News

Bed Bath & Beyond shares omnichannel insights
The new fiscal year is off to a good start at Bed Bath & Beyond according to CEO Steve Temares who credits a wide range of omnichannel initiatives.

Sales in Bed Bath & Beyond’s first quarter ended May 30, increased 3.1% to $2.738 billion and same store sales increased 2.2%. Net income declined to $158.5 million from $187.1 million while a strong stock buyback program allowed earnings per share to remain flat.
Five Lessons from China: The Truth about 1.4 Billion Shoppers
Following a recent open invitation to U.S. retailers from Alibaba’s Jack Ma, everyone from established American brands to smaller mom and pop operations are looking to plug into the China opportunity. But what most American retailers don’t realize is that even with the reduced friction that technology has recently afforded, selling to the Chinese consumer is harder than it looks.

Toys"R"Us has got Comic Con covered

Toys”R”Us is curating a special lineup of toys -- and a new shop -- in anticipation of San Diego Comic-Con that is designed to appeal to the toy collector community.
What’s a Treasure Truck? Ask Amazon.

New York -- The world’s largest online retailer will soon be driving around and selling product out of a truck — a truck that looks like a giant Amazon package.
Industry Comment: Ahold-Delhaize merger

New York -- Dutch supermarket giant Ahold has agreed to buy Belgian rival Delhaize, creating the sixth largest food retailer in the United States. Keith Anderson, VP of strategy & insights for Profitero, and formerly a retail analyst with RetailNet Group, offers his thoughts on what led to the merger, and what it may bring.
Dollar General has a new finance chief

Dollar General Corp. has promoted one of its finance executives to serve as interim chief financial officer.

The company says John W. Garratt will serve as interim chief financial officer effective July 1. He follows David Tehle, who had previously announced his retirement in March.
Instacart uses Zebra IoT solution for cloud printing

San Francisco - Instacart is utilizing Zebra's hosted Zatar Internet of Things (IoT) platform for cloud printing and device management of Zebra printers. This new solution allows Instacart to print labels at locations across the U.S. securely and accurately.

Instacart chose to use the Zatar IoT platform for its ability to connect to and control devices in third-party locations via an API. The solution connects Instacart's printers to the cloud and enables the organization to interact with, monitor and manage Zebra printers globally.
Boston-area Asian market partners with Instacart

Boston - Asian-inspired grocery chain H Mart is partnering with Instacart to offer Boston area delivery to customers, in as little as one hour. H Mart is bringing products including a selection of ready to eat items, a fresh assortment of meat and produce, and dry goods and ramen products to Instacart.

Customers can also combine orders from other local Instacart partners such as Whole Foods Market and Harvest Co-Op Markets, adding products from H Mart to their regular weekly grocery list.
Making sense of Walmart’s new supplier agreement

Walmart’s interpretation of EDLP and a desire to simplify operations with a uniform supplier agreement sparked confusion this week among those unfamiliar with the company’s business model.
Harrods among U.K. retailers using Borderfree for global e-commerce

London – U.K. retailers Harrods, Browns, Space NK Apothecary, The Dune Group, Aspinal of London, Trunki, Brand Outlet, Austin Reed, Viyella, CC and Soletrader have all signed up to Borderfree’s global e-commerce platform.