Logistics

Bentonville, Ark. -- A report Thursday by Bloomberg said that Wal-Mart Stores is battling rising commodity prices by working with its suppliers to avoid price increases, among other strategies.

“We find creative ways to work around it,” Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart International, told Bloomberg. “First we try to keep our costs as low as we can, secondly work with our supply chain as best we can.”

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to remain at about the same levels as last year through July before starting to resume increases later this summer.

Greenville, S.C. -- Charlotte, N.C.-based The Chambers Group, an X Team partner, said it has completed a lease for the first REI in South Carolina.

The outdoor equipment retailer will join The Point shopping center, a Whole Foods-anchored property located in Greenville, S.C., and owned by Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty.

REI will occupy 22,000 sq. ft. of a former Circuit City space.
 

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores is ramping up the opening of its mid-sized Neighborhood Market format, which is being renamed Walmart Market, said  Bill Simon, president and CEO, Walmart U.S., on Wednesday at the William Blair & Co. Growth Stock Conference in Chicago.

The Market stores, which average around 42,000 sq. ft., are delivering returns on the same level as supercenters, Simon said, and can be approved and built in less time.

Cary, N.C. -- Convenience-store operator The Pantry is selling 114 locations located in nine states throughout the Southeast. The properties are a combination of owned and leased locations. All are operating convenience stores with gasoline, except for one standalone store.

NRC Realty Capital Advisors, Chicago, is assisting The Pantry in the sale. As of May 9, The Pantry operated 1,659 stores in 13 states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner.

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma said Monday that it will offer international shipping across its brands. The chain is partnering with FiftyOne Global Ecommerce, a leading provider of international e-commerce services and infrastructure to U.S. retailers.

Customers in more than 75 countries are now able to shop online for Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids products, the company said. The same service for West Elm and Williams-Sonoma should launch by the end of the month.

Laval, Quebec -- Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of Circle K Stores, has signed an agreement to acquire up to 322 sites, plus an additional 65 reseller contracts, in Southern California, from ExxonMobil Corp. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“These stores are high volume, high impact locations,” Tim Tourek, Couche-Tard’s VP of operations for the west coast division, said in a statement. “They would significantly strengthen our overall footprint in this important market.”

New York City -- With global e-commerce estimated to reach nearly $1.4 trillion in 2015, more and more retailers are looking to gear up or expand their online operations. A new report by Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) sizes up the challenges and opportunities -- and outlines best practices -- for retailers who want to take advantage of e-commerce growth by going global.