OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Bohemia, N.Y. -- FrontStreet Facility Solutions announced that Brian French will join the executive leadership team as VP of operations. French is the former president of Cairn Development.
 

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. is set to launch Disney branded shops inside 565 Penney stores on Oct.4. The shops will offer toys, collectibles and children's apparel designed for Penney and showcasing various Disney characters, including those from Toy Story and Monsters University and Disney Junior shows.

Seattle -- HauteLook, an online flash sale retailer owned by Nordstrom, announced that founder Adam Bernhard is stepping out of the CEO role and day-to-day operations of the business, but will remain with HauteLook in an advisory capacity. Terry Boyle will remain as president, reporting to Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Direct. With HauteLook fully operating as a division of Nordstrom, no CEO will be appointed in Bernhard's place
   

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will reportedly decide how it will proceed with retail plans in India this month. According to Reuters, Wal-Mart’s Indian partner Bharti Enterprises will decide if it wants to continue working with Wal-Mart based on those plans.

New York – Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th has launched an e-commerce site that gives shoppers visibility and accessibility to shop for items that may have limited distribution and only in select stores nationwide.
    
In addition, the e-commerce site will offer customers access to Salon Z, a plus-size women’s program not available in all stores.

New York -- Consumers are choosing specialty foods over conventional foods at record levels, according to research from the Specialty Food Association.
 
Nearly 75% of U.S. consumers report making specialty food purchases this year, a major increase since the economic downturn of 2009 when only 46% reported that they bought these high-quality products. Consumers surveyed say they spend about one quarter of their at-home food dollars on specialty options like artisanal chocolates, cheeses and oils.

New York -- Despite the availability of retail technology, price and product selection are still the largest factors influencing shopper decisions, according to an annual study by global IT services and consulting firm Cognizant. Fifty-five percent of shoppers will leave a store to look online or shop another store if they think a price seems too high, and 21% will ask for a price match.
 

Rochester, N.Y. - Teamsters Local 118 members on Monday overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. that would eliminate the pensions of more than 900 Rochester employees and not provide health care for their spouses. Local 118 will immediately request the participation of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to settle the outstanding contract.