News

Report: Rival accuses Meijer of undercutting grocery prices
Grand Rapids, Mich. – A rival Midwestern grocery chain is reportedly accusing regional mass merchandiser Meijer Inc. of offering unfairly low prices on grocery products. According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee-based law firm Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan has filed five complaints against Meijer from an unnamed client who is grocer with stores in Wisconsin.
Michaels partners with DIY marketplace
Irving, Texas – The Michaels Companies Inc. is partnering with trend-driven online DIY marketplace Darby Smart in September to bring select Michaels products to Darby Smart. The partnership will also bring Darby Smart products and community members to Michaels.

Too little, too late for Lumber Liquidators?

Lumber Liquidators has hired a new executive to help it fight off an avalanche of legal troubles that has hammered the flooring retailer.
Staples meets Street with Q2 profit decline

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. met Wall Street expectations with declining profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Costs related to restructuring and the pending acquisition of Office Depot drove net income down 56% to $36 million, from $82 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales fell 5% to $4.94 billion, from $5.22 billion. North American store closures and unfavorable foreign exchange rates pushed sales totals downward. Same-store sales in North America (including online) fell 3%.
Gas grills and fertilizer propel True Value sales

True Value's transformation strategy seems to be resonating with shoppers, as the hardware cooperative posted an increase in revenue and sales growth.

The company reported gross billings of $573.6 million for the quarter ended July 4, up 1% from the same period a year ago. Revenue was $431.9 million, an increase of 0.6% or $2.4 million. The cooperative posted a quarterly net margin of $9.3 million.
JDA, IBM offer end-to-end buying efficiency

Scottsdale, Ariz. – JDA Software Group Inc. is launching new integrated fulfillment capabilities that combine the functionality of JDA intelligent fulfillment and labor productivity solutions with order management solutions from IBM Commerce. This technology collaboration is designed to let retailers process orders more intelligently and profitably across sales channels in real-time, to ensure customers have a positive end-to-end buying experience.
Can the Office Depot deal save Staples?

Staples says the $6.3 billion deal to buy rival Office Depot is still on track despite the retailer’s deepening sales declines in the second quarter.
Starbucks to expand Puerto Rican presence

San Juan – Puerto Rico calls to many with warm weather, beautiful beaches and friendly people. The U.S. island territory is also calling to Starbucks Corp., who is answering with a new franchise deal that will significantly expand its Puerto Rican presence.

Starbucks has signed a licensing agreement with Baristas Del Caribe LLC, an affiliate of Puerto Rican conglomerate Empresas Fonalledas. Starbucks opened its first store in San Juan, in 2002 and today has 19 stores across the island, employing more than 340 employees.
Expenses nail Ace profit in Q2

Oak Brook, Ill. – Increased retail operating expenses, primarily related to store acquisitions and advertising, helped reduce profit at Ace Hardware Corp. during the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income totaled $57.5 million, a 13% drop from $66.5 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Consolidated revenues fared better, rising 6% to $86.2 billion from $84.8 billion.
Magento expands cloud analytics access

King of Prussia, Pa. - Magento, the e-commerce platform provider that is a division of eBay Enterprise, is partnering with New Relic Inc., is releasing an extension for the New Relic Software Analytics Cloud. The extension is designed to provide customers with a deeper understanding of their applications’ performance and customer engagement activities.