OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

New York City -- Target Corp. and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 have settled a dispute regarding which workers may cast ballots in a union election at the retailer's Valley Stream, N.Y., store, paving the way for the National Labor Relations Board to schedule the vote, Crain’s New York reported.

The election next month will apparently be the first at a Target store since 1990, when a union drive failed at a Detroit store.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Amazon.com was the top performer in a review of the Top 100 online retailers by ForeSee Results. The annual report, Top 100 E-Retail Satisfaction Index, includes individual satisfaction scores with the 100 top e-retailers for the past seven years, allowing for comparisons over time and between companies.

New York City -- Veteran retailer Leo Kahn, who developed his family-owned wholesale business into the Purity Supreme chain, co-founded Staples, and pioneered selling natural foods in supermarket-sized venues, died on Wednesday in Boston. He was 94.

Bellevue, Wash. -- MulvannyG2 Architecture announced that senior principal Brian Fleener, AIA, has been promoted to VP of retail stores development for the firm.

Fleener will lead the development of MulvannyG2’s retail stores market sector and design strategy, and offer clients a global perspective on their retail development plans.
 

New York City -- Nordstrom is taking its vaunted customer service to the next level: The company will roll out mobile checkout devices to its stores nationwide by the start of its anniversary sale in July, Nordstrom president Blake Nordstrom told shareholders Wednesday at the company's annual meeting in Seattle. The retailer, which has tried a variety of different devices, is currently testing the iPod Touch in its downtown Seattle and Bellevue Square stores.

Eden Prairie, Minn. -- Supervalu has named Santiago Roces, a former Wal-Mart Stores executive, as the CEO and president of its discount Save-A-Lot division. Roces, who most recently served as senior VP and general manager of Wal-Mart's small-format division, replaces Bill Shaner, who led Save-A-Lot since 2006 and worked for Supervalu for 27 years.

Supervalu it plans to double the number of Save-A-Lot stores, growing it to more than 2,400 locations by the end of 2015.

Lewisville, Texas -- Fifty percent of retailers and almost as many manufacturers (48%) use rebate programs as part of their customer loyalty and promotions mix, according to report by the Aberdeen Group.

"Our findings revealed a very persuasive business case for rebates," said Chris Cunnane, senior research associate with the Aberdeen Group. "We have a deep expertise in retail and manufacturing research, and this report demonstrates the value of rebate programs for both of these groups."

New York City -- CBX, the strategic branding and retail design consultancy, announced that its Retail Division has been retained by Cadena Comercial OXXO, North America’s largest operator of convenience stores, to assist with an expansion of its foodservice offer.