Distribution

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning to sharply cut back the growth of its U.S. supercenters in favor of smaller-format stores and acccelerated e-commerce and digital investments.    

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. will enter China for the first time through the opening of an online flagship store on Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global platform. Tmall Global allows overseas brands and retailers to establish presence on the Alibaba third-party e-commerce platform Tmall.com without the need for physical operations in China.  

Manchester, U.K. -- Office Depot has selected the Atlas Products network-based supplier collaboration platform for its European trading operations. The Atlas supplier enablement network, a subsidiary of HighJump Software, provides Office Depot with an electronic platform for collaboration and commerce with more than 4,000 suppliers of goods-for-resale products spanning eight countries and seven languages.   

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal announced a workforce reduction resulting in the elimination of a combination of 78 filled and open positions, including  66 positions at the company’s corporate office, or a 24% reduction in headcount, and 12 positions at the field management level, representing a 20% decrease. The cuts are the first steps in the retailer’s initiative to reduce its overall cost structure.   

Walmart’s newest omnichannel initiative is on display at a supercenter in Northwest Arkanas where the retailer has installed lockers for online order pickup.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to hire more than 63,000 seasonal associates—more than Walmart—at its stores, call centers and distribution centers nationwide for the 2014 holiday season. (Walmart previously announced it was hiring 60,000 seasonal associates.)  

Amazon once again takes the lead in disruptive news with reports it will open its first-ever physical store in New York City on West 34th Street, across from the Empire State Building and down the street from the iconic Macy’s flagship store. Even more than for its impressive location, the store is notable as the ultimate symbol of the continuing primacy of brick-and-mortar in the omnichannel environment.

 

Lowe’s may operate only eight stores in Mexico but that’s enough for the company to get a jump on executing an omnichannel strategy.