OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Fort Myers, Fla. -- Chico's FAS said Tuesday it has completed its previously announced acquisition of direct-to-consumer women’s apparel retailer Boston Proper.

"We appreciate the hard work that the Chico's FAS and Boston Proper teams put forth to complete this transaction in near record time,” said David F. Dyer, president and CEO of Chico’s FAS. “I see it as indicative as to how well Boston Proper fits with the Chico's FAS family of brands."

Houston -- Retail ATM owner Cardtronics said Tuesday that it has forged an ATM managed services agreement with Lakewood, Colo.-based FirstBank, covering the segment of its ATM network located in King Soopers grocery stores.

As part of the agreement, Cardtronics has implemented all hardware upgrades necessary to bring the King Soopers portion of the $11 billion-asset bank’s ATM network into compliance with revised “Americans with Disabilities Act regulations set to take effect in 2012.

Westlake Village, Calif. -- In a survey released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates, which polled customers about their expectations of their pharmacists, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Health Mart, Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy, Publix and Target rank highest in pharmacy customer satisfaction in their respective segments.

New York City -- Holiday retail hiring is expected to be flat or even slightly lower compared with last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ annual holiday hiring forecast.

The outplacement consulting firm said 627,000 seasonal retail jobs were created from October through December in 2010. The total was up 27% from 2009, and nearly double the 26-year low that occurred in 2008.

Lexington, Mass. -- Collective Brands’ Performance + Lifestyle Group, which owns Sperry Top-Sider, Keds and Stride Rite, has signed new distribution agreements with partners to ramp up international expansion in several markets, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Spain.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s is replacing its “Never Stop Improving” tagline with a new one, “Never Stop Improving” as part of its new brand strategy.

As part of the program, the chain is launching a new advertising campaign Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. Also, Lowe’s will soon be launching MyLowes, a online tool to help customers manage their homes and home improvement projects through every stage.

New York City -- Best Buy Co. is reviewing its 11 stores in the United Kingdom, according to the Sunday Express.

The chain operates the stores in a joint venture with Carphone Warehouse Group Plc. Best Buy is in talks with its shareholders about all possible options for its British stores, the newspaper said.
 

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is beginning to see cautious increases over last year again, ending a summer-long downturn as retailers prepare for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.