RETAIL NEWS

Kroger has partnered with Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global platform, who will introduce its Our Brands line to international customers, starting with select Simple Truth items.

Retail sales increased 0.4% seasonally adjusted over June, and 4.9% unadjusted year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

The Meijer Mania celebration, which celebrates incoming college students with a night of fun, will feature a DJ, photo booth, interactive contests, samples, coupons and the occasional big-ticket giveaway.

At the grand opening celebration, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey highlighted the boon that the DC will offer the Mobile community, including the creation of more 750 jobs once the $135 million facility is fully operational, Walmart said.

H-E-B will close a location in Houston, Texas, next month, and turn the space into an e-commerce warehouse to support its home delivery and curbside pickup businesses, according to Chron.

The Global Market Development Center released its latest report, which highlights how three categories — books, trial and travel and grilling — are seeing continual growth for retailers.

The National Retail Federation now expects 2018 retail sales to increase at a minimum of 4.5% over 2017 rather than its previous forecast of 3.8% to 4.4%.

The retailer announced that John Bauer, who was most recently the chief logistics officer for TJX Companies, would take over the senior vice president of global inventory management role.