News

SAN FRANCISCO — Williams-Sonoma will open its first store in Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 3. Located at Carrefour Laval in Laval, Quebec, the new store marks Williams-Sonoma’s eighth location in Canada, and will be the first to showcase a brand new store design.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro has provided $100,000 in combined grant support through the Hasbro Children’s Fund to the American Red Cross, World Vision and Feeding America to support their relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Additionally, over 10,000 games have been donated to shelters along the east coast.

NAPERVILLE, Ill — OfficeMax's business-to-business division is getting a new name to go along with its new strategy of serving a wide range of customers with tailored solutions.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer is offering discounts on more than 400 toys at stores and online in anticipation of the holiday season as many customers are likely to want to keep prices down, the Midwestern mass-merchandise chain said Thursday.

The chain also plans to release a holiday gift guide that includes 18 pages of toys and an online release of its list of its top 25 toys. The toy discounts include toys in “virtually every” category, ranging from action figures to educational toys.

The 430 unit Sheetz convenience store chain will have a new president and CEO with a familiar name in 2013.

The $6.3 billion company announced that Joe Sheetz, currently EVP of finance and store development, would become president and CEO and current president and CEO Stan Sheetz would assume the title of chairman. Current chairman Steve Sheetz fills a newly create position as the company's family council chairman. The changes take effect October 2013.

Appliance and consumer electronics retailer HH Gregg, reported second quarter result on Friday that weren't as bad as expected.

Ralphs and Food 4 Less don't have stores anywhere near the Northeastern U.S., but that didn't stop the Kroger divisions from joining with other retailers providing an outpouring of support to those coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

This holiday season promises to be the most digital of all time with forecasts calling for e-commerce growth to handily outpace overall industry sales. At UPS, the multi-channel movement is a trend we have watched intensify and helped facilitate during the past decade. Chances are good one of our delivery vehicles will visit your home or that of a family member this Christmas.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. reported a higher-than expected net income of $359 million for its fourth quarter, compared with $358.5 million in the year-ago period. The company also raised its earnings estimate for the next fiscal year.

Revenue rose 11% in the fourth quarter, to $3.36 billion. Same-store sales rose 6%, fueled by higher customer traffic.

New York -- Hurricane Sandy is likely to result in shipping delays and an increase in third-party carrier rates due to fuel shortages, according to Chris Merritt, VP/GM, retail supply chain solutions for Ryder.

"While most retailers should have enough inventory for their regular replenishment items, we expect to see out-of-stock situations up and down the East Coast for promotional items retailers have ordered and advertised for Black Friday," Merritt said.