Inventory Management

Investors might appreciate it more if Burlington Stores just said, “we blew it, and it won’t happen again,” rather than blaming “receipt flow issues” related to the timing of Easter for disappointing sales. The discount retailer’s stock tumbled 8.4 percent Tuesday, suffering the biggest one-day percentage selloff since the company went public on Oct. 2,…

The fashion times are a-changin’. New products have an estimated failure rate of 50 percent, costing over $400 billion each year collecting dust on store shelves. With that kind of risk involved, a systematic assessment of consumer preferences should be par for the course. However, retailers are constantly struggling to determine what styles consumers are…

A month after facing criticism over its handling of a designer collaboration, Target has apparently handed down a directive regarding resellers. It's the latest retailer to crack down on eBay and Amazon.com sellers who use retail stores to source inventory in what's known as retail arbitrage. On April 19, Target launched "Lilly Pulitzer for Target,"…

While returns and e-tail typically go hand-in-hand, successful businesses today are realizing the advantages of properly analyzing products in new and innovative ways. By understanding the underlying reasons that can often contribute to returned goods, online merchants will begin to appreciate that a good return experience can offer them a serious competitive advantage.

Target Corp. is responding to customers frustrated by their inability to buy items from the chain's Lilly Pulitzer collection. The limited-edition line went live in stores and online Sunday morning, with most of the items selling out within minutes. In a Q&A on Target's website, Chief Merchandising and Supply Chain Officer Kathee Tesija said that while Target's limited-edition designer collaborations often sell out, this one was unique "for how quickly our guests shopped and how much they purchased."

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it had a range of measures to fight counterfeits on its websites — remarks that come after a trade group requested U.S. government help in prodding the Chinese e-commerce giant into action against fake goods.

lululemon athletica says #wemadetoomuch. And the maker of yoga and other apparel isn't talking about money. Clearance sales advertised on individual stores’ Facebook pages, complete with the hashtag, signal a potential worry for investors.

Bed Bath & Beyond has modified its return policy, effective April 20. The home goods chain, which operated 1,016 U.S. locations as of May 2014, announced earlier this week that it will deduct 20 percent from a returned item's value for customers who do not provide a receipt, or whose purchase could not be identified through the store's transaction records. Previously, Bed Bath & Beyond offered a full refund for store credit or an exchange even in the case that a customer didn't provide a receipt. 

Out-of-date inventory is holding many retailers back. This issue can strike at any time of the year and keeps warehouses full of the wrong products. Inventory costs can account for up to 90 percent of business expenses, and no retailer wants that. So what's the best way to get those products moving at a price that's appealing to customers, but still makes enough margin for retailers? There are four main ways to address this:

With a strong focus on in-store innovation and evolving its omnichannel retail strategy, Chico's FAS partnered with Tyco Retail Solutions, a provider of performance and security solutions, to address inventory accuracy and visibility challenges in 13 Soma Intimates pilot stores. Soma store associates can now access accurate, real-time inventory information in one place to better manage their deep merchandise assortment, helping to drive sales and customer satisfaction. The ability to have this level of inventory accuracy fosters confidence in associates to provide a better customer experience.