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Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company continues to extend its mobile offerings. The coffee giant will launch mobile ordering in its locations in the Portland, Ore., area by year end, with a full rollout nationwide in 2015.    The mobile-order app will enable customers to place orders in advance of their visit and pick them up at their selected Starbucks location.   

Ensuring the roughly nine billion people who are estimated to inhabit the planet by 2050 have enough to eat is a big challenge. That’s why Land O’Lakes has introduced new program to fund big ideas from future food leaders.

New York -- The O Alliance, a new consulting firm helping retailers to create circular commerce, announced that it is expanding its senior management team with the appointment of retail industry veteran and multi-channel expert Walter Killough as a managing director. He will be responsible for business development, strategic partnerships and overall day-to-day management of the company.  

Even if Dollar General doesn’t prevail in its efforts to acquire Family Dollar the company’s expanding distribution infrastructure is positioned to support future growth.

Dollar General said it plans to build the 13th distribution center in its nationwide network in San Antonio. The facility will measure more than 900,000-sq.-ft., employ roughly 530 people and serve more than 1,000 stores when it opens in October 2015, the company said.

Seattle –- Amazon.com and Sears Holdings Corp. have both reportedly removed men’s rings featuring the Nazi swastika emblem from their websites after public complaints. According to the Wall Street Journal, in both instances the items were sold by third-party vendors, but the companies handled the complaints differently.  

Amazon’s 50 fulfillments centers and 15 sortation centers are looking to hire 80,000 seasonal works to cope with an anticipated surge in U.S. holiday sales.

Amazon, like other retailers, touts the seasonal positions as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with the company and establish a foundation for a career. Last year, Amazon said it converted thousands of seasonal employees into regular, full-time roles after the holidays, and expects to do the same this year.
 

Seattle – Amazon.com is creating 80,000 seasonal positions across its U.S. network of fulfillment and sortation centers for the 2014 holiday season in order to meet an increase in customer demand. In 2013, Amazon converted thousands of seasonal employees into regular, full-time roles after the holidays, and expects to do the same this year.  

Regional discounter Shopko has added a range of omnichannel capabilities to its retail operations just in time for what is expected to be the most digital Christmas ever.

Shopko announced the rollout of expanded omnichannel capabilities it said would provide shoppers more access to products, the ability to buy products on-line and ship them to store for free. The capabilities were extended to 310 of the company’s locations.