December 29 – Hy-Vee Boosts Posts New Retail Security Team Members in Stores
Officers will serve as resource to shoppers and employees in various Midwest markets.
From: Progressive Grocer
December 28 – Piggly Wigley Midwest Expands in Wisconsin
The Wisconsin-based grocer finalized an agreement to transition Burreson’s Foods to a Piggly Wigley Midwest franchisee. From: Progressive Grocer
December 28 – Kwik Trip Celebrates 800th Store Milestone
The Wisconsin-based retailer has doubled its store count in less than a decade. From: Convenience Store News
December 23 – Consumer Confidence Continues to Rise in December
The Confidence Board Consumer Confidence Index gained in December after an upward revision in November. From: HomePage News
December 23 – Miniso Hits 5,000 Stores Worldwide with Boston Opening
The retailer opened its 5,000th store on December 18, bringing its assortment of affordable plush toys and household items to New England consumers.
From: HomePage News
December 23 – Store Closures Slowed After a Pandemic Shakeout. Now Dollar General, Warby Parker and Others See New Value in Stores
Wayfair sees a chance to make a pivotal move. “What we know is that customers love shopping online, but they also love to engage in person,” said Wayfair Chief Marketing Officer Bob Sherwin. From: CNBC
December 22 – Kroger Fulfillment Center Widens Indiana Delivery
A new delivery hub in Indianapolis will coordinate a sister facility in Monroe, Ohio, to bring Kroger Delivery to 30 central Indiana zip codes and east to Richmond on the Ohio state border. From: HomePage News
December 22 – Amazon Expanding Tech Hubs in Arizona, Texas
Amazon said it plans to add 550 corporate and technology jobs in Tempe, AZ and over 2000 jobs in Austin over the next few years. From: HomePage News
December 22 – Rite Aid Resets Operations After Q3 Loss
Rite Aid posted a net loss for the third quarter, acquired the 67-sytore Bartell Drug Chain and announced the closure of 63 Rite Aid locations. From: HomePage News
December 22 – Numerator: Consumers Adapting to COVID-19 Realities as Omicron Spreads
Numerator looked at shopper concerns regarding the Omicron variant of Covid-19. From: HomePage News
December 21 – Placer: Omicron a Factor in Super Saturday Softness
Specific factors such as Omicron may have played a role into somewhat underwhelming results on Super Saturday, Placer.ai VP of Marketing said. From: HomePage News
December 21 – Drew Named Smart & Final President
Smart & Final has announced that it has named Scott Drew incoming president as Dave Hirz, President and CEO, retires effective February 1, 2022.
From: HomePage News
December 21 – Off-Price Retailers Reinforce Relevance as Challenges Persist
Off -price retailers are seeing success because they have a very clear perspective on the retail landscape and are able to effectively fill a specific niche” says Ethan Chernofsky, VP, at traffic tracker Placer.ai. From: HomePage News
December 20 – Mastercard: Shoppers Returning to Stores Still Favor E-Commerce
According to a recent Mastercard survey, 56% of respondents continue to prioritize on-line shopping this holiday season, From: HomePage News
December 20 – Walgreens Announces Initiatives for Last-Minute Shoppers
Walgreens is offering deals including gifts under $20 and same-day delivery service and pick-up on Christmas eve and day. From: HomePage News
December 20 – Kohl’s Launches Discounts, Extends Hours for Holiday Shoppers
The retailer is offering 40% off in-store and kohl.com orders through Sunday, December 19. From: HomePage News
December 20 – Michaels Adding Affirm Payments Online, Instore
Michaels has added Affirm payment at online checkout, allowing eligible customers to purchase on a buy-now-pay-later basis. From: HomePage News
December 20 – LEK: Supply Chain Worries Can’t Douse Holiday Home Spending
86% of U.S. consumers are aware of supply chain disruptions that could impact gift availability, 7 in 10 U.S. holiday shoppers are adjusting buyer behavior this season. From: HomePage News
December 17 – Target Making Things Easier f disruptions that could or Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers
Target will give digital purchasers the chance to place orders as late as 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve for drive-up and pick up that night. From: HomePage News
December 17 – NRF: November Sales Point to Strong Holiday Finish
Retail sales continued growing in November, according to the National Retail Federation, putting the 2021 holiday season on a home stretch for record spending.
From: HomePage News
December 16 – Forrester: Consumers Spending More Online Despite Unsettled Marketplace
On-line holiday sales should grow by almost $20 billion in 2021, according to Eric Haggstrom, an analyst for the market research firm Forrester. From: HomePage News
December 16 – Walmart Financing Supplier Sustainability Initiatives
Walmart has created a supply chain finance program to enable greenhouse gas emission reduction using science-based targets to measure success. From: HomePage News
December 16 – Brookstone Launches Partnership with Sci-Fi Icon Shatner
Science fiction icon William Shatner represents Brookstone in its “Brookstone…Out of This World” campaign launching on-line this holiday season. From: Home Page News
December 16 – Ollies’s Names New Supply Chain SVP as Logistics Hits Financials
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holding Announces that Mark Sampson has joined the company as SVP/Supply Chain. From: HomePage News
December 15 – Raley’s Completes Purchase of The Basha’s Company
The newly formed Raley’s Companies to include Raley’s Basha’s and other divisions. From: Supermarket News
December 15 – Homebuilder Confidence Remains High
In December builder sentiment in the single-family housing market rose one point to 84 on the National Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, tied with February for the highest level of 2021. From: Hardware Retailing
December 15 – Walmart, Kroger, Adding Fulfillment Centers
Walmart plans to build a new fulfillment center in Utah, Kroger Co. stated that it is looking to add another robotic fulfillment center in North Carolina. From: HomePage News
December 15 – Rosenthal SVP Addresses State of Housewares Lending
HomePage News Editor-in-Chief Peter Giannetti recently talked with Joel Wolitzer, SVP, Business Development of Rosenthal & Rosenthal. From: HomePage News
December 15 – NRF: Lots of Holiday Shopping Left
According to a survey from The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than 148 million consumers plan to shop in-store and online on Super Saturday, the last day before Christmas. From: HomePage News
December 14 – Food52 to Acquire Home Décor Company Schoolhouse
Food52 announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire lifestyle lighting and home décor company Schoolhouse. From: HomePage News
December 14 – Amazon Palm Pay System Rolling to North American Airports
Hudson has announced it has become the first retailer in the travel industry to offer Amazon’s palm recognition service, Amazon One. From: HomePage News
December 14 – ISM: Economic Growth Should Continue in 2022
The Institute for Supply Management forecasts that economic growth improvement in the U.S. will continue for both the manufacturing and services sector. From: HomePage News
December 14 – Sally Beauty Adds Free Two-Hour DoorDash Delivery for December
The partnership with DoorDash will offer free two-hour delivery on products from more than 1.100 of its stores across the U.S. through the end of December. From: HomePage News
December 13 – November Online Grocery Sales Hit $8.6 Billion, Up 6% from Year Ago
The U.S. online grocery market generated $8.6 billion in sales during November, reported the Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. From: Supermarket News
December 13 – UNFI Appoints Leader of Fulfillment Network for North America
United Natural Foods Inc., (UNFI) has appointed Mark Bushway its new chief supply chain officer effective Jan. 3, 2022. From: Progressive Grocer
December 13 – 3 Hy-Vee Executives Promoted to New Senior Roles
Jeremy Gosch will be promoted to President and COO, Aaron Wiese to vice chairman of Hy-Vee Inc. and president of supply chain/subsidiaries, and Andy Schreiner to SVP, CFO, and treasurer. From: Progressive Grocer
December 13 – Dollar Tree Refuses Mantle Ridge Board Proposal
Dollar Tree has rejected an initiative by investment firm Mantle Ridge to nominate a full slate of 11 directors to the company’s board of directors. From: HomePage News
December 13 – Leaders Take Retail Fight Against Crime to Congress
The signatories representing apparel, electronics, health and beauty, home improvement and general merchandise sectors asked lawmakers to pass the INFORM Consumers Act. From: HomePage News
December 13 – Numerator: Consumers Adjust to Out-of-Stocks, Inflation
As part of its Product Shortages & Inflation Impacts Survey, Numerator reported 74% of consumers said product shortages have impacted their shopping this year, with 28% claiming a moderate or significant impact. From: HomePage News
December 10 –UNFI Elevates Mark Bushway to Supply Chain Chief
Company veteran takes over post previously held by Jim Gehr. From: Supermarket News
December 10 – Big Lots “Have-it-all-idays” Ads Stars Shannon, Stonestreet
The new advertising, already begun airing, runs as a series of spots deployed across local and national television, radio, digital, video, mobile and social channels as well as in stores. From: HomePage News
December 10 – Costco Copes with Supply Chain, Turns in Strong Q1
In its first fiscal quarter, Costco Wholesale Corp. was able to deal with supply chain issues successfully while also expanding e-commerce services and beating Wall Street estimates, the company stated. From: HomePage News
December 10 – Bed, Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, Shipt Offer Late Shopping Help
Retailers and affiliated businesses are already promoting themselves as last-minute shopping helpers in the holiday season and taking different angles of the calendar crunched consumer. From: HomePage News
December 9 – RH Q3 Sales Top $1Billion
Third-quarter net revenues at Restoration Hardware pushed over $1 Billion as adjusted net income increased by a quarter. From: HomePage News
December 8 – Miniso Store Expansion Includes NYC Pop-Up
Lifestyle retailer Miniso opened six stores across the United States under its $10 N’ Under format on November 27 in time for Black Friday. From: HomePage News
December 8 – Walmart Adds High-Tech Fulfillment Center
Walmart will open a 925,000 square-foot automated fulfillment center in Lebanon, TN, to support its growing supply chain network and e-commerce business with a speedier spin on distribution, the company announced. From: HomePage News
December 8 – Nordstrom Leverages Pack and hold Inventory to Mitigate Supply Chain Risk
The retailer is revisiting an inventory strategy that helped it during an expansion period when it needed enough items for new store openings. From: Supply Chain Dive
December 8 – Ulta to Spend up to $180M on ERP Overhaul
Modern enterprise resource planning tools can help companies know what’s in stock and what’s needed where. From: Supply Chain Dive
December 8 – Jewel-Osco Opens Micro-Fulfillment Center in Chicago Area
The 20,000-square-foot facility sits adjacent to a store in the suburb of Westmont, Illinois, and will be able to fill around 1,000 orders per day. From: Progressive Grocer
December 7 – BJ’s Makes Push into Pittsburgh with New Warehouse
BJ’s Wholesale Club has opened its 18th warehouse in Pennsylvania — in South Fayette Township, just outside Pittsburgh — marking its first entry into the Pittsburgh market. The company said another location is planned for the Ross Township suburb “in the near future.” From: Progressive Grocer
December 7 – Angi: Smart Home More Prominent Among Home Improvement Projects
On average, householders spent an average of $15,680 on home improvement, home maintenance and emergency repairs this year and initiated an average of 14.4 domestic projects, according to Angi’s 2021 State of Home Spending Report: The Great Shift – How the Pandemic Put Homes in Focus. From: HomePage News
December 7 – New Target Stores Prioritize Convenience, Health, Safety
In a blog post, Target outlined features that help the 32 new locations it opened in 2021 make things easier and safer for shoppers and employees while giving them a touch more local color. From: HomePage News
December 7 – Wayfair Plots 3 New Stores in 2022
The stores, covering its AllModern and Joss & Main brands, are the first in a series of openings the retailer is planning over the next two years. From: Retail Dive
December 6 – Holiday Sales Could Surpass Previous Predictions, reach 11.5%
The NRF said Friday that this year’s holiday sales might exceed initial growth projections between 8.5% – 10.5%, and may rise as high as 11.5%, year over year. From: Retail Dive
December 6 – Costco Keeps Rolling Through November
For the fiscal month of November, Costco Wholesale Corp. posted comparable sales, sans the effects of fuel price and foreign exchange volatility, up 9.2% with comps in the U.S. up 9.1%, E-commerce advancing 11.7%. From: HomePage News
December 6 – BJ’s Pushes Westward
BJ’s Wholesale Club continues to push westward with an entry into the Pittsburgh area. The new club will open in South Fayette Township, PA on December 10. From: Progressive Grocer
December 6 – UNFI Names New Pacific Region President
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) has promoted Bob Garibaldi to the role of president, Pacific region, succeeding Steve Dietz, who has become chief customer officer. From: Progressive Grocer
December 6 – Newegg Expanding U.S. Capabilities
Newegg Commerce is opening two new distribution centers, one in Atlanta, GA at 200,000 square feet and one in Ontario, CA, at 240,000 square feet. From: HomePage News
December 6 – Rakuten, Afterpay Combine As Shopper Incentive
Shopping rewards provider Rakuten has struck a deal with buy now pay later operator Afterpay to offer retailers the ability to combine cash back and BNPL purchasing as a shopper incentive.
From: HomePage News
December 6 – Food Lion opens 75th store of 2021
New location in Garner, N.C., focuses on local offerings. From: Supermarket News
December 6 – H-E-B Reveals Landmark Project to Reimagine Grocery
Food retailer to upgrade long-standing Austin store with multiple levels, plenty of amenities. From: Progressive Grocer
December 6 – Sheetz to Get New President & CEO Come 2022
Travis Sheetz will succeed his brother Joe Sheetz as leader of the fast-growing chain.
From: Convenience Store News
December 3 – Ulta Unleashes New Initiatives in Record Q3
For the third quarter, Ulta Beauty easily exceeded Wall Street profit and revenue estimates and launched initiatives that included operations at Target stores. From: HomePage News
December 3 – SpartanNash Driving Supply Chain and Sustainability Improvements
Michigan retailer and distributor announces plan to cut 7M miles from its fleet operations in ’22. From: Progressive Grocer
December 3 – Department Stores Get Another Chance to Prove Staying Power
The surging results by department stores have surprised observers and delighted retailers in the channel. But can they keep the surge going? From: HomePage News
December 3 – Hy-Vee to Close 2 Stores, Repurpose 2
Retail operations in Missouri, South Dakota, Illinois, Iowa to be affected in early January 2022 From: Progressive Grocer
December 3 – Ashley Furniture’s Trucking Arm to Get Western Boost with Wilson Logistics Deal
Adding capacity is a strategic move for the retailer as port congestion persists in Southern California. From: Supply Chain Dive
December 3 – Macro Pressures Drive Big Lots to Q3 Loss
Macro pressures led to a third quarter loss, but the company stated that it is well positioned for the holiday season. From: HomePage News
December 3 – Dollar General Details Expansion Plans After Strong Q3
Dollar General announced major growth plans including the addition of 1.100 stores in 2022 and expansion of its higher end Popshelf to 1.00 locations 2022. From: HomePage News
December 2 – Weis Markets First Grocer to Earn Sustainable Food Retail Certification
“Since 2008, we’ve steadily expanded our sustainability program, particularly with reducing refrigerant usage and food waste, along with conserving energy”, noted R. Kevin Small, Weis Markets V.P. of Development. From: Progressive Grocer
December 2 – Kirkland’s Expects Turnaround after Difficult Q3
Macroeconomics effects hurt Kirkland int eh third quarter, although the company points to two-year gains as evidence its turnaround is proceeding. From: HomePage News
December 2 – New Collections, New Directions for the Container Store
The Container Store is trumpeting standout vendor partnerships and products launched in 2021 and coming in early 2022. From: HomePage News
December 2 – Kroger Drive Initiatives, Earnings Through Q3
The Koger Co. beat Wall Street estimates in Q3 while launching initiatives including a partnership with Bed, Bath & Beyond. From: HomePage News
December 1 – McGruff Campaign Takes a Bite Out of Counterfeit Goods
McGruff the Crime Dog is o the case this holiday season pointing out and raising awareness of counterfeit products. From: HomePage News
December 1 – Numerator: Amazon Wins Black Friday but Macro Issues Hit Cyber Weekend
Market Research firm Numerator released early Black Friday data indicating Amazon captured the highest spend share for the occasion. From: HomePage News
