Week In Review: Bubble Wrap Becomes Unbreakable

| MCM Staff

Pop… Pop… Pop Pop… Pop…
Well, that’s a series of sounds we may not hear anymore, shortly after a co-worker or a family member opens a package. That’s because Sealed Air’s “unpoppable” Bubble Wrap protective packaging solution is now commercially available worldwide.
Read on and find out what this means for Bubble Wrap aficionados and your packaging, and what else was big news this week.

FedEx, UPS, FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, ecommerce fulfillment

FedEx Says Amazon Business Not a Concern

| Mike O'Brien

FedEx told analysts on a third quarter call that Amazon was simply addressing capacity issues with its own assets a la other major retailers, so they weren’t worried about the business. For the quarter, FedEx’s net income fell 19% to $507 million, while Ground revenue was up 30% to $4.41 billion. However higher costs due in part to network expansion and peak season demand caused the segment’s operating income to drop from $559 million to $557 million.

Office Depot

Amazon Said to be Eyeing Office Depot Assets

| MCM Staff

Amazon is reportedly considering an acquisition of Office Depot’s corporate business assets to jumpstart its Amazon Business office supply operation. The deal is contingent on FTC approval of the Office Depot-Staples merger, which it has opposed to date, but may be close to signing off on.

Week in Review: Amazon As Expected Buys Into Air Freight

| MCM Staff

Ending months of speculation, Amazon says it has leased 20 Boeing 767 cargo jets from Air Transport Services Group Inc., while taking a 20% stake in the Ohio company. This gives Amazon a significant boost in its air freight capacity, as much as 15%, and signals to the major carriers it is eager to control more of its logistics destiny.

Linio

Linio Selects Payoneer to Disburse Cross-Border Payments

| MCM Staff

Linio, Latin America’s largest ecommerce store, has selected Payoneer Inc. to power its payments to sellers worldwide. The partnership will provide international sellers access to the estimated $88 billion Latin-American ecommerce market through Linio’s 8 localized platforms, by allowing them to receive their funds using Payoneer’s payment solutions.

JD.com’s Net Revenues from Online Direct Sales Increased 55% in 2015

| Tim Parry

JD.com’s net revenues from online direct sales increased by 55%, while net revenues from services and others increased by 110% in the full year of 2015, as compared to the full year of 2014, primarily due to the increased revenues from JD.com’s rapidly expanding online marketplace, advertising services and third-party logistics services.

Week in Review: Wayfair Just Had the Best. Week. Ever.

| MCM Staff

Between posting 98% growth in Q4 direct sales, plans for Canadian and European expansion and a new analytics-driven catalog, Wayfair had a pretty good week. The company also announced plans to open its fourth customer service center in Bryan, TX. See what other news and events transpired this week in the world of direct-to-customer retail and ecommerce.