Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/19/13: Target’s empty shelves in Canada; Home Depot’s new Sandy store

 

“Target’s Canadian problem: empty shelves” by Marina Strauss at The Globe and Mail via @RetailProphet.  “Target Corp. is struggling with a problem that few retailers face: too much demand for too little inventory, risking dampening customers’ enthusiasm as the U.S. discounter gets ready to open a new wave of stores…“We definitely were slammed,” said John Morioka, senior vice-president of merchandising at Target Canada. “We thought there would be an initial bump. The bump has not levelled off to the degree that we thought.”  Read more:  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/targets-canadian-problem-empty-shelves/article9936379/

 

“Target Set to Open Additional 21 Stores in Ontario”  “Target is pleased to announce the soft opening dates for 21 locations across Southwestern Ontario, including 17 locations opening on March 19 and four locations opening on March 28. The soft openings follow the launch of three pilot stores and will allow Target to continue to engage in volume testing to ensure stores are prepared to deliver the true Target brand experience to guests ahead of grand opening in early April.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6496643&access=EH

 

“Sandy spurs Home Depot to open N.J. satellite store” by Erik Larsen at Asbury Park Press via USA Today.  “The idea grew out of a conversation between a motel owner and one of The Home Depot’s associates: What could the home improvement retailer do to help Seaside Heights, N.J., rebuild as quickly as possible?  Nine weeks later, the borough had its answer. For the first time, The Home Depot has opened a satellite store in a storm-ravaged community to help spur the post-Sandy recovery efforts at the Jersey Shore.  “I understand it’s the only Home Depot showroom of its kind in the United States,” said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who personally attended the “board-cutting ceremony” Monday — The Home Depot’s version of a ribbon-cutting.”  Read more:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/18/sandy-home-depot-satellite-store/1998167/

 

“Home Depot brings help to Sandy-ravaged Seaside Heights” by Nora Muchanic at ABC News (Video and Text).  “Residents and contractors who are rebuilding can now order at a showroom at Sumner and Central without going to the mainland.  “We’ve had two homes on the Barrier Island that were taken down by Sandy, as a result we are rebuilding and this is convenient,” George Schmitt of Ortley Beach said.  “Place an order, whatever we sell at Home Depot, and we’ll bring it to their site, to their house for them,” Bob Striffolino of Home Depot said.”  See and read more:  https://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9031998

 

“Sophisticated consumers more accepting than ever of mobile as a shopping channel” by Paul Skeldon at Internet Retailing.  “A study by Stibo Systems has found that 59% of consumers have made a purchase on mobile so far this year – twice as many as did this time in 2011. And one in five of these has been made on a tablet, up from only 5% in 2012 and 2% in 2011.  The report also finds that the amount of women (14% in 2013 vs 45% in 2012) who ‘never’ use a mobile device to review products before making a purchase has fallen much faster than men (19% in 2013 vs 36% in 2012).”  Read more:  https://etail.sharedby.co/share/nAEQXJ

 

“Walgreen Co. Reports Fiscal 2013 Second Quarter Results”  “Second quarter sales were flat compared with the prior-year quarter at $18.65 billion, while first half sales decreased 2.3 percent to $35.96 billion. Front-end comparable store sales (those open at least a year) decreased 2.6 percent in the second quarter, customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 5.2 percent and basket size increased 2.8 percent, while total sales in comparable stores decreased 2.6 percent.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130319005550/en/Walgreen-Reports-Fiscal-2013-Quarter-Results?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

“Home Depot to Lowe’s Win as $40,000 Wine Cellars Return” by Chris Burritt at Bloomberg.  “Spending for U.S. remodeling in the 12 months through Sept. 30 may climb 20 percent from a year earlier to $145.5 billion, according to a forecast by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.  “When the sky is no longer falling, when prices are improving, homeowners are willing to invest,” said Scott Mosby, co-owner of St. Louis-based Mosby Building Arts, an architectural and remodeling company.  Mosby, 59, is renovating the basement of a St. Louis home for $230,000, including $40,000 to add a wine cellar.”  Read more:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/home-depot-to-lowe-s-win-as-40-000-wine-cellars-return.html

 

“How Private Equity Helped Target Stomp into Canada’s Retail Sector” by Kirk Falconer at PE Hub.  “It is important to recall that Target’s arrival in the Canadian market has its origins in the privatization of Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) in 2006 by American entrepreneur Jerry Zucker and the company’s acquisition two years later by New York private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners…The Zellers’ sale to Target was one of the most important decisions made during HBC’s private equity-backed tenure. (HBC returned to public ownership in November 2012). Over the course of last year, Zellers steadily liquidated outlets to pave the way for Target’s Canadian launch. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also gained from Zellers’ demise, developing its long-term presence in Canada through acquisition of those leases that didn’t align with Target’s growth strategy.”  Read more:  https://www.pehub.com/176093/private-equity-canadas-fast-changing-retail-sector/

 

“Wanted: “Best Unknown Business in America”  “Are you the country’s best unknown business? You know the kind. Maybe it’s that killer technology start-up that has yet to make the radar. Or perhaps it’s some new wonder drug that will increase life expectancy. Or could it be that new sustainable business that’s doing great financially while doing good for the world?  If so, you could win $10,000 in cash and a $40,000 public relations campaign from one of the country’s largest public relations firms.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130318006026&div=-1245645151

 

“Staples Expands Exclusive Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Line with New Lifestyle Organization Products”  ““I am pleased to expand the collection with Avery Dennison and Staples, a wonderful opportunity to give busy households and home-based entrepreneurs a functional and attractive organizational system,” said Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130318005868&div=-1245645151

 

“Selling the in-store experience” by Gemma Balford at Retail Focus.  “There will always be a need for a physical store, agrees Terry Carrington, director of brand consultancy Purpose, but with a growing amount of information and personal assistance online, brands need to adapt quickly and look for new ways to attract and retain customers. ‘One solution that is proving effective in certain sectors and for some high profile brands is to bring online behaviour into the retail environment, enhancing the customer in-store experience,’ he says.”  Read more:  https://www.retail-focus.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=851:experience-design-take-centre-stage&catid=84:features&Itemid=115

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/18/13: Walmart’s “Made in USA”; Amazon’s sellers unhappy

 

“Even Wal-Mart Thinks ‘Made In The USA’ Can Be Competitive Again” by Sam Ro at Business Insider.  “As rising overseas labor costs and higher shipping costs are forcing U.S. companies to bring manufacturing back to the states. This is being touted as the American manufacturing renaissance…WMT U.S. kicked off the initiative this week with Georgia state sourced towels, priced at $8.97 for bath size. They are offered in 600 stores and will be in an additional 600 stores by Sept., supported by local marketing.”  Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-selling-made-in-the-usa-2013-3#ixzz2Nq3ccJUl

 

“Amazon’s sellers unhappy about fee hikes, eye rivals” at Reuters.  “A brewing conflict between Amazon.com Inc and its merchants over fee hikes could benefit rival eBay Inc, and provide an opening for Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Google Inc, which are just getting into the space.  Amazon’s online bazaar generates margins many times higher than traditional retail as the company takes a cut of every sale on its site made by a merchant, known as a third-party seller, and charges extra fees for handling logistics. The growth of this business, which now accounts for almost 40 percent of unit sales, has helped push Amazon shares to record highs.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-amazon-sellers-idUSBRE92H0CR20130318

 

“Home Depot to help kick off N.J. rebuilding”by Christopher Steward at Atlanta Journal Constitution.  “Atlanta-based Home Depot and Coca-Cola Co. will be front and center Monday when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kicks off a rebuilding effort in an area hard hit by Superstorm Sandy last November.  Home Depot will open a satellite storm recovery store in the new Seaside Heights Business Improvement District…Scott Murry, the home improvement retailer’s regional vice president for New York and New Jersey, said the store’s staff of 25 includes six disaster relief associates who will drive around in company pickups to offer consultations.”  Read more:  https://www.ajc.com/news/business/home-depot-coca-cola-to-help-kick-off-nj-rebuildin/nWs4n/

 

“Google doubling Kirkland (WA) campus, planning for 1,000 new jobs” by Brier Dudley at The Seattle Times.  “The Seattle area is feeling lucky.  Google today announced that it’s doubling the size of its campus in Kirkland, creating room to hire 1,000 more employees.  The project comes amid a remarkable surge of investment by tech companies in the Seattle market, including Amazon.com’s enormous Seattle campus.”  Read more:  https://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2013/03/12/test-2/

 

“Walmex expands online presence in Mexico” at The City Wire.  “Walmex recently announced its plans to launch the online site, Walmart.com.mx, in response to the quickly growing e-commerce market in Mexico.  Walmart already operates the URL, but doesn’t sell on the site.”  Read more:  https://www.thecitywire.com/node/26913#.UUcHHxyG3X4

 

“Small online merchants file suit against Amazon.com” by Amy Martinez at The Seattle Times.  “Amazon.com was hit with a class-action lawsuit Friday by online sellers who allege the Internet giant violates its own terms as well as Washington state law by holding the sellers’ money for more than 90 days…The suit revolves around Amazon’s third-party-seller business, which enables merchants both large and small to sell their products on its website. The complaint argues that, by holding sellers’ money longer than allowed, Amazon racks up interest and uses the extra cash to support its operations.”  Read more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020568463_amazonsellersuitxml.html

 

“This Hiroshima Costco Charges A Ridiculous $32 for Parking” by Aziza Sullivan at Dailybeast.  “Yes, $32 just to park. That’s less than two days of parking at Disneyland, and they don’t even offer tram rides to the cashier! But, wait. Costco knows their parking fee is a little cray, so they offer a deal: Make a purchase of $53.50 (5,000 yen) or great, and you get an hour of free parking. Make a purchase of $107 (10,000 yen) or greater, and get two hours of “free” parking. In other words, it’s a race.”  Read more:  https://foodbeast.com/content/2013/03/15/this-hiroshima-costco-charges-32-for-parking/

 

“Out-of-state online grocery enters the local produce scene (in Missouri)” by Georgina Gustin at St. Louis Post Dispatch.  “Green BEAN Delivery, an Indiana-based company, has set up shop in the St. Louis area, and with a few clicks on its website, customers can have a weekly or biweekly infusion of produce whisked to their doorsteps. No trip to the store necessary.  The company, which now has operations in 10 cities, emphasizes locally grown produce but also distributes national brands, offering something that other subscription-style produce businesses don’t.”  Read more:  https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/out-of-state-online-grocery-enters-the-local-produce-scene/article_94a75a4a-45a1-596e-a5d3-2cb85f7e823f.html

 

“11 Google Products And Services You Never Knew Existed” by Kevin Smith at Business Insider.  “Some former and current Googlers have listed lesser known Google products over at answers site Quora.  Google has products and services all over the internet that aim to inform users, make their lives easier, and more secure too. We had no idea that some of these existed.”  Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-products-youve-never-heard-of-2013-3?op=1#ixzz2NtYlSITf

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/15/13: Home Depot’s CEO on CNBC; Walmart Empowers Women

 

“Does Wal-Mart’s New ‘Empowering Women’ Program Signal a Turning Point in Socially Conscious Retailing?” by Barbara Thau at Forbes.“Wal-Mart has launched a shop on Walmart.com that will offer more than 20 items from 19 small, women-owned businesses – including nine in the U.S. — from nine countries.  It’s all for sale on Wal-Mart’s “Store For Good.” These include apparel and accessories such as a $20 woven dress from Gahaya Links, a Rwandan company that helps economically-challenged women who are still rebounding from that country’s1994 genocide; jewelry like an $18 sliver necklace from Colorado-based Women’s Bean Project, an organization devoted to creating a safe work environment for unemployed and impoverished women; and home goods that include a $12 paper mache vase from Full Circle Exchange, another company designed to help poor women attain economic security.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2013/03/14/does-wal-marts-new-empowering-women-program-signal-a-turning-point-in-socially-conscious-retailing/

 

“Home Depot’s CEO Frank Blake talks GDP & the Housing Recovery” at CNBC (Video interview and Text).  “Housing is getting better,” Blake said. “You can see it in terms of household formation, housing turnover, new home starts. There are a lot of data saying housing is actually improving.” But he said it will still be a slow process…Tim Wadhams, CEO of home improvement and building materials company Masco, meanwhile, predicted that the housing recovery will go on for four or five years.  See and read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100550492

 

“Target to Expand Cooking and Kitchenware Business With Two E-Commerce Acquisitions”  “Target Corp. today announced agreements to acquire CHEFS Catalog and assets of Cooking.com in two separate transactions. The e-commerce acquisitions are aimed at expanding Target’s presence in the growing cooking and kitchenware market.  “We know consumers are increasingly looking online for cooking solutions to make their lives easier – from utensils and cookware, to recipes. These strategic transactions provide us a great way to address this growing opportunity and will offer expanded online options for our guests.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130314005848&div=-1245645151

 

“Apple Stores in France banned from forcing employees to work late” by Amar Toor at The Verge.  “According to French labor laws, companies can only require employees to work between the hours of 9PM and 6AM if they prove that doing so is necessary to maintain economic activity or to provide social services. The Apple Stores in question — including the outlet at l’Opéra in Paris — all officially close their doors at 9PM, but employees are often required to stay as late as 11PM in order to shut down and clean the facilities.”  Read more:  https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/13/4098052/french-judge-bans-apple-store-employees-from-working-nights

 

“A look inside Kroger’s new Poplar Plaza store (Memphis)” by Andy Ashby at Memphis Business Journal (Text and Pictures).  “When Kroger Co. opens its new Poplar Plaza location, shoppers will see the accumulated knowledge of their own shopping habits.  The grocery chain is opening its 90,000-square-foot store at 6 a.m. March 20 after expanding the 55,000-square-foot location in the same parking lot.”  Read and see more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/blog/2013/03/a-look-inside-krogers-new-poplar.html

 

“What Do You Do With the World’s Fastest Internet Service?” by Farhad Manjoo in Slate.  “Gigabit broadband is like that. For it to become truly useful and necessary, we’ll need to see a long-term feedback loop of utility and acceptance. First, super-fast lines must allow us to do things that we can’t do with the pedestrian Internet. This will prompt more people to demand gigabit lines, which will in turn invite developers to create more apps that require high speed, and so on. What I discovered in Kansas City is that this cycle has not yet begun. Or, as Ars Technica put it recently, “The rest of the Internet is too slow for Google Fiber.”  Read more:  https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/03/google_fiber_review_nobody_knows_what_to_do_with_the_world_s_fastest_internet.2.html

 

“Google Shopping Bests Amazon at its Own Game” by Federico Einhorn at Search Engine Journal.  “The data from the second half of 2012 (Q3 and Q4) showed that Google not only improved upon its own performance, but bested Amazon Product Ads in the process. Google Shopping sent more traffic to advertisers’ sites in the second half of 2012 and saw lower CPC rates compared to Amazon as well.  Google Shopping traffic in 2012 was nearly double that of its 2011 performance, but the more impressive numbers came in the almost immediate reversal in traffic in favor of Google Shopping over Amazon Product Ads.”  https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-shopping-bests-amazon-at-its-own-game/60100/

 

“Safeway Leans In Sandberg’s Direction” by Carol Agrisani at Supermarket News.  “Safeway has partnered with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” initiative.  “Safeway is ‘leaning in’ because we believe in empowering employees and advancing their leadership growth and capabilities,” Russ Jackson, Safeway’s senior vice president, human resources, said in a statement on the leanin.org website. “We are continuously exploring innovative resources and development tools to help grow future women leaders in an increasingly competitive environment.”  Read More:  https://supermarketnews.com/safeway/safeway-leans-sandberg-s-direction#ixzz2Nbl4RWVo

 

“Google And Target Are Top Brands For Social Currency” by Kurt Badenhausen in Forbes.  “Target is the top retailer and ranks No. 3 overall. The brand has a well-organized social strategy across networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn. There is something for everyone on Facebook, including applications designed for newlyweds, bargain hunters, the tech savvy and everything in between. Target realizes a higher repurchase or loyalty rate than Wal-Mart (ranks No. 10 overall), according to Vivaldi.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/03/12/subway-google-and-target-are-top-brands-for-social-currency/

 

“Yahoo COO Henrique De Castro joins Target board” by Shana Lynch at Silicon Valley Business Journal.  “Castro was one of the early additions to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s management team. She hired him in October 2012 from Google, where he was a top advertising executive.  At Yahoo, he oversees sales, media, business development and worldwide operations. In January, he reorganized the company’s ad sales unit, focusing on a model similar to Google’s.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/03/13/yahoo-coo-henrique-de-castro-joins.html

 

Thanks for reading…

 

Follow on Twitter @retaileyeretail

 

Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/14/13: Lowe’s CEO talks Line Reviews; Amazon Prime Price Drop?

 

“Lowe’s Presents at UBS Global Consumer Conference (3/13/13)” at Seeking Alpha.  

Robert Niblock’s (Lowe’s Chairman and CEO) comments on the new line review process:

*  I think it is obviously a more rigorous process than what our vendors have gone through before.

*  If you think about in the past, if a vendor had a line review with one merchant versus a different one, there might’ve been some differences in the process. Much greater consistency in the processes now.

*  So it has been — well, actually, it is a rigorous process that they go through. We are expecting them to bring their best price forward the first time that they quote us.

*  But now that we’re well through the process and actually, we’ll be starting to plan the next round of line reviews in the future.

* And I think one of the things that will likely help there when you think about our merchants now as they go through the line review process, they’re really going to more dead net pricing.

Question to Niblock:  “And is there an opportunity to go back to some of those earlier discussions and maybe go down that path of what you initially expected if you didn’t achieve what you were looking for the first time around?”

*  Yes, certainly. As you go through the line review process, I think there’s been learnings on both sides.

*  So as we get through the initial round of line reviews at the end of 2013, then we’ll basically operationalize that into our ongoing process.

*  And as we’re doing line reviews in the future, they won’t be done at the pace at which were being done today, but certainly the opportunity to go back and even some of the line reviews we’ve done, do a better job the second time around.

*  I think there was a lot of learnings that took place from the line reviews that we did last year, and that’s part of the reason that we slowed down the pace at which we were doing those line reviews.

*  I think that the biggest challenge would be continue to get good realization on the inventory that we’ve displaced and selling through from a margin standpoint. And that’s part of the reason we slowed that cadence down was to ensure that we can do that and provide a great customer experience.

Read the full transcript (registration required):  https://seekingalpha.com/article/1272021-lowe-s-companies-inc-presents-at-ubs-global-consumer-conference-mar-13-2013-02-20-pm

Listen to the webcast:  https://cc.talkpoint.com/ubsx001/031313a_ep/?entity=5_R48TFQ6

 

“Walmart, Safeway, Amazon Share Same Domain Strategy: Mine, Mine, Mine” by Frank Hays at Storefront Backtalk.  “Walmart  and Safeway are each trying to privatize .grocery, so no competing chains can use it. Barring an unexpected change, one of the two will lock it down. Meanwhile, the spotlight has been on Amazon for attempting to get exclusive use of .books. Other retail-friendly top-level domains (TLDs), including .toys, .kids, .tools, .shoes, .fashion and .food, are also in play.”  Read more: https://storefrontbacktalk.com/e-commerce/walmart-safeway-amazon-share-same-domain-strategy-mine-mine-mine/#ixzz2NVrj2d5f

 

“Retail Sales Up 0.7% in February as Consumers Adjusted Spending”  “Retail continues to show its importance to the economy,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “That said, our consumer research consistently shows a cautious shopper that is making tough spending decisions based upon economic uncertainties, lower paychecks and higher prices for things such as gas. This is particularly true among those making $50,000 or less a year.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130313005944&div=-1245645151

 

“Post-Holiday Spending Surprisingly Robust”  “With a gain of 1.1 percent in February, consumer spending remains relatively robust. Job growth has been strong, income growth has picked up a little, as has consumer sentiment. Additionally, households’ net worth continues to recover, powered by the strong equity market gains and rise in home prices.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6469151&access=EH

 

“Why Amazon Prime Could Soon Cost You Next to Nothing” by Marcus Wohlsen at Wired.  “Over the past few years, the arithmetic behind Amazon Prime has become one of online shopping’s most familiar math problems: Do I buy enough from Amazon to justify paying $79 per year for unlimited two-day shipping?  But this calculus could soon change. Amazon makes so much money off Prime customers, according to a new report, that the company could drop the fee by dozens of dollars and still come out ahead.”  Read more: https://www.wired.com/business/2013/03/amazon-prime-could-soon-cost-next-to-nothing/ 

 

“Home Depot’s Joe McFarland to Present at The International Strategy & Investment Third Annual Retail Summit”  “The Home Depot announced that Joe McFarland, president, Western Division, will present at the International Strategy & Investment (ISI) Third Annual Retail Summit in Scottsdale, AZ. The presentation will begin at 12:30 p.m. ET on March 20, 2013.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6469234&access=EH

 

“Costco CFO on Item-Level RFID: “That Ain’t Happening” by Evan Schuman at Storefront Backtalk.  “Asked about ways to cut labor costs, Galanti went out of his way to dismiss it, arguing that he’s not buying item-level RFID’s promises. “Everybody thought that RFID would free up the front end and reduce our biggest labor cost area. That ain’t happening.”  Read more:  https://storefrontbacktalk.com/it-strategy-industry/costco-cfo-on-item-level-rfid-that-aint-happening/#ixzz2NVpm3wdV

 

“Remarks by Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke Introducing First Lady Michelle Obama at the Business Roundtable”  “Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke will introduce First Lady Michelle Obama at the Business Roundtable and deliver the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, today, March 13th at approximately 11:40 am EST.”  Read full introduction:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6470596&access=EH

 

“Target to open 3 more clinics in Chicago area stores” by Corilyn Shropshire at Chicago Tribune.  “The new health clinics are among 14 new clinics Target is opening in the next few months across the country, bringing the total number of Target Clinics to 68…Target is joining other retailers who are opening in-store clinics. They include Walmart, CVS Caremark Corp. and Deerfield-based Walgreen Co., which has 370 Take Care clinics across the country.”  Read more:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-target-to-open-3-more-clinics-in-chicago-area-stores-20130313,0,6952702.story

 

“Michaels Stores, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2012 Results”  “Quarterly same-store sales increased 1.7% driven by a 2.3% increase in average ticket and a 0.6% decrease in transactions.  Net sales, including an estimated $66 million from the 53rd week of fiscal 2012, increased 8.5% to $1.524 billion from $1.404 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6468035&access=EH

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/13/13: Walmart’s CFO speaks; Target upsets Mr. Rogers fans

 

Walmart’s Charles Holley Jr., Executive VP & CFO, Presents at 2013 Consumer & Retail Conference (3/12/13).  Highlights from Bank of America / Merrill Lynch conference:

*  Believes delayed tax returns impacted Jan. sales slowdown much more than the new payroll tax.

*  Recent partnership with Nielsen allows Walmart to work more “surgically” with vendors to find market gaps and track market share.

*  Continued focus on “Back to Basics” — when Walmart gets away from it they lose their consumer.

*  Have brought back the skus needed to regain consumer trust.

*  Current macro economic headwinds that impact Walmart shoppers the most (in rank order):  1) Jobs, 2) Taxes (which was a recent surprise to Walmart), 3) Cost of food, 4) Gas prices.

*  Focused on creating a global e-commerce platform across all countries.

*  No major plans to reallocate real estate within the store.

*  No plans to launch a loyalty card (such as Target’s 5% off Red Card).  Walmart believes that “all” consumers deserve the lowest price.

*  Sam’s Club in Texas testing discounted memberships through LivingSocial.  Still in test mode  and no conclusions from test available yet.

*  New store growth not focused in one area or geography but will be spread across large and small towns, urban and rural.

*  Grocery and move to real and sustainable food:  Looking to offer more organic foods; not trying to tell consumers what to eat but to better educate where possible.

*  Asked about moving into the services space, Holley mentioned opportunities in Financial Services and Healthcare, on the latter saying they hadn’t “cracked” it yet, but they still see as an opportunity.

*  Dump Bins with $5 DVD’s sell surprisingly well.

*  Brazil — Focused on integrating their green field startup with their two acquisitions to gain greater efficiencies.

See the PowerPoint presentation:  https://az204679.vo.msecnd.net/media/documents/2013-boa-merrill-lynch-presentation-charles-holley_130075828371798236.pdf

Hear the webcast:  https://www.veracast.com/webcasts/baml/consumer2013/id36924630.cfm

 

“Wal-Mart’s Holley Says February Sales Returned to Normal”  by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg.  “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Financial Officer Charles Holley said sales returned to normal by the end of February after being hurt by delayed tax returns the previous month.  The slowing in sales in January wasn’t “disastrous,” Holley said today at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2013 Consumer & Retail Conference in New York.”  Read more:  https://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-12/wal-mart-s-holley-says-february-sales-returned-to-normal

 

“Target Canada Ads Upset Mr. Rogers Fans” at CBS Pittsburgh.  “Target stores in Canada started opening this month, but the ad campaign for the new chain stores has many upset.  The music in the ads is a cover version of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” the popular theme song from the children’s TV show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood…The Globe and Mail reports that the Target ad campaign is the first time that the Fred Rogers Company has licensed commercial use of the theme song.”  Read more:  https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/03/12/target-canada-ads-upset-mr-rogers-fans/

 

“Target reportedly signs on with rumored Google Shopping Express same-day delivery service” by Adi Robertson at The Verge.  “Google’s rumored same-day delivery service may already have one major partner on board. In an alleged internal letter printed by TechCrunch, Google says that it is “excited to open Google Shopping Express to every Googler in the Bay Area,” listing partnerships with “Target, Nob Hill Foods, Babies ‘R’ Us, and more.”  Read more:  https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/12/4093974/target-reportedly-signs-on-with-google-shopping-express

 

“The New Costco? Buying Meat Out of a Truck in a Church Parking Lot” by Brad Tuttle at Time.  “Many shoppers are doing just that with an emerging service from a Washington-based company called Zaycon Foods, even as the company requires customers to accept two unusual practices: buying in bulk (those chicken breasts come in 40-pound boxes) and (here’s the really weird part of this) buying out of the back of a truck rather than a typical store.  Zaycon’s drive-thru markets have been held in places such as Winston-Salem, N.C., the Tampa Bay region in Florida, and Fresno, Calif. Customers place their orders online, and pickups in area parking lots (outside churches, bowling alleys, roller rinks) are scheduled on specific days.”  Read more:  https://business.time.com/2013/03/12/the-new-costco-buying-meat-out-of-a-truck-in-a-church-parking-lot/

 

“MakerBot Founder: The Next Industrial Revolution Is Here (3D Printing) by Eric Markowitz at Inc. via CNBC.  “Bre Pettis believes we’re on the brink of the next industrial revolution. In this revolution, mass production is replaced with personalized production. Overseas supply chains are eradicated to favor local creations. Creativity doesn’t just inspire — it produces physical stuff…MakerBot recently opened a MakerBot store in New York City.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100546031

 

“Sears Hometown And Outlet Stores, Inc. Reports Preliminary Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2012 Results”  “Comparable store sales declined 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 with a 0.8% increase in Hometown and a 4.8% decrease in Outlet. Excluding consumer electronics, comparable stores sales increased by 1.1% overall and increased 2.6% in Hometown.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6459535&access=EH

 

“As e-commerce attacks traditional retail, Costco comes out on top” by Lily Kuo at Quartz.  “Aside from a weak economy that gives Costco a leg up, analysts say the shopping club also benefits from the fact (paywall) that most of its sales growth is in foodstuffs rather than durable goods. Since most people still don’t buy these online, that makes Costco less vulnerable than other brick-and-mortar stores to competition from the likes of Amazon.  But Costco’s advantage in this zero-sum retail game may not last long. Target is reportedly in talks with Google to begin pilot same-day delivery service in a handful of stores in California.”  Read more:  https://qz.com/61882/as-e-commerce-attacks-traditional-retail-costco-comes-out-on-top/ 

 

“Consumer Reports Index: Consumer Sentiment Improves”  But…the Consumer Reports Index’s Past 30-day retail measure continues to lag. It is now at 9.9, below both last month (10.5) and one year ago (11.5). The drivers of this decline were softness in both major home and personal electronics as well as small appliances. Planned consumer retail activity for March, as predicted in the Index’s next 30-day retail measure, shows year-over-year losses in the same categories.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6459766&access=EH

 

“Office Depot Receives Climate Leadership Award from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”  “The Goal Achievement Award recognizes organizations that publicly report and verify Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories and achieve aggressive reduction goals. In 2010, in collaboration with EPA’s former Climate Leaders program, Office Depot adopted a goal of reducing U.S. GHG emissions by 20 percent by 2012, with 2007 as a baseline year. By the end of 2011, Office Depot had achieved a 29 percent reduction in the U.S. versus its baseline year.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130312006082&div=-1245645151

 

“Lowe’s Rolls Out New Housing Campaign” at Fox Business (Video).  See the video:  https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2221441819001/lowes-rolls-out-new-housing-market-campaign/

 

“Those Grammar Gaffes Will Get You” by Bryan Garner at Harvard Business Review.  “People see your language as a reflection of your competence. Make lots of mistakes in your e-mails, reports, and other documents, and you’ll come across as uneducated and uninformed. Others will hesitate to trust your recommendation to launch a resource-intensive project, for example, or to buy goods or services. They’ll think you don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Read more:  https://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/yes_you_should_nitpick_about_g.html?utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/12/13: Costco comps +5%; Walmart doubles-up in Sioux Falls

 

“NASCAR Sees Growth In Fan Involvement From Partnership With Walmart” by Alicia Jessop at Forbes.  “The birth of the Walmart partnership was predicated upon an internal business decision made by NASCAR. ”Before forming NASCAR Team Properties to consolidate a lot of the merchandising rights in the business, all of our rights from a retail standpoint for our teams were handled individually. If a company wanted to come in and make products with NASCAR and a driver, they would have to do individual deals with the teams and NASCAR. NASCAR Team Properties has allowed us to go to the retailers directly as one entity and deliver the sport to them,” Davidson explained.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/03/11/nascar-sees-growth-in-fan-involvement-from-partnership-with-walmart/

 

“Costco’s Net Soars as Sales Keep Growing” by Saabira Chaudhuri at Wall Street Journal.  “Ahead of the company’s earnings release, analysts at William Blair pointed to the company’s same-store sales gain for February, saying same-store traffic growth continues to be driven by growth in food and consumables. The firm said that unlike large-cap discount peers such as Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., who recently logged weaker sales in February, Costco continues to generate consistent, strong growth across all general merchandise categories, which William Blair said is a reflection of its low e-commerce risk profile.  Tuesday, Costco reported that total same-store sales were up 5% for the period, excluding currency fluctuations and inflation in gasoline price.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324735304578355833310183530.html?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f

 

“Retailer Costco’s Profit Tops Expectations” at Reuters via CNBC.  “Retailer Costco Wholesale posted a 39 percent increase in quarterly profit, beating expectations, on increasing sales, membership fees and a tax benefit related to a special cash dividend.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100538980

 

“Amazon Preparing Bid For Barnes And Noble?” by Steven Rosenbaum at Forbes.  “There’s been a lot of buzz about who will make a bid for Barnes and Noble – with the current rumors including Walmart and Microsoft. Both companies had kicked the tires in the past, and so it seems reasonable to expect they’d look again.  But the real player in the space – and in some ways the most strategic buyer – would be Amazon.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenrosenbaum/2013/03/11/amazon-preparing-bid-for-barnes-and-noble/

 

“Target closes its ‘Shops at Target’ boutique-in-a-big-box concept” by Ed Stych at Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.  “Target says it is done experimenting for now with its “Shops at Target” concept that featured a handful of select independent boutique retailers selling their wares in the big-box stores.  Target may bring the concept back at a later date, but it currently wants to focus on partnerships with designers such as Missoni and Prabal Gurung on at a time, the Star Tribune reports.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2013/03/09/shops-at-target-terminated.html

 

“Walmart to open two Supercenters at same time in Sioux Falls — first town in America to get two at once according to official”  by Angela Kennecke at Kelo Television (Video and Text).  “Monday’s announcement of two more Walmart stores for the city follows a number of big and small retail additions coming to Sioux Falls. There’s a reason why retailers are eyeing the city and the prediction for future growth in the coming year.”  Read more:  https://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/retail-roundup/?id=145057

 

“Publix Names New Executives in Purchasing and Manufacturing” by Kyle Kennedy at The Ledger.  “In corporate purchasing, Dave Bornmann will be promoted to senior vice president…With Bornmann’s promotion to senior vice president, Pete Mowitt will be promoted to vice president – grocery/non-foods.”  Read more:  https://www.theledger.com/article/20130311/NEWS/130319858/1178?Title=Publix-Names-New-Executives-in-Purchasing-and-Manufacturing

 

“Maker of 3-D Printed Guns Speaks Out at SXSW: They’re Real, and They’re Not Going Away” by Lauren Goode at All Things D.  “If you’ve been listening to all the press, you would think 3-D printing is just about making cupcakes, or lawn gnomes,” he said. “But if 3-D printing is going to be a meaningful technology, printing guns is going to be a part of that.”  Wilson went on to say that 3-D gun printing isn’t just about making hardware, but also the software. Defense Distributed has an online repository of around 100 3-D design files, he said, which have been downloaded more than 400,000 times since the end of December.”  Read more:  https://allthingsd.com/20130311/3-d-printed-gun-maker-speaks-out-at-sxsw-theyre-real-and-theyre-not-going-anywhere/

 

“U.S. Expansion Remains a Top Growth Strategy for Retailers”  “Despite recent headlines trumpeting retailers’ entry into Canadian and overseas markets, U.S. expansion remains a key growth strategy. According to a new survey of 100 retail chief financial officers by BDO USA, LLP, 30 percent of CFOs say U.S. expansion will be their priority growth tactic in 2013. Expanding retailers like Apple and H&M will continue to look for Class-A store locations in high-traffic spots to afford better access and convenience for customers. In addition to store expansion, CFOs also say improving merchandise assortment (24 percent) and e-commerce and mobile commerce (22 percent) will be top growth tactics this year.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130312005502/en/U.S.-Expansion-Remains-Top-Growth-Strategy-Retailers?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

“Target and FEED Partner on Exclusive Collection to Fight Hunger in the U.S.”  “Target today announced a partnership with FEED Projects, a social business founded by Lauren Bush Lauren, to create the FEED USA + Target collection. The limited-time-only collection will include more than 50 stylish products and benefit Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. The products will be available beginning June 30 at Target stores and on Target.com.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130311005680&div=-1245645151

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/11/13: Target’s Geek Squad test; Menards invades St. Louis

 

“Target Letting Its Geek Flag Fly” by Rick Moss at Forbes.  “Target’s test partnership offering Geek Squad services to its customers began last year in Denver. Given that both companies agreed to extend the trial to more markets is an early indication that the arrangement is working out.  On Target’s fourth quarter earnings call, company chairman, chief executive and president Gregg Steinhafel said that the retailer had received “positive feedback from our guests” in Denver. The retailer rolled out the service to 20 stores in Kansas City beginning on Feb.17. If the next phase goes well, it is assumed, Target and Best Buy will expand further.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2013/03/08/target-letting-its-geek-flag-fly/

 

“Cisco’s Chief Futurist Shares Top 5 Predictions for 2013” and Beyond via @RetailProphet

*  People will live to be 300 years old

*  Retailers will gain unprecedented knowledge about shoppers

*  By 2030, there will be more robots on earth than humans

*  3-D printing will disrupt many industries

*  Education will become democratized

Read full article at:  https://blogs.cisco.com/news/ciscos-chief-futurist-shares-top-5-predictions-for-2013-and-beyond-ioe/

 

“Menards bringing its super-sized stores to St. Louis” by Kavita Kumar at St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  “These initial two stores in St. Peters and O’Fallon, Ill. were to be the first of at least six, but Menards recently slowed its aggressive expansion push here and elsewhere amid the uncertain economy.  Saying that “the great people of the St. Louis area desperately need a better choice for home improvement products,” Menards promises to bring the “lowest prices in the region” on name-brand products.”  Read more:  https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/menards-bringing-its-super-sized-stores-to-st-louis/article_3d84915e-2c73-513a-a603-2274ce4de8ce.html

 

“Walmart and Annie’s keep score of supplier sustainability” by Aaron Tilley at Green Biz.  “Retail buyers play a key role in helping big companies like Walmart make their supply chains more sustainable. Bringing them onboard, however, wasn’t easy, so the world’s largest retailer gave buyers scorecards to assess supplier sustainability. Now 5 percent of buyers’ performance objectives must come from sustainable suppliers.  A couple of tangible tools and metrics have entirely shifted the momentum,” said Brittni Furrow, Walmart’s director of sustainability for food and consumables.”  Read more:  https://www.greenbiz.com/news/2013/03/08/walmart-annies-supplier-sustainability

 

“Cape Cod anti-Lowe’s group launches notolowes.com website”  “While Lowe’s may be acceptable in other regions, it is a threat to Cape Cod’s cultural legacy and economic diversity.”  See the site at:  https://notolowes.com/

 

“Whole Foods to Label Foods With Gene-Modified Content” by Stephanie Strom at NY Times.  “A. C. Gallo, president of Whole Foods, said the new labeling requirement, to be in place within five years, came in response to consumer demand. “We’ve seen how our customers have responded to the products we do have labeled,” Mr. Gallo said. “Some of our manufacturers say they’ve seen a 15 percent increase in sales of products they have labeled.”  Read more:  https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/grocery-chain-to-require-labels-for-genetically-modified-food.html?_r=0

 

“Simple Truth brands ‘a huge home run’ for Kroger” at Business Courier – Cincinnati.  “(Rodney) McMullen (CEO) said Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic products, among 588 new private label grocery items it introduced last fall, generated sales that exceeded Kroger’s internal goal by 33 percent.  Products sold under the two labels don’t contain 101 ingredients that some customers have said they don’t want in their food.”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2013/03/simple-truth-brands-a-huge-home-run.html

 

“Dick’s Sporting Goods Misses 4Q Earnings” at Fox Business News.  “Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results after misjudging demand for cold weather merchandise due to mild temperatures early in the season…Comparable store sales fell 2.2% in the quarter ended Feb. 2. Net income rose to $129.7 million, or $1.03 per share, from $111.1 million, or 88 cents per share, a year earlier.  Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/03/11/dick-sporting-goods-misses-4q-earnings/#ixzz2NEjwkbPt

 

“J.C. Penney Desperately Needs a Strategy” by Roger Martin at Harvard Business Review.  “The problem with J.C. Penney is that it serves no compelling customer purpose — and neither did Borders. It doesn’t have an aspiration for winning — just for improving from the current pathetic state. It hasn’t made a choice to pursue a distinctive where to play and how to win that makes it a must-have destination for some set of shoppers for some set of goods. This is the heart of strategy: a set of choices that aspires to win against all comers in a certain place by delivering a particular winning proposition.”  Read more:  https://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/jc_penney_desperately_needs_a.html?utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet&utm_campaign=Socialflow

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/8/13: Kroger’s Robust Sales; Walgreen’s First Net Zero Energy Store

 

“Walmart Launches Online Site That Connects Shoppers with Products Supporting Small Women-Owned Businesses Around the World”  “As merchants, we’re always looking for new products to share with our customers that are quality, on-trend and priced right,” said Kelly Thompson, senior vice president of merchandising, Walmart.com. “The products from the Empowering Women Together collection deliver all of that while also giving our customers the chance to do good with their dollars – it’s a positive and powerful proposition for everyone.”  Empowering Women Together will be part of Store for Good, a developing Walmart.com program dedicated to connecting consumers with products that do good for other people, for themselves, or for our environment. The initiative will grow and potentially include eco-friendly products and healthier food options.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6434856&access=EH

 

“Kroger Reports 4Q Profit on Robust Sales” by Jennifer Booton at Fox Business.  “Excluding one-time items, Kroger said it earned 77 cents, topping average analyst estimates of 70 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.  Revenue for the three months ended Feb. 2 climbed 12.8% to $24.15 billion from $21.4 billion a year ago, narrowly beating the Street’s view of $24 billion. Same-store sales, a key measurement of sales at stores open longer than a year, increased 3.5%.,,The nation’s largest supermarket operator anticipates same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% in 2013.”  Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/03/07/kroger-reports-4q-profit-on-robust-sales/#ixzz2MwxUUUjN

 

“Walgreens Sets Goal to Build Nation’s First Net Zero Energy Retail Store in Evanston, Ill”  “Walgreens plans to generate electricity and reduce its usage by more than 40 percent through several technologies in the store including: more than 800 roof-top solar panels,  two wind turbines, geothermal energy obtained by drilling 550-feet into the ground below the store, where temperatures are more constant and can be tapped to heat or cool the store in winter and summer, LED lighting and daylight harvesting, carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment, and energy efficient building materials.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130307005094&div=-1245645151

 

“Walmart Moves Consumer PR Duties To GolinHarris” at The Holmes Report.  “Walmart has reshaped its multimillion dollar consumer PR mandate in favour of GolinHarris following a review that sees key incumbent Cohn & Wolfe lose its grip on the company’s US business.  The Holmes Report understands that the consolidation of one of the world’s largest consumer PR mandates began at the start of this year. It sees the retail giant dispense with the roster approach that it established in 2009, when it named three PR firms to oversee consumer PR: GolinHarris, Cohn & Wolfe and Porter-Novelli.”  Read more:  https://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/13114/Walmart-Moves-Consumer-PR-Duties-To-GolinHarris.aspx

 

“JC Penney Puts Martha Stewart Goods on Hold” at CNBC.  “J.C. Penney agreed on Thursday not to sell products designed by Martha Stewart in categories deemed exclusive to Macy’s before a court date in April.  The agreement came as a New York judge adjourned a trial over whether Martha Stewart Living Omnimediabreached its contract with Macy’s when it entered into a deal with J.C. Penney.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100534875

 

“José Luis Pier Joins Lowe’s as President/General Director of Lowe’s Mexico”  “Lowe’s entered the home improvement business in Mexico when it opened stores in Monterrey in 2010. Today, the company has five stores located in Monterrey, Saltillo, Hermosillo and Culiacan.”  Read more:  https://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/03/07/2541214/jose-luis-pier-joins-lowes-as.html

 

“Retail Sales Growth Challenges Ahead: Analyst” by Katie Little at CNBC.  “Despite poor weather and some consumer spending headwinds, retail same-store sales gained momentum as February progressed. Still, one analyst has misgivings about the near future.  “The next three to six months, the first half of 2013, is challenging for same-store sales gains — low single-digits at best is going to be what it’s all about,” said Dana Telsey, chief executive of Telsey Advisory Group.”  Read more:  https://www.cnbc.com/id/100533272

 

“Whole Foods to Test Lower Margins at Some Stores” by Elliot Zwiebach at Supermarket News. “Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, plans to experiment with lower margins in some urban markets, though it does not plan any major changes in its pricing approach chainwide, Walter E. Robb. co-chief executive officer, told an investor conference here Tuesday.  “If we start getting into places where we’re just about price, we’d be getting away from our mission as a company and what we know how to do really well,” Robb said. “However, we have modeled some stores that are lower margin to put in certain urban markets, and I think there is some potential there, and you will see us do some experiments around that, just to see what that looks like.”  Read More: https://supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/whole-foods-test-lower-margins-some-stores#ixzz2Mx3PaWh1

 

“Key Rite Aid revenue metric falls in February” at Bloomberg.  “The Camp Hill, Pa., company said Thursday that pharmacy revenue from stores open at least a year fell 4.7 percent in the five-week period that ended March 2. Revenue from the front end, or rest of the store, dropped 1.3 percent.”  Read more:  https://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-03-07/key-rite-aid-revenue-metric-falls-in-february

 

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