan. 31, the company reported a profit of $27.8 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $84 million. Revenue grew to $1.52 billion from $1.43 billion in the prior-year period. Sales at stores open more than a year and online rose 5.6%.

Loblaw is already Canada’s largest retailer and it plans to stay that way by spending more than $1 billion this year on new stores, e-commerce expansion and supply chain improvements.

As Canada's largest network of corporate and independently owned retail stores and formats, each employing between 20 and 300 employees, Loblaw's investment is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs through store staffing and construction.

Who needs Family Dollar? After a failed bid to acquire its smaller rival, Dollar General is on the move and extending its presence to three new states.

Atlanta – UPS wants to take on your problems. The company has unveiled a new positioning message, United Problem Solvers, which communicates the company’s capabilities to solve problems for all customers.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General isn’t letting its failed bid for rival Family Dollar slow its momentum. On Saturday, Dollar General announced it is entering three new states: Oregon, Maine and Rhode Island. The expansion will give it stores in a total of 43 states nationwide.

Dollar General already operates more than 11,700 stores, but entry into the three new states gives it more greenfield expansion opportunities to pursue while Dollar Tree is busy integrating the recently acquired Family Dollar chain.

Jackson, Miss. – Newk’s Eatery is entering the San Antonio, Texas area as part of a broader expansion plan that includes 30 new franchise and corporate stores in 2015. The fast-casual dining chain has signed a franchise agreement with Stephen Kuehler, who will lead the chain's expansion into the San Antonio area.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to rise an unusually high 16.9% this month over the same time last year as West Coast ports begin to dig out from a backlog of cargo that built up during just-concluded contract negotiations with dockworkers, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.