Logistics

Plainfield, Ind. -- Walmart had added to its online fulfillment capabilities.

New York -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has entered into its biggest deal ever — and this one is in the brick-and-mortar arena.
 
The Internet giant has invested approximately $4.63 billion in Chinese consumer electronics retailer Suning, which operates more than 1,600 stores across 289 cities in China. The investment gives Alibaba a 19.9% stake, making it the second largest shareholder in the company.

In return, Suning will invest up to $2.28 billion to subscribe to new shares of Alibaba.

Washington, D.C. — Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.6% in August 2015 from the same month in 2014 as retailers begin to bring in merchandise for the holiday season. According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, imports for the year are expected to be up 4.2% from 2014.

New York -- The founder of the now defunct same-day delivery service Webvan is back — this time with a robot-powered would-be competitor to Amazon Prime, reports ReCode.  

Louis Borders is developing a $99 shopping club that plans to offer same-day delivery of groceries and other merchandise from participating retailers. But it’s the back-end of the operation that is so interesting.

Hangzhou, China – The apparel selection on Alibaba Group’s Tmall.com third-party marketplace is getting a lot bigger.

Tmall has formed strategic partnerships with more than 160 brands from 110 global apparel chains.  It will work with apparel brands in areas of new product launches, online-to-offline initiatives, data-driven operations, digital marketing campaigns and other services to enhance consumer shopping experiences.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer is on the move in Wisconsin.  

Continuing an estimated $750 million investment in Wisconsin, Meijer on Tuesday opened two more superstores in the state. The retailer announced plans to open two to three new Wisconsin locations per year through 2019.

Meijer, which now operates 222 stores, entered Wisconsin just six weeks ago, with two stores. The retailer traditionally focused its growth on five states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

The options for consumers who dread the store checkout lane are exploding now that fast growing Instacart is on a hiring spree and competitor Deliv says it will be expanding into more than 100 cities.

Macy's and Bloomingdales are racing to join other retailers that are turning their stores into mini-fulfillment centers in an effort to challenge Amazon.com.

The department store company announced it is expanding same-day delivery service to nine additional markets beginning this month. Both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are partnering with third-party delivery service Deliv to offer same-day delivery on products purchased online at macys.com, Bloomingdales.com, and on both brands’ mobile-enabled websites.