News

H-E-B has registered its new store in Austin for LEED certification and Austin Energy Green Building certification. Apart from using a propane refrigeration system, the store includes a number of other green “firsts” for H-E-B, including the use of 100% LED lighting, radiant floor cooling, a chilled water system that supports the store refrigeration and HVAC systems, chilled sails/beams for cooling, a wood building frame and roof deck, a ceramic-based roof coating and extensive use of photovoltaic panels.

Provigo, a division of Canada’s Loblaw Cos., has opened the second location under its new Provigo Le Marché banner, a flagship in the Montreal suburb of Kirkland. The 82,000-sq.-ft. store combines the convenience and variety of a full-service supermarket with a food market-styled layout. It offers an expanded range of fresh products, and gives center stage to local and regional items.

New York -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index which had declined in July, increased slightly in August. The Index now stands at 81.5, up from 81.0 in July.

Schaumburg, Ill. – Sixty-six percent of warehouses plan to expand their IT investments by 2018, a 71% increase in the number of warehouses currently planning an IT expansion. A recent survey of 328 warehouse IT and operational professionals in the logistics, manufacturing, retail and wholesale market segments also indicates that 26% of respondents reported that company management views warehouses and distribution centers as an asset that can drive growth for the business.

Other results of the Motorola Solutions Future of Warehousing Survey include:

Columbus, Ohio -- DSW Inc. improved upon its results from the second quarter of fiscal 2012 in the second quarter of this fiscal year, reporting increases in net income, sales and same-store sales. The company had net income of $33.7 million, including net after-tax losses and charges, a 15% boost from reported net income of $29.3 million a year earlier.

In addition, net sales rose 9.7% to  $562 million. Same-store sales increased 4.4%.

New York -- Mitchell Klipper, CEO of Barnes & Noble’s retail group., sold off two-thirds of his stock holdings in Barnes & Noble between Aug. 22 and Aug. 26 of this year. An SEC filing indicates that Klipper sold 400,000 of roughly 600,000 shares he held in the company, grossing more than $5.5 million.

Oberlin, Ohio - College students budgeted an average of $447.75 for back-to-college shopping, not including textbooks. However, a recent student panel survey conducted by OnCampus Research, the research arm of indiCo, a division of the National Association of College Stores, shows that despite considering price the most important factor in back-to-school purchases, college students do not always follow or even create a budget.

Richfield, Minn. -- Best Buy Inc.’s founder and largest shareholder, Richard Schulze, plans to sell off an unspecified portion of his 20% stock holdings in the chain, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

The move is part of Schulze's “personal long-term strategy for asset diversification and liquidity,” according to the filing, which did not disclose the total number of shares expected to be effected by the sale.

By Tom Pettit, senior VP & general manager, Ryder Supply Chain Solutions, [email protected]

Whatever happened to the customer? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself more and more lately, and one that more than a few national brands should be working harder to answer. At a time when retail is evolving in exciting ways, one of the most disappointing trends over the last several years is a conspicuous (and costly) lack of focus on the customer.