Macy’s will open its newest off-price Backstage store at a Dallas-area mall that features similar concepts, including Saks Off 5th and Neiman Marcus Last Call. Macy’s has been expanding the Backstage concept both inside existing department stores and as stand-alone locations in Texas, and it has also grown its other small-format concept, Market by Macy’s, to three stores in Texas since the first opened right before the pandemic started.
Grocery retailer Hy-Vee aims to transfer as many as 500 of its corporate employees to positions in stores as part of a cost-cutting strategy that will also include putting plans for a new warehouse and other projects on hold. The moves are necessary to help the retailer weather supply-chain disruptions, rising inflation and higher costs for fuel and construction, the company said.
Mattel reported stronger-than-expected Q1 sales as retailers restocked toy shelves emptied during the holiday shopping season amid strong demand and supply-chain delays. The maker of popular toy brands, including Barbie and Hot Wheels, is forecasting 2022 sales growth of 8% to 10%, after reporting a 19% jump in 2021.
McDonald’s Q1 revenue and earnings topped forecasts, driven in part by menu price increases in the U.S. implemented to help offset higher costs for food and labor. Strong sales in the UK and France fueled an 11.8% jump in international same-store sales, and U.S. same-store sales grew 3.5%, helped by the launch of a new loyalty program late last year.
Aldi is expanding its elimination of plastic bags across all its stores. The discount grocer detailed the plan, along with its progress in other areas of sustainability, in a letter from Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart to employees. The company already has removed plastic bags from nearly 500 stores with the goal of phasing them out from all 2,200 locations by the end of 2023.
Publix Super Markets is partnering with a well-known hosted delivery platform to fulfill online orders in 15 minutes in a major market. Last week, the employee-owned Southeastern grocery chain began leveraging the Instacart Carrot Warehouses nano-fulfillment solution in Miami. Rolling out over the next several weeks, the offering will enable customers in Miami’s Brickell, Coral Gables and Wynwood neighborhoods to have a wide range of fresh produce, pantry staples, household goods and other products delivered from Publix in as fast as 15 minutes.
Amazon reported a Q1 loss of nearly $4 billion after being hit with a $7.6 billion loss on its investment in electric vehicle company Rivian. The online giant reported a loss of $3.8 billion vs. net income of $8.1 billion in the year-ago period.
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