News

A strengthened omnichannel fulfillment model helped slow the pace of sales declines at Toys “R” Us last year and now the retailer is looking to execute the next phases of transformation strategy to restore profitable growth.

The company spelled out details of its strategy on March 25 during an investor conference with presentations from Antonio Urcelay, chairman and CEO, Hank Mullany, president of Toys “R” Us, U.S. and Mike Short, executive vice president and CFO.

City of Commerce, Calif. - 99 Cents Only Stores has opened an onsite fully operational compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station in the company's main distribution center. This is the final step in the company's plan in adopting a green approach to its private fleet operation.

Dublin, Calif. – The Ross Stores Inc. board of directors has approved a two-for-one stock split on June 11, 2015. The split will be paid in the form of a 100% stock dividend to stockholders of record as of April 22, 2015.

New York -- Toys “R” Us’ priorities for 2015 include advancing its mobile capabilities, improving its Babies “R” Us business and reducing costs in a drive to become more efficient, company executives said Tuesday during a media presentation in New York. The retailer will also continue to work on transforming its online and in-store customer experience, and debut two store prototypes this year, one for its namesake brand and the other for Babies, later this year.  

The nation’s largest retailer of swimming pool supplies and equipment continued its march toward 1,000 units this month with five new locations in Florida and a new prototype near its Phoenix headquarters.

The privately held Leslie’s Poolmart chain opened four locations in Jacksonville and one in nearby St. Augustine, bringing its store count in Florida to 90 locations, or 10% of the company’s total store base of roughly 900 locations.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – Brazilian mass merchandise retailer Etilux has selected the HighJump Warehouse Advantage warehouse management system (WMS) for its diverse supply chain needs. Etilux worked with Otimis, HighJump’s partner in Brazil, to select HighJump Warehouse Advantage.

Chicago – Bigger is often said to be better, but some big restaurant chains may not agree. The 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S. accelerated their cumulative sales growth in 2014 to a 4% increase, totaling an estimated $274.4 billion, according to data released by Technomic Inc.

But some of the biggest brands among them, namely Subway and McDonald's, lost ground to focused-menu competitors and emerging fast-casual chains and reported overall sales decreases for the year.

Most Americans plan to stock up on food and clothing for the Easter holiday, according to the National Retail Federation.

NRF’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics reports that the average person celebrating Easter will spend $140.62, slightly more than last year’s $137.46. Total spending for Easter, which includes purchases of apparel, decorations, gifts, candy, food, flowers and more, is expected to reach $16.4 billion.