Thursday Tipsheet: Jim Sinegal Iview | TGT Can: Half Closed by 4/2 | Kroger CFO on CNBC
Costco’s Jim Sinegal Honored at Univ. of Notre Dame – Reflects on Success by Heidi Prescott at South Bend Tribune. “Q: You said a lot of luck along the way. What kind of luck? A: We were about ready to open our first warehouse in Seattle when we got a letter from the city. They were going to tear down a wooden bridge about 100 yards south of our building and the road would be closed to through traffic for 18 months…I called the city manager and said something really intelligent like, “You can’t do this.” And they said, “Of course we can.” But there were delays that gave us enough time for us to get our feet on the ground and get established. If they had shut it down, I don’t know what in the world we would have done.” Read the interview
AP: Slavery taints global supply of seafood by Margie Mason, Martha Mendoza & Esther Htusan via Dallas Morning News. “I want to go home. We all do,” one Burmese slave called out over the side of his boat, a cry repeated by many men. “Our parents haven’t heard from us for a long time, I’m sure they think we are dead.” Their catch mixes in with other fish at numerous sites in Thailand, including processing plants. U.S. Customs records show that several of those Thai factories ship to America.” Read more
Amazon Expands Prime Now One-Hour Delivery To Dallas, Now Covering 4 Metros by Ingrid Lunden at TechCrunch. Read more
Target Canada will have shut more than half its stores by April 2 by Sophia Harris at CBC News. Read more
Charles Armstrong, VP of distribution, leaving Home Depot by David Allison at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “An internal Home Depot memo dated March 24 noted that Armstrong “has decided to leave the Company.”…The memo did not give a reason for Armstrong’s departure.” Read more
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We tested Amazon’s one-hour delivery service in Baltimore: Minor hiccups by Catherine Hawley at ABC 2 Baltimore. See the video
H-E-B quietly buying potential store sites in North Texas by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “(H-E-B) has bought at least a dozen locations in the region, including in Allen, Carrollton, Corinth, Dallas, DeSoto, Fort Worth, Frisco, Grand Prairie, McKinney, Murphy and Plano…“This market is ready for them,” said Karla Smith, senior vice president and partner in the Dallas office of CBRE/UCR. “I anticipate H-E-B will open a few stores in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2016.” Read more
Walgreen nixes ‘Be well’ at checkout line by Ellen Jean Hirst at Chicago Tribune. “A spokesman said the campaign had run its course, though the company didn’t elaborate on why the effort, launched several years ago, was dropped.” Read more
Kroger CFO Michael Schlotman Appears on CNBC See the video
Walmart to Provide Strategic Update “Walmart U.S. President and CEO Greg Foran will host investors and analysts at the NYSE on Wed., April 1 to discuss his strategic priorities for the business. Joining Foran will be Judith McKenna, Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer, and Jeff Davis, Walmart U.S. Chief Financial Officer. Charles Holley, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will also attend.” Read the release
Amazon’s On-Demand Services Marketplace Launches Next Week by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “On the rebranded “Amazon Home Services” website there are a variety categories beyond those that only relate to products Amazon sells. Top-level categories include Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden, Automotive, Computer & Electronics, and Lessons.” See the cities it’s launching in / Read more
Report: Radio Shack To Sell Customers’ Personal Information In Bankruptcy Sale “People are looking at Radio Shack now and they are gonna vilify Radio Shack,” said consumer expert Paul Viollis. “But at the end of the day, Radio Shack isn’t doing anything all other major corporations haven’t been doing for many years.” See the video / Read more
Purdue sued over Amazon textbook deal by Steven Porter & Joseph Paul at JConline. “To buttress its argument, the suit notes that the association obtained similar information from an agreement Amazon signed to open a store on the University of California-Davis campus.” Read more
Fortune: World’s Greatest Leaders See the list
Accenture Omnichannel Study: “Fifty-seven percent of consumers said they would be willing to wait between four and seven days for free delivery…29 percent would wait eight days or more, compared to 23 percent who said the same last year.” Read the release
Feds investigate safety of Lumber Liquidators flooring at LA Times. “Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said Wednesday that the agency is taking the issue seriously and is working to get answers for consumers, but it’s too early to tell whether any flooring would be recalled. “As a parent of young children, I completely understand and share the strong desire that parents and other consumers have to know as soon as possible whether these products present a health risk,” Kaye said.” Read more
Fred’s Hires Ex-Walgreens Chief Merchandising Officer “Bryan Pugh brings to Fred’s 30 years of retail experience.” Read the release
Ashton Kutcher petitions Target & Costco to “provide universally accessible changing tables in their stores” by Caroline Bologna at HuffPo. “Kutcher’s letter on Change.org explains the choice to single out Target and Costco, as “companies that honor diversity, support families, and provide great services to kids of all ages.” He writes, “As leaders in their industry, they can initiate a company-wide policy to provide universally accessible changing tables in their stores.” Read more
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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.