Tipsheet: Dick’s +5% | Michaels -1% | Gordmans Bankrupt? | Casey’s +3% | JCP Layoffs
Dick’s Q4 Comp Sales +5.0% “Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased 10.9% to approximately $2.5 billion… Same store sales for Dick’s Sporting Goods increased 5.3%, while Golf Galaxy increased 13.2%.” Press release
Michaels Q4 Comp Sales -1.0% “Comparable store sales for the year decreased 0.5% driven by a decrease in customer transactions, which was partially offset by an increase in average ticket.” Press release
Gordmans said to be preparing to file for bankruptcy by Paige Yowell at Omaha World-Herald. “A Gordmans spokeswoman told The World-Herald that the company wouldn’t comment on “rumor or speculation…(has) roughly 100 stores in the upper Midwest.” Read more
Former Saks employees sue over paycheck deductions by Julia Marsh at NY Post. “The clerks earned $15-an-hour, the Manhattan Supreme Court suit says. They were told they make a 7 percent commission after $8,000 in sales, but the deductions meant they actually had to sell $20,000 in merchandise before seeing any commissions, according to court papers.” Read more
HAPPENING TODAY – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks Tuesday morning at the Satellite 2017 conference in Washington Video stream via CNBC
Amazon, E-Bay set to fight Gov. Cuomo’s plan to tax online marketplaces by Kenneth Lovett at NY Daily News. “The coalition of tech groups plan to send millions of emails, generate thousands of phone calls, and use other means to rev up New Yorkers to fight the plan. The coalition will target 20 state legislators in hopes of pressuring them to oppose the Cuomo proposal as state budget talks are set to heat up in coming days.” Read more
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J.C. Penney lays off an undisclosed number of corporate employees by Korri Kezar at Dallas Business Journal. “Spokesman for J.C. Penney: ‘Although I don’t have a number available to share, it is part of our normal course of business for leaders to ensure their respective teams are optimally staffed, so any position eliminations would vary by department.'” Read more
Colorado Senate kills bill to expand alcohol sales at Walmart, Target by Ed Sealover at Denver Business Journal. “On an 18-17 vote that crossed party lines, the upper body of the Legislature defeated Senate Bill 143, just one week after it gave the proposal preliminary approval.” Read more
New CFO takes the wheel at Tractor Supply at Nashville Business Journal. “Kurt Barton has been promoted to senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.” Read more
Coming Soon to Your Local Mall: Celery and Dog Food by Esther Fung at Wall Street Journal. “Natick Mall in Natick, Mass., is leasing 194,000 square feet of space vacated by J.C. Penney Co. to upscale grocer Wegmans which is planning to open a store in 2018. College Mall in Bloomington, Ind., plans to bring in 365 by Whole Foods Market in the fall. Kroger Co., meanwhile, has purchased a former Macy’s Inc. location at Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio, and plans to build a new store in its place.” Read more (subscription)
About 1,300 Kroger employees take voluntary buyout offer by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. Read more
Fred’s Pharmacy Announces Appointment of New Directors (Ex-Family Dollar & CVS Execs) Press release
Walmart’s U.K. Division Continues to Decline by Lisa Botter at The Street. “Walmart’s U.K. division was the only supermarket to see declines in the 12 weeks to Feb. 26, supermarket industry data indicated Tuesday, as it continues its downward trajectory in a fiercely competitive market. Asda saw sales fall 0.8% in the 12-week period compared with last week.” Read more
Casey’s Q3 Grocery/Merch Comp Sales +3.0% Press release
Despite declining sales, do shoppers still prefer brick-and-mortar stores? by Herb Weisbaum at CNBC. “The nation’s retailers are doing a better job of making their customers happy. After two years of declining satisfaction, they reversed course during the 2016 holiday shopping season, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index report. Retailers scored 78 out of 100 points, that’s up 4.7 percent and an all-time high for the sector.” Read more
Security guard works at Amazon, and Amazon works to sell his BBQ sauce by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. Read more
Alibaba’s Jack Ma Wants Serious Jail Time for Counterfeiter by Lulu Yilun Chen at Bloomberg. “The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. chairman appealed to the National People’s Congress convening in Beijing this week to penalize counterfeiters as harshly as drunk drivers.” Read more
Lands’ End Chief Executive Officer Jerome Griffith Joins Company “…most recently serving as President and Chief Executive Officer at Tumi Holdings, Inc. He has also joined the Lands’ End Board of Directors.” Press release
Nordstrom’s Trunk Club opens Boston location by I-Chun Chen at Chicago Business Journal. “With the new shop, Trunk Club now operates seven Clubhouse locations including Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles; New York and Washington D.C.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Hunt for Walmart shopper who attacked store employees with a chemical that made them sick
P&G sells off another brand
Ex-Target exec Jeff Jones jumps into a tough situation at Uber
Adidas says Ohlmeyer to succeed Stalker as CFO in May
SpartanNash Promotes Weslow to SVP, Distribution Sales
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