Order Fulfillment

Looks like American Apparel may be designing the uniforms for some proud red, white and blue-wearing Olympians … who aren’t American. In a conversation about clothing manufacturing and national pride that has come to a head because of the Ralph Lauren “Made in China” U.S. Olympic uniform controversy, American Apparel's Dov Charney has now thrown his voice into the melee. The New York Post is reporting that American Apparel is in talks to design Russia’s Olympic uniforms. 

Belk has opened a new 515,000 square-foot distribution/fulfillment center in Jonesville, S.C. to support its growing e-commerce operations. The department store retailer is making a $4.5 million capital investment in the new facility, which is scheduled to be fully operational beginning July 9. The fulfillment center, located in a facility formerly occupied by Disney, is expected to generate 124 new jobs over the next five years. 

Best Buy intends to cut 2,400 jobs, including 600 Geek Squad technicians, which would amount to 1.4 percent of its workforce, Reuters reported Friday. According to the report, these cuts are in addition to the job reductions related to the 50 store closings the company announced in March.

The Men's Wearhouse announced that Neill P. Davis , Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has notified the Company that he intends to leave on August 2, 2012 to accept the position of President with Francesca's Holdings Corporation, a women's specialty retailer where he has served as a director for the past five years. Doug Ewert , Men's Wearhouse President and CEO, stated, "Neill has been an integral part of our senior management team for the past 15 years and he will be missed. We wish him well in his new endeavor."

The ability to quickly and accurately fulfill customers' online orders is a task that many retailers struggle with. The consequences of not doing so are severe, most notably frustrated customers who won't return to shop with your brand. Follow these seven tips to provide customers a better shopping experience, all the way through delivery:

Teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch plans to close 180 U.S. stores over the next few years as it tries to improve its financial performance. Abercrombie used to generate most of its sales in the U.S. but has shifted its focus to overseas markets such as Europe and Asia, where it's still growing. The chain has already closed 135 underperforming U.S. stores over the past two years.

The Home Depot plans to spend $1.3 billion on new technology and $700 million to build 36 new stores from 2013-2015, according to a report by Investors Daily. The report was based on remarks from Home Depot's Senior Vice President of Finance Ted Decker, made Tuesday at Jefferies Global Consumer Conference. Decker also said the company plans to build “new state-of-the-art distribution facilities” to leverage its stores.

For online shoppers, issues related to shipping are still not as important as ease of checkout and product variety. They still play a significant role in converting browsers into buyers, however, according to a February 2012 survey conducted by comScore. In fact, when asked what aspect of the shopping process could be improved by retailers, three of the top five responses were related to shipping. 

Would you like to receive coupons on your smartphone's digital wallet that are related to the products you're viewing on TV? Or forget the smartphone. How about buying products directly through your television using the remote control? PayPal announced it's working with television service providers to help power "television commerce," aka tcommerce. PayPal has entered into agreements with Comcast and TiVo as it tries to establish itself as a payment method for purchases made over the television. 

The Goochland County-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last December. It's asked a federal bankruptcy court judge to approve the asset sale. The auction would be held June 25. RoomStore President and CEO Stephen Giordano tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the company is being offered for sale as a whole or in parts. Bid packages were sent to potential buyers last week.