News

New York -- Consumers are expected to spend an average of $582 on holiday shopping this season, and 23% plan to spend more than $750, according to a survey by Accenture. And half of consumers (52%) expect to increase their spending by $250 or more.

Regional retailers are typically defined by geography, but Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk is a bit different than most. Distinguished by its signature Southern hospitality, the nation’s largest privately held department store chain has a dominant presence throughout the South and a footprint as far west as Oklahoma and north through Maryland. But its reach extends even farther, as Canadians and Californians alike shop its e-commerce site.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is being hit by yet another lawsuit, as a proposed class action was filed Monday alleging that the world’s largest retailer and its staffing agencies broke federal minimum wage and overtime laws. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Illinois' Eastern Division claims that Wal-Mart and its staffing firms Labor Ready and QPS required temp workers in the Chicago area to arrive early for work, stay late, and work through lunches and breaks without pay.

One of the biggest problems for retailers is ensuring they have the right sizes and styles available in the correct stores. Retailers that have trouble planning localized assortments are at an additional disadvantage.

Town Shoes knows this challenge firsthand. The 60-year-old company relied on spreadsheets to create assortments, making targeted or clustered store assortments nearly impossible.

BEIJING — Speaking at an event in Beijing, Walmart president and CEO, Mike Duke, outlined Walmart's plans to create a more sustainable global supply chain.

"Today I'm proud to announce a series of steps and commitments that will make Walmart's supply chain, in the United States, here in China, and around the world, more sustainable," said Mike Duke, President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "The impact of these commitments will be global and make a difference with products sold around the globe."

Making better business decisions requires retailers to break down silos between company divisions, and deliver scalable predictive tools that allow managers enterprise-wide to sift through mission-critical information.

Chain Store Age talked with Andrea Morgan-Vandome, VP retail strategy and solution marketing, Oracle Retail, about the importance of business intelligence (BI).

What is the biggest change today related to retail analytics and BI? 

NEW YORK — Walmart said on Wednesday that various staff groups involved in compliance and legal issues will soon all report to its general counsel, Reuters reported. The move comes as the retailer works on coordinating efforts after an alleged foreign bribery scandal.

In a memo sent by CEO Mike Duke, the retailer said that starting on Dec. 1, its compliance, ethics, investigations and legal units will become one organization under executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary Jeff Gearhart.

By Sam Khalilieh

Study after study has concluded that adding doors to medium temperature coolers (MTC) is a great solution for a variety of issues that plague retailers. Whether looking at energy use, operational costs, product safety or consumer comfort, there is no downside to adding doors. So why do so many overlook this very basic approach?