OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Ralphs Grocery to hire 1,200 new employees across Southern California
Los Angeles -- Ralphs Grocery Co. said it will hire to fill an estimated 1,200 permanent positions at its stores in Southern California. Ralphs currently employs more than 19,000 associates at its stores in the region.
Togo's names former IHOP and Taco Bell exec as COO
San Jose, Calif. -- West Coast sandwich operator Togo's Eateries, Inc. has named Jim Peros as its new COO, charged with overseeing all operations and the expansion of the brand's restaurants throughout the West.

Wal-Mart workers plan to protest on Black Friday

Bentonville, Ark. -- For the third consecutive year, Wal-Mart workers at about 1,600 stores are prepping to protest on Black Friday to demand better wages and benefits. According to pressure group OUR Walmart, the protestors are demanding a $15/hour wage and consistent full-time hours.
Panasonic opens pop-up store in NYC

New York -- Panasonic has unveiled a pop-up store in New York City's Union Square area featuring a collection of Panasonic's latest consumer products from the home, adventure, imaging, entertainment and beauty categories for shoppers planning their holiday gift-giving.
Rebecca Minkoff partners with EBay on connected stores

New York –- Specialty retailer Rebecca Minkoff has opened a “connected store” powered by EBay technology in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, and will open connected stores in San Francisco Nov. 19 and in Los Angeles in 2015, respectively. Using EBay technology, the stores include mirrored displays with touchscreen video content that let customers request associate assistance or order drinks.
Most customers frustrated by self-service technology

Lisle, Ill. -- Glory Global Solutions found that the overwhelming majority of U.S. consumers using self-service machines (88%) have felt frustrated by the technology, this according to the company’s latest research study on the use of self-service technology.
Kronos to release gamification feature in Workforce Central suite
Kronos to release gamification feature in Workforce Central suite
ABC Stores automates Hawaiian warehouse with Voice Picking

Irvine, Calif. -- C-store operator ABC Stores selected DecisionPoint Systems to automate its Hawaiian warehouse operation using Wavelink's Speakeasy voice picking technology. The move reduced picking errors and increased efficiencies by 40%, prompting the retailer to look at further deployment.
Retail imports set records despite West Coast port issues

Washington -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to slow down this month following record levels seen in September and October as retailers rushed to bring merchandise into the country ahead of a possible shutdown of West Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.