Target Pulls Clown Masks | Macy’s Opens Earlier on Tgiving | Ex-Schnucks Pres Sues Chain/CEO | Ex-Saks CEO on CNBC
Macy’s to stick with Thanksgiving hours, open even earlier by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “BestBlackFriday.com, which tracks retailers’ holiday deals and hours, received confirmation from five U.S. shopping centers that their Macy’s locations would open at 5 p.m. Thursday. That compares with 6 p.m. in both 2014 and 2015.” Read more
Target Removes Clown Masks From Stores After Recent Scares at WCCO 4. “Given the current environment, we have made the decision to remove a variety of clown masks from our assortment, both in stores and online,” Target spokesperson Joshua Thomas said.” Read more
Former Schnucks president sues chain and CEO by Lisa Brown at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “After he was offered the CEO position at Earth City-based Save-A-Lot in October 2015, (Anthony) Hucker alleges that he approached Todd Schnuck, asking him to waive his non-compete agreement…Instead of waiving the non-compete, Hucker was terminated without cause in November 2015, according to Hucker’s attorney Jerome Dobson, and caused him to lose the opportunity to be CEO of Save-A-Lot.” Read more
Instacart reverses course, re-introducing tips for shoppers by Matthew Linley at TechCrunch. “The backlash went so far as to inspire a boycott among some shoppers, though again Mehta said that this was not the primary cause for returning tipping. “We have tens of thousands of shoppers,” Mehta said. “I think that a lot of times it’s the most vocal ones you hear from…” Read more
J.Crew hires help to inject life into the troubled brand by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “J. Crew’s legendary Chairman and Chief Executive Mickey Drexler is asking for help to turn around his ailing chain, The Post has learned. Drexler, who is credited with the Gap’s success in the ’90s, has been working with consultant McKinsey & Co. on developing a new business plan for the preppy J. Crew retail chain, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.” Read more
Meet the Woman Who Could Turn Jet.com Into the Digital Era’s Ultimate Challenger Brand by Christine Birkner at Adweek. “She started with Jet in March 2015 after a nearly two-year tenure as CMO at E-Trade, where she oversaw the brand’s first post-talking-baby ads with the campaign “Type E,” featuring Kevin Spacey. “Until that job, I never thought of myself as a marketer,” Landsman explains. “I always thought of myself as a customer-focused businessperson.” Read more
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Macy’s flagship in New York debuts Apple shop via Denver Post. “This is one of the most sought-after products,” Terry Lundgren, the outgoing CEO of Macy’s, told The Associated Press. “We really cater to women better than most retail stores do. I do think that we are going to end up creating a business that is more female-friendly.” Read more
Banana Republic is transitioning to outlet stores amid sales slump by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Banana Republic is quietly converting some of its full-price stores to factory stores — right in the middle of urban shopping districts, The Post has learned.” Read more
Bass Pro’s Johnny Morris opens private museum with public artifacts by Tony Messenger at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “Owens shared her story — and a bevy of emails and other documents — with both me and a state lawmaker in hopes of preventing this sort of thing in the future. “Hopefully the outcome is that we can get some kind of protection for the collection so it doesn’t happen again,” Owens said. “When this sort of thing gets to donors, it looks bad. People won’t give to your collection if they don’t believe the artifacts are properly protected.” Read more
Former Saks CEO Steve Sadove on CNBC: “Things are going to start looking up for certain department stores, former Saks CEO Steve Sadove told CNBC on Friday…The consumer wants buy now, wear now. The consumer is fickle. The consumer is thinking differently.” See the video / Read more
Is McDonald’s ready to sell its Big Mac special sauce in grocery stores? by Anne Stych at Chicago Business Journal. “McDonald’s applied for a U.S. trademark for “Mac Sauce” last month, the Chicago Tribune reported, perhaps signaling its intention to sell the creamy condiment in grocery stores.” Read more
Mall of America continues its quest to be biggest by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The Mall of America’s Canadian owner, Triple Five Group, is working on both the Florida project and one in New Jersey — each branded under the grandiose name “American Dream” — that could surpass Minnesota’s marquee mall in size. Meanwhile, King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia now has 450 stores that span 2.9 million square feet of retail space, nearly as much as the Mall of America.” Read more
Whiskey Workers Strike at 2 Beam Distilleries in Kentucky via ABC News. “Given our inventories and contingency plans, we currently do not anticipate shortages of Jim Beam or any other products made at these facilities,” David Hunter, chief supply chain officer for Beam Suntory, said in a statement Friday night.” Read more
Discount Tire gives $1 million to campaign against marijuana legalization by Mike Sunnucks at Phoenix Business Journal. Read more
Hasbro reports 14.2 percent rise in quarterly revenue at Reuters. “…helped by strong demand for toys in the girls category such as Disney Princess, Frozen and Trolls dolls.” Read more
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