News

PizzaRev, the make-your-own pizza concept backed by Buffalo Wild Wings, will soon be on the march in South Florida.   The company has signed a franchise agreement with Surfside Coffee, one of the largest Dunkin’ Donuts franchise networks in Florida, to develop 45 restaurants across greater Miami. The group’s first location is projected to open at the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables.  

Brookshire Grocery Co. is expanding with a new neighborhood format.    The Tyler, Texas-based supermarket operator will open 26 locations this summer under its new Spring Market banner. The stores will be on the sites of former Walmart Express stores that Brookshire is in the process of acquiring. (The acquisition is scheduled to close in July.) The locations range from southern Louisiana to west Texas.  

Cars that drive themselves are yesterday’s news. The next big thing may be shopping carts that essentially do the same.   

The nation’s highest-profile electric car-marker is taking an unusual route to get its product out in front of potential customers.

Office Depot isn’t about to let its rivals get the better of it during one of its busiest times of the year.   The office-supply retailer plans to hire a total of 8,000 seasonal and regular associates for the back-to-school season, up 33%, or 2,000 associates, over last year.  

And then there were 10 — technology start-ups that is. And the lineup ranges from one that develops apps for supply chain inspectors to one that creates wearable technology that helps users prevent sexual assaults. 

Bed Bath & Beyond made another move to boost its online offerings by acquiring a home furnishings and home décor flash-sales site.

Westlake Ace Hardware has entered into a lease agreement and will be opening a new store in Overland Park, Kansas.   Lenexa, Kansas-based Westlake will take possession of the 15,500-sq.-ft. store on July 29. The store is the current location of Dobbels True Value Hardware. It will officially reopen as a Westlake Ace in fall 2016. Dobbels is currently having a going-out-of-business sale.    

Rural lifestyle retailer Tractor Supply Co. has been strengthening its IT infrastructure to support growth, and now is turning its attention to pricing.   Tractor Supply Co. plans to grow from 1,500 to 2,500 stores, and has been shifting to a Web-scale architecture and new ERP platform. Now the company is extending an existing partnership with merchandise optimization solutions provider Revionics Inc. through 2019.  

If it seems like more if your inventory is disappearing, you’re probably not imagining things.   According to the 2016 National Retail Federation (NRF) Retail Security Study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Florida, retailers’ inventory shrink averaged 1.38% of retail sales, or $45.2 billion in 2015, up by 3% from $44 billion the previous year.