News Briefs

Walmart Inc. is increasing its Ohio-area fulfillment capacity for oversized products.

The discount giant plans to invest more than $300 million in a new distribution facility in Turtlecreek Township, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati metro area). The new hub will sit on a nearly 100-acre parcel and specialize in fulfilling larger, non-sortable items, including TVs, furniture and other oversized merchandise. 

By expanding its fulfillment capacity in the region and positioning inventory closer to customers, Walmart hopes the facility will help it deliver more items faster while supporting the continued growth of its next-day delivery network.

Walmart expects the facility to create more than 300 new jobs and is partnering with local nonprofits REDI Cincinnati and JobsOhio in its development. The new hub will complement Walmart’s existing fulfillment operation in Monroe, Ohio, which employs more than 200 associates and will continue operating. 

“Greater Cincinnati has been an important part of Walmart’s operations for years, and this investment represents the next chapter in our commitment to the region,” Karisa Sprague, senior VP, fulfillment operations, Walmart U.S., said in a REDI Cincinnati blog post. “This new facility will complement our existing network, create hundreds of new jobs in Warren County and help us serve customers even faster by bringing more products closer to where they live.”

Walmart has been actively expanding a high-tech supply chain facility model featuring automation of picking, packing and shipping. It is not clear whether this facility will feature automation. 

[READ MORE: Walmart unveils next-gen fulfillment center model]

Walmart also provides fulfillment options for sellers who list big and bulky items, such as canoes or trampolines, by offering access to Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), a fee-based program providing services including storing, picking, packing and shipping.

Photo courtesy of REDI Cincinnati.

Sycamore Partners is reportedly close to a deal to sell British pharmacy chain Boots.

The private equity firm, which acquired Walgreens Boots Alliance for $23.7 billion in 2025, is reported to be in advance talks to sell Boots to the Canadian branch of Britain’s Weston family, reported The Wall Street Journal. 

Boots operates approximately 1,800 stores across the U.K.

The Westons are the owners of Canada’s Loblaws grocery chain and pharmacy retailer Shoppers Drug Mart. The U.K. branch of the Weston family hold the majority stake in Associated British Foods Plc, whose holdings include Primark, and own Fortnum & Mason. The businesses of the two branches of the family are run independently.

The sale would not come as a surprise as Sycamore has been widely expected to spin off and sell Boots after its acquisition of  Walgreen Boots Alliance last year. It subsequently split the company into ​five independent businesses including Walgreens and The Boots Group.

A new program Amazon is testing with the U.S. Postal Service gives customers a chance to have orders placed later in the day eligible for same-day delivery.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Chain Store Age that the company is partnering with USPS to conduct a pilot of a second afternoon drop between noon and 1 p.m. to expand “services and options” for its customers.

“For example, orders placed later in the day would now be eligible for same day delivery through this pilot,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The process is the same otherwise.”

According to a Sept. 17 USPS memo published by The Postal Times, the program, called “Amazon PM Delivery Pilot,” accepts packages from Amazon between noon and 1 p.m. local time for delivery by USPS carriers between 2-8 p.m. The pilot is currently taking place in one ZIP code each in Morgantown, W. Va. and Lake Havasu City, Ariz., with a volume cap of 200 total packages among three postal routes per city for an average of 67 packages per route.

On Oct. 20, the pilot is scheduled to launch in two ZIP codes in Columbia, S.C. with a volume cap of 500 packages among five postal routes for an average of 100 packages per route. The memo states the pilot has no anticipated end date.

Amazon has been making efforts to increase the availability of same-day delivery, such as offering the service in more rural areas by building more delivery stations and increasing its drone delivery footprint sixfold by the end of the year.

[READ MORE: Amazon plans drone delivery in 500 U.S. metros]

Earlier this year, Amazon and USPS reportedly reached an agreement that would have Amazon deliver about 20% fewer packages through the mail, which was far less than the two-thirds reduction previous media reports had indicated. 

David’s Bridal has ended its search for a new chief financial officer. 

The bridal and special occasion retailer and operator of AI-powered digital wedding platform Pearl named Kathy Cherian as CFO, effective immediately. She succeeds Rob Cooper, who stepped down in March after 20 years of service.

Cherian brings more than 20 years of experience leading finance, strategy and business planning for global, consumer-facing and multichannel businesses. Most recently, she served as CFO of Magnolia, where she oversaw finance across the company's retail, e-commerce, media, hospitality and consumer products businesses. 

Previously, Cherian spent 12 years at Nike, where she held senior finance leadership roles including CFO of Nike Canada and global business planning leadership for Nike's approximately $50 billion enterprise. 

At David's, Cherian will lead the company's global finance organization and play a central role in scaling its technology-enabled ecosystem across consumer commerce, Pearl, B2B marketplaces, media, partnerships and new revenue streams. 

During the past year, David's has expanded Pearl with AI-powered planning and commerce capabilities, launched Pearl Connect to connect wedding professionals with qualified couples, expanded its marketplace and B2B businesses, introduced new retail formats and partnerships, and continued to broaden its role across the wedding and special occasion journey.

[READ MORE: David's Bridal engages customers with reality series]

"Kathy is exactly the kind of leader we need for this next chapter," said Kelly Cook, CEO of David's Bridal. "We've spent the last 18 months building an entirely new engine for David's, from Pearl and AI-powered commerce to new B2B businesses, media, marketplaces and an increasingly asset-light model. Now we're focused on scaling that engine with discipline, speed and precision. Kathy has spent her career doing exactly that. She knows how to scale growth, how to build operational rigor and, most importantly, how to turn financial strategy into impactful results. "

Walmart has enhanced its customer app with a lighting feature that makes it easier for customers to find exactly what they are looking for on the store shelf.

With the chain's new "Shop to Light" tool, shoppers can use the Walmart app to ask for help finding an item. The request tells the store system which product location to light up, and a small LED flashes on the shelf label to help the customer spot it. The feature uses the LED already built into Walmart’s digital shelf labels, which the chain is rolling out across all its U.S. stores.

Walmart’s new tool has also been adapted for store employees (“Stock to Light). Using a mobile device, associates can activate the LED on a shelf label to quickly identify where an item belongs.

“Instead of spending extra time double-checking locations, the light helps point the way,” Walmart stated in a post on its web site. “That makes stocking simpler for associates and helps make sure products are where customers expect to find them.”

A similar concept, “Pick to Light,” is being used to help Walmart employees quickly find the products needed to fill online pickup or delivery orders.   

[READ MORE: Walmart CEO says chain does not use personal info to set prices]

“Stock to Light helps us put products where they belong, Walmart stated. “Pick to Light helps us find the right products for online orders. And now Shop to Light helps customers find what they’re looking for themselves.”