Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/7/13: “Big box is so last decade”; Target’s SXSW contest
“Why Walmart Is Betting Big On Small Stores” by Lydia Dishman at Forbes. “Big box is so last decade. That’s why Walmart is upping the ante on its expansion efforts with smaller stores. According to Bill Simon, head of Walmart’s U.S. division who spoke on an industry conference call yesterday, “They compete really well against multiple channels,” including competitors such as Dollar General, Walgreens and supermarkets. Simon said the company plans to add 115 new outlets that have less than 60,000-square-feet of selling space this year. Walmart’s not abandoning the big box yet. Simon says to expect 125 Supercenters to open this year, too.” Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lydiadishman/2013/03/06/why-walmart-is-betting-big-on-small-stores/
“Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports February, Second Quarter and Year-to-Date Sales Results” “Costco Wholesale Corporation today reported net sales of $7.58 billion for the month of February, the four weeks ended March 3, 2013, an increase of eight percent from $7.01 billion during the similar period last year. For the twenty-six weeks ended March 3, 2013, the Company reported net sales of $51.35 billion, an increase of nine percent from $47.22 billion during the similar period last year.” Read more: https://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1793422&highlight=
“Target Looks For Help From Mobile Developers With Newly Announced “Retail Accelerator”” by Sarah Perez at Tech Crunch. “Retail giant Target’s newly announced ”Target Retail Accelerator” isn’t really an accelerator – it’s more a sponsored contest taking place at SXSW in Austin. Developers who participate in the event will have a chance to create retail-focused mobile apps or mobile websites, with seven finalists receiving $10,000 for their ideas, and one grand-prize winner scoring a larger prize of $75,000. But most importantly comes the promise that the winner will “get to work with Target” to bring their project to life, the retailer says.” Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/06/target-looks-for-help-from-mobile-developers-with-newly-announced-retail-accelerator-which-is-actually-just-a-contest/
“Whole Foods Market® named to 2013 ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ list” “For the fifth time, Whole Foods Market is named to the Ethisphere Institute’s “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list. Through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis, the institute reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries.” Read more: https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6427682&access=EH
“2012 World’s Most Ethical Companies” See the full list including retailers: https://www.ethisphere.com/wme/
“Costco CEO: Raise The Minimum Wage To More Than $10 Per Hour” by Bonnie Kavoussi at HuffPo. “President Barack Obama wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour. And the CEO of one of America’s largest retailers says such a move would be good for workers and businesses alike. In fact, he says raise it even more. On Tuesday, Costco CEO and President Craig Jelinek came out in support of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which aims to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, then adjust it after that for inflation.” Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/costco-ceo-minimum-wage-craig-jelinek_n_2818060.html?utm_hp_ref=business
“Of Course Costco Supports A Higher Minimum Wage: It Already Pays Above It” by Tim Worstall at Forbes. “This isn’t the most remarkable business statement ever. In fact, Costco coming out in support of a higher minimum wage is one of the more unsurprising ones. For Costco already pays well above minimum wage anyway. The only people who could be hurt by the rise are Costco’s competitors.” Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/06/of-course-costco-supports-a-higher-minimum-wage-it-already-pays-above-it/
“Walmart Beats Emissions Goal a Year Early” at Environmental Leader. “Walmart has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from a 2005 baseline, meeting its target one year ahead of schedule. The metric applies to all facilities built before the baseline. The announcement represents something of a turnaround for the company. At Walmart’s 2009 Sustainability Milestones Meeting, CEO Mike Duke announced that the retailer was on track to meet 36 of its 37 sustainability goals.” Read more: https://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/03/06/walmart-beats-emissions-goal-a-year-early/
“PayOne files lawsuit against Home Depot” at Businessweek. “PayOne Corp. has filed a lawsuit against Home Depot that claims the biggest U.S. home improvement company use of PayPal’s in-store checkout infringes on some of its patents. The privately held company, formerly called PaymentOne Corp., is seeking an unspecified amount in damages and an injunction against future infringement by Home Depot Inc.” Read more: https://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-06/payone-files-lawsuit-against-home-depot
“World’s #2 Retailer Ups Spending After Loss” at CNBC. “Carrefour, Europe’s biggest retailer,said it would boost capital spending this year to revive its struggling hypermarkets after 2012 profits fell 2.6 percent, depressed by falling demand in recession-hit Spain and Italy.” Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/id/100530644
“Wal-Mart passed on Barnes & Noble before, but maybe it should look again” by Gina Chon at Quartz. “Wal-Mart had studied a Barnes & Noble deal in 2010 when the bookseller explored a possible sale. The logic was that Wal-Mart could use Barnes & Noble’s web site to help it better compete with Amazon, people familiar with the matter said. Despite Wal-Mart’s size, it’s still behind Barnes & Noble when it comes to certain aspects of online sales, including third-party merchant products.” Read more: https://qz.com/59515/wal-mart-passed-on-barnes-noble-before-but-maybe-it-should-look-again/
“National Retail Federation Backs Legislation to Repeal Health Care Employer Mandate” The National Retail Federation this week welcomed introduction of House and Senate legislation that would repeal the employer mandate provision of the health care reform law scheduled to take effect next year. “One of every four jobs in the American economy is supported by retail, which would be jeopardized by the mandate effective in 2014. The employer mandate is already deterring job growth today at the expense of tomorrow’s economy.” Read more: https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130306005987&div=-1245645151
“Lowe’s to Webcast Presentation from the UBS Global Consumer Conference (on 3/13)” “Lowe’s Companies, Inc. announces that Robert A. Niblock, chairman, president and chief executive officer, and Robert F. Hull, Jr., chief financial officer, will present at the UBS Global Consumer Conference in Boston, MA.
What: Presentation by Robert Niblock and Bob Hull at the UBS Global Consumer Conference in Boston, MA
When: 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Where: Visit Lowe’s Investor Relations website at https://www.lowes.com/investor
Thanks for reading…
Follow on Twitter @retaileyeretail