Today’s Tipsheet: Wmart Exec: ‘Anarchy’ Coming | Target Goes Small in L.A. | Man in Line at B.Buy 33 Days Early
By Jason Long, jlong@eyeonretail.net
Walmart Exec: ‘Anarchy’ Coming in Holiday Transition to Chip Credit Cards by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “In a panel discussion at the Money 20/20 payments conference in Las Vegas on Monday, (John) Drechny said the October deadline for merchants to switch over to equipment that can accept new chip cards will cause chaos during the holidays. “We’re forcing anarchy” on the payments world right now, Drechny said.” Read more
REI rebels against Black Friday by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “REI is opting out of the annual doorbusting frenzy on the Friday after Thanksgiving by closing its 143 stores for the day…“While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors,” REI said in the e-mail to members.” Read more
Tim Cook’s pep talk to Best Buy’s CEO by Jen Wieczner at Fortune. “In an interview with Fortune, Joly recounted the 2012 meeting—and the words of encouragement that Apple’s CEO offered him: Cook “was kind enough to say, ‘Years ago, in the media, it was always “the beleaguered Apple.” You’re now “the beleaguered Best Buy,” but there will be a good time after that.” Read more
Job postings reveal Amazon plans to take worldwide delivery, transportation into its own hands by Jeanine Stewart at Puget Sound Business Journal. “News site DC Velocity, citing “a person familiar with its strategy,” said in a story Monday that Amazon is pushing to develop its own transportation network in the United States, and has “retained one of the world’s leading recruitment firms to identify senior executives within the small-package industry.” Read more
Kohl’s to open smaller stores and outlets in new turnaround moves by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “There are a whole bunch of markets that are completely underserved by Kohl’s,” (Kevin) Mansell told Fortune in an exclusive interview…Kohl’s will also open 10 to 15 outlet mall stores under the Fila name to showcase that brand (for which Kohl’s stores have the U.S. exclusive rights to its sports line).” Read more
Alibaba revenue jumps 32%, beating expectations via CNBC. Read more
Target’s New Website Helps Trick-or-Treaters Find Best Candy Haunts in the Neighborhood by Christopher Heine at Adweek “When viewers visit Treatster, they can turn on location services and see their areas’ most popular candy haunts, marked on a map with smiling jack-o’-lanterns. The website lets people add their homes and “upvote”—a signature of approval—any house or storefront on the map.” Read more
Lowe’s Names 2015 Innovation And Vendor Partners Of The Year “…it has named Hitachi, Pergo and Sunrise Global as the company’s 2015 Vendor Partners of the Year. The companies were selected for their commitment to product quality, innovation and customer service.” Read the release / See the 13 honored for innovation
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Man camps out at Best Buy for Black Friday 33 days early by Daniel Dahm at News 6 Orlando. “Sutton told News 6 that he wants to purchase a new television, but also wants to raise awareness of 13,000 homeless children in Central Florida.” See the video / Read more
Wal-Mart seeks to test drones for home delivery, distribution centers by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The retailer told The City Wire it has been testing drones within its cavernous distribution centers, but moving the devices outdoors requires FAA approval.” Read more
…This Is The Drone Company Walmart Is Hoping To Use For Deliveries by Ryan Mac at Forbes. “Walmart’s use of DJI devices represents a unique opportunity for the Shenzhen-based company, whose products are typically used by consumers and small businesses for imaging or video purposes.” Read more
FTC seeks remedy for Staples-Office Depot deal by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “The odds of Staples gaining regulatory clearance for its $6.3 billion purchase of rival Office Depot have improved greatly, according to a confidential report on Monday. The Federal Trade Commission met last Friday with a large corporate customer of Staples to discuss an antitrust remedy to get the deal done, according to the report issued by Bank of America.” Read more
Target to open two smaller-format stores in L.A. by Andrew Khouri at LA Times. “The 25,000-square-foot USC-adjacent location, coming in July 2017 to the USC Village retail complex…The 22,000-square-foot Koreatown location…is scheduled to open in late 2017 or early 2018 on the bottom floor of a residential development off Virgil Avenue and 6th Street.” Read more
How 180,000 stores in China will join Alibaba’s big online sale by Frank Tong at Internet Retailer. “Shoppers will be able to scan codes in stores to capture coupons they can use at Alibaba websites on Singles’ Day, Nov. 11.” Read more
Crowds converge as Microsoft opens massive Fifth Avenue flagship by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “…by my estimate a crowd of several hundred people waiting to get inside the store, with probably a couple of hundred more of the most diehard fans already shopping and browsing ahead of the opening hour.” Read more
Etsy Launches A Same-Day Delivery Service For The Holidays, But It’s Pricey by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “Etsy says that its ASAP deliveries will require a flat fee of $20. That’s a lot more than, say, Amazon Prime Now, which charges nothing for two-hour delivery windows and just $7.99 for a one-hour delivery time frame.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra
Hobby Lobby owners are under federal investigation for possibly smuggling hundreds of Middle Eastern biblical artifacts
Sam’s Club’s VP sees need for industry sourcing standards
Bridgestone buying Pep Boys for about $835 million
Wal-Mart’s portfolio review could mean divestitures in South America
FedEx predicts 12 percent increase in holiday shipments
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