OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

New York -- The National Retail Federation on Wednesday said it looked forward to continuing to work with President Obama and the new Congress toward the goal of putting Americans back to work and ensuring that the nation’s economy remains the strongest in the world.

Washington -- The National Retail Federation released the following statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay on the re-election of President Obama:



Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group said Tuesday it has launched international shipping and payment options for online sales via a relationship with global e-commerce expansion platform FiftyOne Global Ecommerce.

The move will allow Neiman, which has only a domestic bricks-and-mortar presence, to expand its online reach to 100+ countries. It kicks off with a promotional flat-rate shipping offer on all international purchases through Dec. 10.

West Bridgewater, Mass. -- Supervalu said Monday it has cut about 700 store-level positions at the company’s Shaw's and Star Market stores in New England.

New York -- Office Depot has been recognized in Newsweek magazine’s annual Green Rankings as the number one greenest large retailer in the United States for the third consecutive year. Across all industry sectors, Office Depot was ranked as America’s ninth greenest large company.

Here is Newsweek’s ranking of the 15 greenest U.S. retailers:

Roseville, Calif. -- Revionics, a provider of end-to-end merchandise optimization solutions, and GIIV, owner of the SkuLoop business, a provider of social commerce driven promotions for retailers and consumer brands, announced that Revionics has acquired the SkuLoop business and assets from GIIV.

New York -- Ralph Lauren Corp. is shuttering its Rugby division, Crain’s New York reported.

The preppy-inspired Rugby brand, targeted at a young audience, was launched in 2004. It has 14 locations.

“We continue to believe that we can service the millennium Rugby customer with brands such as Denim & Supply and Club Monaco,” said Roger Farah, president and COO, on the company’s recent earnings call.

Whiting, Ind. -- More than one-quarter (27%) of U.S. adults will use their smartphone or tablet for their holiday shopping this year, according to new survey by CouponCabin.com. In addition, 83% of those who will use their smartphone for holiday shopping this year report they will be doing so because of the convenience.

The survey was conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com from Sept. 26 – Sept. 28, 2012 among 2,523 U.S. adults aged 18 and older.