Product Sourcing

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc, a retailer of hardwood flooring, said the U.S. Department of Justice may seek criminal charges against the company under an Act aimed at curbing illegal harvest of tropical hardwoods. The company's shares plunged as much as 24 percent after CEO Robert Lynch also said that CBS's "60 Minutes" news program will feature the company in an "unfavorable light with regard to sourcing and product quality, specifically related to laminates."

With the holiday season accounting for 20 percent to 40 percent of a retailer's annual sales, the 26 days between Black Friday and Christmas this year are crucial. This is especially true for electronics retailers, which are hard-pressed to deliver the season's most anticipated devices, such as wearable technologies, smartphones and tablets. Without having the right products at the right place at the right time, capturing peak spending is next to impossible. Therefore, the following supply chain guidelines are essential for retailers’ holiday success as well as building customer loyalty:

Retailers are rushing to bring holiday merchandise into the U.S., to protect against potential disruptions arising from ongoing contract talks between West Coast longshore labor and marine terminal operators. U.S. ports currently are experiencing their highest monthly container volumes in at least five years, according to figures released yesterday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. They reported a total of nearly 1.5 million boxes moving through the ports in June.

Five hundred suppliers, 200 merchants and 800 meetings equaled made in U.S.A. magic for Wal-Mart as the retailer looks to accelerate domestic sourcing with a first-ever event dubbed Open Call. Wal-Mart held the event at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters yesterday to discover domestically sourced products from new and existing suppliers that can help the company meet its goal of buying an additional $250 billion in American-made products in the next 10 years.

Under Armour is fending off accusations by the U.S. speed-skating team that its new high-tech suits are at fault for the skaters’ disappointing performance in Sochi. The suits may have a design flaw that could be slowing down skaters, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing three people familiar with the U.S. team. The U.S. Speed Skating Federation said it would drop the controversial new suit and switch back to previous uniforms for the remainder of the Olympics, saying some athletes "lack confidence" in the uniforms. Both of the suits, new and old, are made by Under Armour.