News

Walmart Vice President of Supply Chain Services Debbie Hodges is the featured speaker at the April gathering of Doing Business in Bentonville.

The organization recently confirmed that Hodges would be the featured speaker at an event to be held Thursday April 16 at 7 a.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bentonville.

Among the topics Hodges plans to address are the role and structure of the Supply Chain Services team, key initiatives currently underway and the impact on suppliers.

A top digital marketing executive heaped praise on Walmart’s digital efforts at an industry event attended by executives from Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Google who are more accustomed to such praise.

Walmart is one of my e-commerce heroes,” said Jason Goldberg, group vice president of commerce strategy with Razorfish. That’s high praise from a key executive with one of the world’s top digital marketing agencies.

Sam’s Club is expanding its prescription savings program to allow Plus and Business Plus members to save even more money through new benefits.

New savings on generic prescriptions, some of which are available free of charge or at a discounted cost of $4 or $10 at specified quantities, are now available in all Sam’s Club locations with pharmacies.

This new benefit is part of Sam’s Club Extra Value Drug List, through which Sam’s Club Plus and Business Plus members also receive 10-30% savings on select brand name medications.

Belk Inc. has hired Goldman Sachs to explore its strategic options, including the possibility of a sale that could value the family owned department store chain at as much as $4 billion, Reuters reports.

In response to the Reuters report, Belk issued a response saying that it had hired Goldman Sachs to help it explore all options for its future. Belk added that it expects to conclude its analysis in the next several months.

Belk operates about 300 stores in 16 Southern states.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon's statement on social media Wednesday asking the state of Arkansas to reject legislation that critics say could allow discrimination against lesbians and gay men is indicative of the retailer's increased role in many social issues, according to the New York Times.

New York – Walmart on Wednesday sent out a tweet in which it commended Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson and legislative leaders for reconsidering a law that some people and organizations fear would open the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians. The “religious freedom” measure (HB1228) in Arkansas is similar to the one that has kicked up a firestorm in Indiana. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Gov, Hutchinson said he wouldn’t sign the bill in its present form and called for changes to be made.

By Rich Thompson, JLL
 
Port problems on the West coast are giving retailers more than just a headache; it’s more like a severe case of sea sickness. But diversifying supply chain strategies can take the edge off.

Seattle – Some observers thought it might be an April Fools prank, but Amazon.com has officially released its Amazon Dash mobile ordering device for AmazonFresh customers. Chain Store Age readers had no confusion as we first reported the pilot of Dash in April 2014, but here is a brief primer of how Dash works.

Hosuton - Fashion accessories retailer Charming Charlie recently expanded its relationship with Stored Value Solutions (SVS) to offer e-commerce distribution of digital gift cards. Charming Charlie originally associated with SVS in 2012 for gift card processing in their more than 340 stores across the U.S.

Since introducing online access to digital eCards to complement the availability of physical cards, Charming Charlie gift cards purchased online during the winter holiday season grew by an exponential rate year-over-year.

Fort Worth, Texas – In what may be a tale of survival to rival the PT 109 ordeal of John F. Kennedy, RadioShack Corp. will exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy with some 1,700 stores intact.  

A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the sale of 1,743 RadioShack stores to hedge fund Standard General, preserving some 7,500 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Standard General intends to operate most of the preserved RadioShack stores in an alliance with Sprint Corp.