Bentonville, Ark. — Walmart’s new drone delivery service is expanding. In partnership with DroneUp, Walmart will offer drone delivery in six states by the end of the year, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. In total, there will be 34 stores making drone delivery available in 23 cities nationwide by year end. “Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last-minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool. Being on the forefront of that innovation at Walmart is something we’re …
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Bentonville, Ark., and San Diego — Sam’s Club®, a division of Walmart Inc. and a leading membership warehouse club, has completed a national, chainwide rollout of ‘Inventory Scan’ towers that have been added to its existing fleet of robotic scrubbers in partnership with Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence (AI) company creating transformative core technology in robotics. “Our initial goal at Sam’s Club was to convert time historically spent on scrubbers to more member-focused activities. Our autonomous scrubbers have exceeded this goal. In addition to increasing the consistency and frequency of …
— By Balmiki Bhattacharya — Micro fulfillment centers are on the rise — and here to stay. The fundamental changes in consumer behavior have caused an essential shift in how items are delivered. The rise of e-commerce has transformed supply from its physical and limited state to a virtual state — which is “always available.” According to Digital Commerce 360, 68% of online shoppers cited fast shipping capabilities as the determining factor for placing an online order. Part of the solution for this lies within micro fulfillment centers …
— By Paige Ward — Women who lead from executive-level positions are bringing much needed diversity, strength and stability to a rebounding restaurant industry during uncertain times. With the quick-service restaurant industry drastically shifting as a result of post-pandemic consumer trends, many brands are searching for innovative ideas that will keep up with the rapid change of pace. Four brands — Mongolian Concepts, Wetzel’s Pretzels, On the Border and Salata — are altering the very way their corporate suites think by diversifying their teams to place more …
Chesapeake, Va. — Dollar Tree, Inc. has added a key member of its executive leadership team, as Jeffrey A. Davis will be joining the organization as chief financial officer. “I am extremely pleased to announce that Jeff Davis will be joining the Dollar Tree team as our new chief financial officer. For many years, Jeff has been recognized as a strong and collaborative retail business partner, driving superior financial and operational results,” says Mike Witynski, president and chief executive officer. “Jeff has a proven track record of strategic leadership, and …
— By Jon Jaggers — Cross-pollinating your retail experience: store-within-a-store, dual brands, and sub-brands. In today’s retail climate, many customers are looking for experiences beyond the store. These days, more and more brands are partnering with other businesses to offer a unique experience that both brand partners can share. This is called cross-pollination within retail, and it has become one of the hottest trends in the business world. In this column, we’ll explore what exactly cross-pollinating your retail experience means and how you can use it as an opportunity …
Rogers, Ark. — Bold Strategies, Inc., (BOLD) a leading end-to-end e-commerce strategy and services firm, has appointed Matt Parry as its new chief operating officer (COO) effective immediately. BOLD accelerates profitable growth for brands in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) space. The company helps brands who want to sell to consumers on their own direct-to-consumer (DTC) websites and on major marketplaces, including Instacart, GoPuff, Amazon and Walmart.com. In addition to a complete multifunctional growth team, BOLD clients benefit from the company’s proprietary e-commerce playbook, software and optimization toolkit. Parry most recently …
Bakersfield, Calif., and Henderson, Nev. — Wetzel’s Pretzels recently opened two new franchise locations in Bakersfield, Calif., and Henderson, Nev., within Walmart stores. The openings inside both Walmart stores exhibit the mutually beneficial relationship between the pair of dominant brands. “The success we’ve seen from our existing Walmart partnerships has been phenomenal, with our locations performing well beyond expectations,” says Jennifer Schuler, CEO of Pasadena, Calif.-based Wetzel’s Pretzels. “We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with Walmart and provide yet another convenient way to ‘Bring Pretzels to the …
Austin, Texas — Salient Systems, a leader in open architecture video management software solutions, has named Keith Aubele CPP, LPP as the company’s chief security officer. Aubele brings decades of experience at leading retail organizations such as Walmart and The Home Depot to the CSO role, which is the first such position for Salient. A former director of loss prevention for Walmart Stores Inc., and senior vice president of loss prevention for The Home Depot, Aubele will guide Salient’s approach to customer needs in the rapidly changing security landscape, as …
Lancaster, Texas — Walmart plans to build two new high-tech facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to support the retailer’s growing supply chain network: a 1.5 million-square-foot automated fulfillment center, set to open in 2023, and a 730,000-square-foot automated grocery distribution center, set to open in 2024. When built, the new facilities will be among Walmart’s largest automated fulfillment and distribution centers. The facilities will play a critical role in Walmart’s supply chain to deliver on the retailer’s promise to get customers the items they want when they want them. …