Business Intelligence (BI)

New York -- Only 58% of consumer product goods executives view dollar stores as a strategic channel, according to Deloitte’s new Dollar Store Strategies for National Brands study. Deloitte advises that CPG companies may not be keeping pace with the explosive growth of the $56 billion dollar store industry, and should act now to maximize market share and profits.

In other survey highlights: 

New York -- Target Corp. will soon join the ranks of retailers who are no longer reporting monthly same-store sales. The discounter on Thursday said it will no longer report comparable sales, beginning in fiscal 2013.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. has received the Alliance to Save Energy’s top award, the “Galaxy” Star of Energy Efficiency.

Sears has equipped 27 of its Home Services division vehicles with engines that run on propane gas as part of a broader energy management effort.

The efficiency initiative involving 27 Roush CleanTech Ford E-250 cargo vans fueled by propane autogas will be deployed in the Sears Home Services Seattle fleet.

Vancouver -- LightHaus  announced that Foot Locker has deployed the LightHaus Visual Customer Intelligence (VCI) solution to measure customer traffic and sales conversion rates at all of its Champs Sports stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as its Foot Locker Canada stores. The chain is adopting LightHaus VCI in stores in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Louisville, Colo. -- Envysion, Inc., the leading Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) provider, announced that Chick-fil-A has selected Envysion as a video provider. Chick-fil-A, a leading quick-service chicken restaurant with more than 1,600 locations in the United States, will use Envysion to improve operations, training and customer service.

By Sean Jackson, [email protected]

In recent weeks, there have been some well-publicised examples of retail giants whose financial performance has been severely impacted by breakdowns in the supply chain. As salt in the wound to these behemoths of retail, there are just as many examples of organizations that have exceeded market expectations due to an ability to behave nimbly and respond quickly to changes in consumer demand.

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- The Bentley Group, a Canadian retailer offering luggage, handbags and accessories, has selected Oracle Retail solutions to optimize operations and establish an integrated, scalable platform to help drive growth.

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods Market has received a 2012 Green Power Leadership Award for sustained excellence from the Environmental Protection Agency for its renewable energy purchase of 800 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) last year.

In addition to its renewable energy purchases, Whole Foods Market is generating nearly 258,000 kWh annually with the use of on-site solar arrays. Whole Foods Market adds this most recent award to its three previous Green Power Partner of the Year and two Green Power Purchasing awards from the EPA.

New York -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in August, improved in September to 70.3 -- up from 61.3 in August.

The Expectations Index increased to 83.7 from 71.1. The Present Situation Index rose to 50.2 from 46.5 last month.