News

Schnuck Markets chairman and CEO Scott Schnuck plans to transfer the latter title in March to his brother, president and COO Todd Schnuck.

Todd Schnuck will become president and CEO of the family-owned supermarket chain in March, while Scott Schnuck will remain chairman and assist in the transition through September. Meanwhile, Craig Schnuck will formally retire from the company and become chairman emeritus. Todd Schnuck originally began working at the company in 1987 as treasurer and served as corporate VP and CFO before becoming president and COO.

Retail and consumer products industry veterans Vince Burke, Jim Gillis and Rich Juliano have founded the Burke-Gillis-Juliano Group, a global consultancy focused on the supermarket, mass retail, convenience, drug and specialty retail trade channels.

The consultancy will offer executive management, market strategy, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, business development, product marketing, trade relations and related services to leading retailers, suppliers and vendors in the United States and around the world.

Amazon announced a record-setting year for Marketplace Sellers, which sold more than a billion units worldwide, cumulatively worth tens of billions of dollars, in 2013.

Women’s apparel retailer Cato has made its debut into the world of online shopping with the launch of its first ever e-commerce site. The announcement came as the retailer reported holiday sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 4.
 
Founded in 1946, Cato operates approximately 1,100 apparel and accessories specialty stores throughout the United States. With so many brick-and-mortar locations, the ability to supplement in-store inventory with an e-commerce strategy geared toward a new generation of connected shoppers became crucial for continued growth.

Cincinnati -- Macy’s on Wednesday said that it plans to close five underperforming stores in early spring 2014 and cut 2,500 jobs in “organizational changes” to sustain its profitability. The cost-reduction initiatives are expected to save the retailer about $100 million annually, beginning in 2014.

Austin, Texas -- Shoppers with registered devices and retailer mobile apps made more store visits during the 2013 holiday season than during the previous year’s holiday season. According to data from mobile analytics provider Digby, mobile consumers made 29.6% more store visits during the 2013 holidays than in 2012.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM has announced it will release a new storefront curator as part of its WebSphere Commerce platform. IBM Commerce Composer gives line of business leaders control over the look, feel and functionality of their online store fronts with no technical coding skills required.  

Hayward, Calif. – Posiflex is announcing an intelligent foldable base for its XT series of 15-inch touchscreen terminals, now available for purchase, at the National Retail Federation Conference and Exposition 2014. The sleek new fold-flat design optimizes height and viewing angles to satisfy a variety of cashier and user viewing positions. This foldable form results in a 40% reduction in the package size and weight to reduce deployment shipping costs.  

Minneapolis -- Direct Source is enabling its retail customers to protect their mobility investments and help ensure worker productivity with help-desk and mobile device management (MDM) services through its relationship with Enterprise Mobile. The Enterprise Mobile offering supports all operating systems, including Apple iOS, Windows, Blackberry and Android, letting retailers outsource ongoing management for devices used by corporate employees and store associates.

Nehausen, Switzerland -- Tyco Retail Solutions, a provider of retail performance and security solutions, has entered into a patent license agreement with Round Rock Research, LLC regarding RFID solutions. The agreement resolves the involvement of some Tyco retail clients in a patent infringement suit Round Rock filed in January 2012.