Target Corp

Efficient supply chain management is vital to a retailers’ day-to-day operations. A good distribution network optimizes product freshness, reduces waste, and lowers costs.

High-end companies like Coty rely on repeat customers and mainly compete on the basis of product quality and product differentiation.

Amazon (AMZN) has a new competitor in town—Jet.com. It opened to the public early last week. The startup was founded by Marc Lore.

Walmart announced it was testing unlimited shipping for $50 per year, presenting significant competition to Amazon’s Prime service.

In March, Nordstrom announced the opening of its second international location in Canada. Nordstrom plans to open six Canadian stores through 2017.

As of 2014, there were about 2,500 Baskin-Robbins locations in the United States and about 5,000 locations in the international market.

Despite its sales growth, the gross profit rate declined for Walmart’s US operations, consisting of the Walmart US and Sam’s Club segments.

Stock price movement affected Walmart’s stock performance. Walmart’s stock is only up by 8.8% since the start of 2014.

Walmart (WMT) has a mix of debt and equity in its capital structure. The retailer’s (XRT) total debt, both short and long-term, is ~$56.6 billion.

The main reason for Amazon’s gross margin increase was the increasing proportion of third-party sellers who sell their products on Amazon.

Walmart (WMT) has been concentrating on expanding the store count of its larger supercenter format. A supercenter averages ~179,000 square feet in size.

Walmart (WMT) operates retail (XRT) and wholesale stores. The stores are located in the US and 26 other countries around the world.

Staples expects to spend $1 billion up front in order to achieve $1 billion in annual synergies—usually meaning reducing workforce—beginning in year three.

To address inventory issues associated with online sales at its distribution centers, Best Buy rolled out a ship-from-store strategy.

At Best Buy, returns, replacements, and damages account for nearly 10% of revenues and have cost the company over $400 million in losses each year.

Best Buy’s growth rate in same-store sales had been negative since fiscal 2011. Efforts to optimize the shopping experience have changed that.

Before being appointed Best Buy CEO, Hubert Joly was credited with turning around two other companies. Best Buy’s stock has appreciated by 111% since.

Best Buy is the leading consumer electronics retailer in the US. Today, Best Buy has more than 1,900 stores and locations.

Everything is not hunky-dory with the e-commerce business. Brick-and-mortar stores complain that being online hurts them on two fronts.