Today’s Tipsheet: Target: 3rd Small Store in Philly | Bass Pro Memphis: 2 Mil Visitors | If Amazon Ran the Stock Market
Toys ‘R’ Us CEO banking big on ‘Star Wars’ success by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “If (CEO David) Brandon can turn around the financial fortunes of the deep-in-debt toy chain, hit certain financial benchmarks and put it in position for an IPO…he can pocket a whopping $100 million over his five-year contract, sources familiar with the executive’s deal told The Post.” Read more
Bezos Takes Hands-On Role at Washington Post by Lukas I. Alpert & Jack Marshall at WSJ. “When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos received an email from a reader complaining about the time it took for the mobile app to load, he immediately fired off a note to the newspaper’s chief information officer. The message was simple: fix it…” Read more (subscription)
Philly: Target finds site for 3rd Center City store by Natalie Kostelni at Philadelphia Business Journal. “A Target spokeswoman declined to disclose additional information about the third store at this time but did say “Philadelphia is a priority market for the company.” Read more
Costco’s Australian profits surge as sales exceed $1 billion by Sue Mitchell at The Sydney Morning Herald. “In 2016 Costco plans to open its third Sydney store, at Marsden Park, its second in Brisbane and its fourth in Melbourne, at Epping.” Read more
Wegmans is ranked No. 1 in Boston-area supermarket survey by Meagan McGinnes at Boston.com. “Surveyed consumers ranked Wegmans number one for quality—and 93 percent of respondents rated it “superior” overall, the Globe reported.” Read more
Shipping mania: rushing to deliver millions of holiday gifts by Scott Mayerowitz at AP. “The humming is constant; a low-pitched drone from 155 miles of conveyer belts racing packages in every direction. Boxes shift from one belt to another and bump into a metal wall. Thud. Thud. Thud. In the background, trucks beep and jet engines roar. Forget jingling bells and ho-ho-hos, these are now the sounds of the holidays…” Read more
Walmart to Stay Open Until 8pm on Christmas Eve by Chris Matthews at Fortune. “In a press release, Walmart stressed the consumer demand for Star Wars related merchandise.” Read more
Bass Pro Shops’ Memphis Pyramid hits 2 million visitors mark by Doug Owen at KY3. Read more
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Staff at Amazon’s German warehouses are going on strike in the run up to Christmas by Emma Thomasson at Reuters. “But an Amazon spokeswoman said only a small minority of staff were on strike. “There is absolutely no impact on our customer delivery promise. The vast majority of our employees are working,” she said.” Read more
Walmart gives $1.4 billion to charity in 2015 Read the release via Yahoo
Target in initial development of its own mobile wallet at Reuters. “However, Target has not tested the wallet in its stores so far, said the third source, who was not authorized to disclose the details.” Read more
FTC Rejects Staples – Office Depot Deal “The FTC rejected the company’s offer without making a counteroffer. The company is still willing to continue negotiations with the FTC to reach a settlement that addresses FTC concerns.” Read the release
Cramer: Amazon should run the stock market at CNBC. “Cramer envisioned a system where an investor could buy a put option on oil, using Amazon Prime of course, for commission free trading and a pop up would appear that said “If you dislike oil here, you might want to buy a put option on the S&P 500.” Read more / See the video
Wayfair.com Mobile App Surpasses 2 Million Downloads Read the release
Wal-Mart driver in Tracy Morgan crash to seek dismissal: lawyer by Frank McGurty at Reuters. “Kevin Roper’s rights were violated, his attorney David Glassman said, because a federal court refused to allow him to ask for a stay in a civil suit that the “Saturday Night Live” entertainer brought against Wal-Mart Stores Inc.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
JCP names new CIO with Target background
Rick Ross’ ‘Black Market’ Allegedly Pulled From Walmart Over Donald Trump Lyric
Tired of renting, Chanel pays a record price for its Rodeo Drive location
USA Today: Internet of Things puts energy grid to test
Politico: How America’s Top Junk-Food City Went on a Diet (and Fattened Its Economy)
Mall of America ‘prepared to use all remedies’ against Black Lives Matter protesters