OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Atlanta -- Results of research released Monday by comScore and UPS showed that the more options an online consumer has, the more loyal and dedicated she may be. In fact, integrating social and mobile media, as well as providing shipping options and flexible returns, can drive brand loyalty as consumers seek out more choices and convenience when shopping online.

Atlanta -- Restaurant brands Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken has announced a new senior management team and board of directors, intended to ramp up the five-unit chains’ expansion plans.

Boneheads franchisee Ron Barber has been appointed chairman of the board, and Beef O’Brady’s and Brass Tap chief development officer James Walker has been named to the board of directors.

Tokyo -- A Sunday report by Bloomberg said that 7-Eleven parent Seven & I Holdings Co. is planning more acquisitions here and may more than double the number of c-store stores it operates in North America.

The company “could increase our store number to 20,000 or even 30,000 [in North America],” chairman Toshifumi Suzuki told Bloomberg in an interview.  7-Eleven currently has more than 8,000 convenience stores in North America.

No time-frame for the planned expansion has been defined.

Boston -- A new study from Kantar Retail and TNS revealed that shoppers prefer The Home Depot over Canadian Tire, Rona and other DIY retailers when shopping for home improvement items and do-it-yourself projects.  

In the April 2013 survey, Canadian shoppers rated top DIY competitors on a variety of attributes, including assortment, price, service, and community appeals.  



Indianpolis -- Simon Property Group and McArthurGlen Group announced an agreement to form a joint venture through which SPG will invest in McArthurGlen, the leader in upscale, European designer outlets. 

Under the agreement, SPG will acquire an ownership interest in six properties and will also become a partner in McArthurGlen's property management and development company.  Included assets are in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada.

New York -- Tiffany & Co. has announced plans to open a two-level store in Moscow’s GUM luxury department store, located in Red Square. At about 4,520 sq. ft., the new store is Tiffany’s first wholly owned retail business in Russia, and is expected to open in the first quarter of 2014.

“Establishing a presence at this preeminent department store is a milestone in our growth strategy as a leading global luxury brand and underscores the importance of the Russian market,” said Frederic Cumenal, executive VP Tiffany & Co.

NEW YORK — Costco Wholesale Corp. is looking to open approximately 150 locations over the next five years, CFO Richard Galanti said on the company’s quarterly conference call with investors.

“And if we get a little better than that, great,” he added. “But that’s certainly a good starting point given where we’ve come over the last few years.”

Of the total, about 55 of the new units would be in the United States, with the rest located in Canada or foreign markets.

Whiting, Ind. -- Survey results released Thursday by CouponCabin.com found that more than one-in-10 Americans say their shopping habits have put them in debt, with 20% saying the most amount of shopping debt they've been in exceeds $5,000.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, also revealed that 41% of U.S. adults have created shopping debt of more than $1,000. Eleven percent consider themselves to be shopaholics.