Thursday Tipsheet: Comps: Costco +5%, F. Dol -0.4% | Bezos Security = $1.6 Mil | Tesco Closes 43
Costco December Comp +5% in US “Costco reported net sales of $12.12 billion for the month of December, the five weeks ended January 4, 2015, an increase of five percent from $11.53 billion during the similar period last year.” Read the release
Family Dollar Q1 Comp Decreased 0.4% “December Comparable Store Sales Increase 1.2%” Read the release
Amazon Bought This Man’s Company. Now He’s Coming for Them by Brad Stone at Bloomberg. “(Marc Lore) wants to reinvent the wholesale shopping club. Jet plans to open for business on a “friends-and-family” basis in January and will start limited sign-ups on Feb. 20. Customers will find just about everything, from clothes, books, and electronics to baby goods and athletic gear. After a 90-day free trial period, Jet customers will be asked to pay $49.99 a year for access to what Lore claims will be prices that are 10 percent to 15 percent lower than anywhere else online.” Read more
WSJ: Amazon’s Diaper Deal Spawns New Rival by Greg Bensinger. “The online marketplace, Jet.com, has grand ambitions, including a planned half-billion-dollar marketing budget and projections for $5 billion in annual sales by 2020, according to slides distributed to potential merchants.” Read more (Subscription)
Supervalu posts strongest sales performance ‘in years’ by Clare Kennedy at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “(Supervalu) reported positive sales growth in all three of its business units — wholesale, retail and its discount chain, Save-A-Lot — with a total of $4.2 billion in net sales for the quarter ending on Nov. 29. That marks a 4.8 percent increase over the same period last year.” Read more
Home Depot #1 for the Year in Radio Spots at Radio Ink. “It’s the second year in a row Home Depot is number one with a spot count of over 2.3 million…Walgreens (#5 with) 1.26 million (spots).” Read more
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Here’s what Twitter had to say about Dick’s sharp rise on Wall Street by Paul J. Gough at Pittsburgh Business Times. “Oh, the CEO of $DKS has 60% voting power via class B shares so really everything is up to him.” Read more
Which Fortune 100 CEO has the biggest security budget? by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “…it’s Amazon. The online retailer paid $1.6 million in 2013 for security perks for founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, whose personal worth totals an estimated $28 billion. What kind of security can that much money buy? Amazon isn’t telling. A spokeswoman did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.” Read more
Former REI executive named Bartell Drugs’ new president by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Brian Unmacht, a former chief operating officer at outdoor gear retailer REI, also served as interim CEO of that company between March and September 2013.” Read more
Ace Hardware is teaming with golfer Hunter Mahan by Lewis Lazare at Chicago Business Journal. “For the first time in its 91-year history, Ace Hardware is going the sport sponsorship route…Mahan’s deal with Ace includes a new national TV commercial that will debut in April to promote the hardware chain’s free store pick-up program that is launching the same month.” Read more
Tesco to Close 43 Stores by Paul Jarvis & Jillian Ward at Bloomberg. “(Dave) Lewis said he’s also scrapping a number of store-development projects as part of a “significant revision” to the grocer’s expansion plans as it focuses on the fastest-growing areas in food retailing — online and convenience stores.” Read more
The Top 150 Cities for Jobs (Seattle #1) at WalletHub. See the list
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