Logistics

McLean, Va. – German discount grocer Lidl continues to lay the foundation for its store debut in the United States.

The company which is establishing a U.S. corporate headquarters, in Arlington County, Virginia, announced it will also open a regional headquarters and distribution center facility in Alamance County, North Carolina. The moves are part of Lidl’s early preparations to expand into the U.S. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/german-grocer-lidl-prepares-us-expansion-open-headquarters-virginia

Seattle – Mexico has always held an appeal for Americans, and Amazon.com is the latest visitor from the U.S. to heed Mexico’s call.

Following the successful launch of its Mexican Kindle store in 2013, Amazon has launched a Spanish-language Mexican website and mobile app with millions of unique items available.

San Antonio, Texas - CST Brands Inc., through its CrossAmerica Partners LP wholly-owned subsidiary, has closed its previously announced acquisition of the Charleston, West Virginia-based One Stop convenience store network. CST is also moving 29 recently constructed stores into its wholly-owned CrossAmerica partnership via two “dropdown” transactions.

Academy Sports is marking a company milestone this week when it opens a store in Tupelo, Miss.

"I want to thank all of our corporate, store, and distribution center associates for their tremendous efforts in supporting us as we achieve this milestone in our strategic five-year growth plan," said Rodney Faldyn, president and CEO of Academy Sports + Outdoors. "We have no intention of stopping our growth at 200 as we're committed to bringing our stores to active communities throughout the Midwest, South, and Southeast U.S."

Irvine, Calif. – Boot Barn Holdings Inc. is looking to expand its ability to serve the needs of omnichannel customers with a new acquisition.

The retailer has completed its previously announced purchase of Sheplers Inc. a western lifestyle company with 25 retail locations across the U.S. and a catalog and e-commerce business.

Toronto - Staples Canada has released its 2015 recycling objectives and first quarter update. Highlights include a plan to collect three million ink cartridges and 4,000,000 kg of electronics in 2015.

Staples Canada partners with Call2Recycle to collect and recycle batteries (rechargeable and alkaline) in every Staples store. In the first quarter, 37,111 kg of batteries were collected, an increase of 22.5% from the same quarter a year earlier. The retailer has set a goal of collecting 125,000 kg of batteries in 2015.

The Home Depot continues to find ways to drive incremental growth, this time through a partnership with a provider of software services to the rental housing industry.

San Francisco - Instacart is utilizing Zebra's hosted Zatar Internet of Things (IoT) platform for cloud printing and device management of Zebra printers. This new solution allows Instacart to print labels at locations across the U.S. securely and accurately.

Instacart chose to use the Zatar IoT platform for its ability to connect to and control devices in third-party locations via an API. The solution connects Instacart's printers to the cloud and enables the organization to interact with, monitor and manage Zebra printers globally.