OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Arlington, Va. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement in response to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandate proposed rules filed Wednesday in the Federal Register.

Seattle -- The weekend before Christmas ranked as the busiest shopping period in December by in-store visits to top retailers, with Super Saturday ranking among the three busiest shopping days for Walmart, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Macy’s and Kohl’s, according to Placed.

El Dorado, Ark. -- Murphy Oil USA announced Wednesday it has entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for 200 new fuel stations in the midwestern and southeastern U.S.

According to the agreement, Murphy Oil will build more than 200 new fuel stations at existing Wal-Mart Super Centers over the next three years.

Steven Cosse, president and CEO, Murphy Oil Corp., said the agreement with Wal-Mart is a significant step forward for the pair’s long-term relationship.

New York -- J.C. Penney Co. has hired Brandon Tonniges, a former Abercrombie & Fitch Co. executive, as director of visual merchandising, Bloomberg reported.

Tonniges was a VP in Abercrombie’s “brand senses” division, described on the chain’s website as the “creative force” behind its store experience, according to the report.

Tonniges will report to a VP under Michael Fisher, who was named SVP visual presentation in March.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Thursday it has promoted Karen Roberts to EVP and general counsel, effective Feb. 1. Roberts’ predecessor Jeff Gearhart will focus his efforts on global compliance as Wal-Mart continues to deal with allegations of bribery in Mexico.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Poll results released Thursday by Consumer Reports found that, with only five shopping days left until Christmas, 68% of shoppers – or about 132 million Americans – have yet to finish their gift shopping.

Seventeen million are estimated to hit stores on Christmas Eve.
 

Dallas -- Xerox said Wednesday it is expanding its retail services portfolio with the acquisition of Restaurant Technology Services from McDonald’s Corp.

RTS provides service desk support through more than 600 employees, who assist more than 17,000 McDonald’s restaurants located in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and China by resolving technical issues related to point-of-sale equipment, kitchen video devices, and “cashless” credit card processing devices.
      

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. announced Wednesday that its president of digital operations Stephen Gillett is leaving the company to take a COO post at computer security company Symantec, effective Friday.

Best Buy said that Gillett’s responsibilities will now be divided up among CFO Sharon McCollam, online and global e-commerce president Scott Durchslag, and senior VP U.S. retail Shawn Score.