"Orchard Supply Loses Fight Against Home Depot" at Courthouse News Service.  "A California hardware chain cannot pursue claims that Home Depot's exclusive supplier deals with power-tool manufacturers illegally restrained trade, a federal judge ruled...Orchard sought to hold Home Depot, Milwaukee Electric Tool and Makita liable for tortious interference as well as violations of the Sherman Act; its California counterpart, the Cartwright Act; and unfair competition law.  U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco dismissed the case Friday for failure to state a claim."  Read more:  https://www.courthousenews.com/2013/04/17/56792.htm   "Target’s ‘Show Don’t Sell’ Content Strategy" by Giselle Abramovich at Digiday. [...]

  "Americans sticking with cheaper store brands, Deloitte survey finds" at Life Inc.  "Deloitte's annual American Pantry Study out Tuesday shows nearly nine in 10 consumers are substituting private-label, or store, brands for national brands they've regularly bought in the past.  The survey, which was conducted in January, also finds 94 percent of Americans indicate they will remain cautious and keep their spending for food, beverage and household goods at its current level despite the stronger economy and climbing stock market."  Read more:  Read more:  https://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/04/16/17778843-americans-sticking-with-cheaper-store-brands-survey-finds?lite   "Target’s first-quarter forecast gets a little more gloomy" by Dee Depass at Star [...]

"Game on: Why Walmart is ranking suppliers on sustainability" by Mark Gunther at Green Biz.  "So Walmart is asking lots of questions of its suppliers. Among them: How can wheat be grown with less water and fertilizer? How can chemicals of concern be removed from toys? What mining practices were used to extract copper, gold and silver for computers or jewelry? What percentage of your televisions sold last year were Energy Star certified? Do the grapes in a bottle of wine come from a farm with a biodiversity management plan? How much water was needed to produce those polyester pants?  If [...]

  "Wal-Mart offering classes - for college credit"  by Christopher Connell at CNN Money.  "Arianna Suarez's first job after emigrating from Cuba as a teenager was as a cashier at a Walmart in Hialeah, Fla. Thanks in part to college-level classes that Walmart offers online, she has risen through the ranks to store manager and is now on her way toward earning a college degree.  From ethics to inventory management, the classes covered the skills Suarez needs to help run a round-the-clock, multi-million dollar retail operation with scores of employees. Even better, she has earned dozens of credits that she [...]

  "Target Takes Guests to Prom at Kate Young Collection Preview" by Jim Shi at BizBash.   " To celebrate the launch of the Kate Young for Target collection, the Minneapolis-based retail giant, along with its longtime event production partner ExtraExtra, created a spring-fling-themed evening that was in alignment with the Hollywood stylist’s lineup of party-occasion dresses. “To toast Kate, we went through a couple of different concepts, but we kept coming back to the idea of a spring fling—“Pretty in Pink”—but in a very chic way,” said Target spokesperson Joshua Thomas."  Read more: https://www.bizbash.com/target-takes-guests-to-prom-at-kate-young-collection-preview/los-angeles/story/25883#sthash.4WAoIV2E.dpuf  - See more at: https://www.bizbash.com/target-takes-guests-to-prom-at-kate-young-collection-preview/los-angeles/story/25883#sthash.4WAoIV2E.dpuf [...]

  "Costco March same-store sales miss expectations" at Reuters.  "Warehouse club chain Costco Wholesale Corp reported a 4 percent rise in March sales at stores open at least a year, missing analysts' expectations, due to lower fuel prices and a strong dollar, which hurt the value of its sales overseas."  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/us-costco-results-idUSBRE93A06F20130411   "Retail Sales Broadly Miss Estimates During Cold March" at Reuters via CNBC.  "So far, 63 percent of retailers who reported results fell short of Wall Street's estimates for sales at stores open at least a year, a key industry metric, according to the Thomson Reuters same-sales [...]

  "Walmart Canada launches glossy magazine" by Linda Barnard at The Star.  "We’ll take your flyer, Target, and raise you a glossy Walmart magazine...Produced for Walmart by Rogers Media’s Custom Content division, Walmart Live Better will appear six times a year at Walmart Supercentres in English Canada, as well as through online platforms with regularly updated content. With a press run of 1 million copies per issue, it automatically becomes Canada’s largest-circulation magazine, according to Rogers."  Read more:  https://www.thestar.com/life/2013/04/08/walmart_canada_launches_glossy_magazine.html   "How Walmart Trains Better Leaders" by JP Donlon at Chief Executive.  "In 2009, Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon—a former naval aviator—engaged [...]

  "Costco, Macy's Eye China E-Commerce" by Doug Young at Forbes.  "Their strategy reflects an emerging trend that has big western chains circumventing the traditional retailing route into China, seeking to avoid the big costs and risks that have led to big losses and retreats for names like Best Buy and Home Depot. But the online strategy also carriers its own risks, as China’s e-commerce space is also quite crowded and retailers that go online face an uphill road getting recognized by brand-conscious Chinese consumers."  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougyoung/2013/04/08/costco-macys-eye-china-e-commerce/    "Kroger grocery chain to install 225 electric car chargers" at SF [...]