Today’s Tipsheet: 74% Like Wmart Pickup | JCP’s New Chief Merchant Is? | MO AG Slams Wgreens | Cuban Warns Wmart
Survey: Walmart grocery pickup popular with 74% of users by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Field Agent found that 65% of shoppers in its 500-person survey said the inability to take advantage of sales promotions such as coupons, in-store discounts could deter them from using grocery pickup in the future. Likewise, a whopping 91% said being able to use coupons, or being able to benefit from other in-store discounts, was either “extremely” or “very” important to them.” Read more
…Five more Walmart pickup locations open today in Northwest Arkansas at NWA. ” The five new locations (all Neighborhood Markets) are: Fayetteville, 2690 East Citizens Drive, Springdale, 4900 Jennifer Terrace, Rogers, 808 West Walnut, Bentonville,1703 East Central Avenue, Bentonville,1400 North Walton Boulevard.” Read more
J.C. Penney Is Searching for a New Chief Merchant by Joann S. Lublin at WSJ. “It isn’t clear whether the retailer has picked a successor yet, nor whether the newcomer would come from outside Penney. But the company expects an announcement early Wednesday morning that “does relate to the chief merchant role,’’ one person familiar with the matter said. This person declined further comment.” Read more (Subscription)
Don’t count on a very merry Christmas by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Ultimately we’re seeing a holiday that’s going to be a fair amount below the trailing five- and 10-year averages,” said Noam Paransky, director in the retail practice at AlixPartners consulting firm. “It’s certainly not going to be a holiday for the ages.” Read more
Missouri Attorney General Hits Walgreens on “Shoddy” Business Practices by Samantha Liss at St. Louis Post Dispatch. “The motion comes after Koster’s office conducted an independent, one-week investigation in July and found more than 1,300 expired and inaccurate sales tags at 49 stores across the state. Koster alleges that hundreds of tags were weeks past the expiration date and two had expired two years earlier.” Read more
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Porch launches its own $1,000 guarantee for home-improvement work by Todd Bishop a GeekWire. “The company is launching the Porch Guarantee in 28 markets, and says more cities will be added next year. Porchy has been piloting the program in Chicago and Seattle for the last two months, with just one homeowner taking advantage of the guarantee during the pilot.” Read more
Amazon slashes Prime price to $67 for new customers to celebrate Emmy wins by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. Read more
Hillary Clinton Would End Tax Break for Drug Ads by Ana Radelat at AdAge. “The Association of National Advertisers said the Clinton plan is unconstitutional, misguided and likely to hurt sick people who could be helped if they were aware of the development of new drugs.” Read more
WalmartLabs Snaps Up Silicon Valley-Based PunchTab by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “…the focus is not – at least, initially – on improving the Walmart.com website, but rather on optimizing how Sam’s Club can better tailor offers such as savings, merchandise and services to its members.” Read more
A PetSmart-Petco merger might not add up by Jonathan Berr at CBS News. “If you are asking me if things are going to be better after the merger, (the answer is) absolutely not,” Davidowitz said, adding that the combined company would have a “gigantic” amount of debt. “What they should be doing is perfecting their businesses, coming up with specialty niches within pets,” he said. “I can think of a hundred things they ought to be doing.” Read more
5,000 Kroger managers coming to Cincinnati summit by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Kroger is hosting a company-wide leadership summit next week that will draw 5,000 – including managers from every store, factory, distribution center and office the grocer has in the country. The gathering is the second ever of its kind – Kroger held a similar event in Louisville in 2013 – and is intended to spur its growth strategy.” Read more
Mark Cuban prepares for ultimate showdown with Walmart at Sports Illustrated. “Cuban bought the patent license from Shane Chen…An American company, IO Hawk, is importing the Chinese-manufactured hoverboards and selling them as well. Walmart plans on selling the hoverboards this holiday season, and if they choose the ones from IO Hawk over Chen, they could be hit with a patent infringement lawsuit…Cuban has Chen’s back, and in an email to Buzzfeed, had some tough talk for Walmart: “They are in for a nightmare,” Cuban said.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra
Whole Foods’ expensive, ‘humanely treated’ meat is a ‘sham,’ PETA lawsuit claims
Why the Rexall pharmacy chain is a hot acquisition target
In Seattle, Chinese leader vows to join U.S. to fight cybercrime
Indy: Kroger store opening Thursday offers toys, clothing and appliances
Kohl’s testing same-day delivery in two markets
NYC retailers look for boost from Pope visit on Thursday
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 really happening in the world of retail. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net