"Target Backs Off $100 Billion Sales Goal" by Paul Ziobro at WSJ.  "Target Corp. backed off its goal for hitting $100 billion in sales by the end of 2017, as pressure on low-income shoppers and tough competition from rivals like Amazon.com Inc. weigh on results.  The retreat, made Wednesday during a meeting with analysts in Toronto, comes during a tough year for Target and other discounters." Read more   "Target Canada Rollout Not Going as Planned" by Tom Webb at Twin Cities Business.  "Initial sales in Canada have fallen well short of expectations," CEO Gregg Steinhafel told analysts Wednesday. [...]

  "Walmart  CEO Appears on CNBC"  by Matthew Belvedere at CNBC.  "The 16-day government shutdown earlier this month was a drag on Wal-Mart sales, particularly around military bases and areas with high concentrations of federal workers, said Bill Simon, president and CEO of the retail giant's U.S. operations.  "That sort of level of conversation and combativeness in Washington creates uncertainty in the economy," Simon told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday."  Read more / See the video   "How Walgreen's Went from Zero to 85 Million Loyalty Members" by Kate Kaye at Ad Age.  "The single largest [challenge] was the replacement [...]

  "Walmart Shutters Goodies Subscription Service" by Katie Evans at Internet Retailer.  "The Goodies Co., a subscription service from @WalmartLabs that launched as a test late last year, announced on its site that it is shuttering its operations. Goodies subscribers received a surprise box of food items at their doorsteps once a month for $7 a pop including taxes and shipping."  Read more   "Target to open 33 more stores next month in Canada" by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune.  "Target announced Monday that it will open 33 more stores in Canada next month, bringing the total number of Canadian stores [...]

  "Dollar General Beats Walmart for 'Cheapest Basket' " at Kantar Retail "Dollar General’s total basket was the least expensive among retailers surveyed, edging out Walmart Supercenter’s basket by just $0.12.  This represents a substantial closing of the gap in the survey conducted last year, when Dollar General’s basket of OPP items was 18% cheaper than Walmart’s. The edible grocery and HBA sub-baskets drove Dollar General’s basket lead over Walmart."  See the list   "Costco Has Room For Growth In Mexico" at Seeking Alpha.  "Costco started its operations in Mexico through a 50% owned joint venture, and its store count [...]

  "Amazon Revenue Jumps 24%" by Greg Bensinger & Michael Calia at WSJ.  "In its core North American market, Amazon sales climbed 30% to $9.5 billion.  For the third quarter, Amazon narrowed its loss to $41 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $274 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier."  Read more   "Walmart CEO Mike Duke's Exclusive Interview with BizAsia" at China.org.  "The retail giant's CEO Mike Duke told BizAsia exclusively that this plan represents the company's fresh efforts in exploring new business opportunities in China's urbanization plan."  See the video [...]

  "Wal-Mart to open up to 110 new China stores by 2016" by Matthew Miller at Reuters.  "Wal-Mart will open up to 110 facilities in China between 2014 and 2016, in addition to the 30 it has already opened this year, it said at a press event in Beijing on Thursday.  Wal-Mart has closed 11 stores and is looking to close 15-30 others over the next 18 months, said Greg Foran, chief executive of Wal-Mart China, in what he called part of a rationalization process."  Read more   "Target's 'Buy Online - Pick-up in Store' Expands to all Stores" at [...]

  "Walmart Pursues Three Year Exclusivity Agreements with Vendors" by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "Wal-Mart is working with key suppliers providing three-year contracts, over the typical one-year deals.  “Suppliers know they can get $300 million annually / for three years when they give us better costs and access to better exclusive product,” Duncan Mac Naughton (Chief Merchandising Officer) said in a breakfast meeting with analysts Oct. 15."  Read more   "Amazon hikes minimum order for free shipping to $35" by Jay Greene at Seattle Times.  "Amazon hiked the minimum order price to get free shipping Tuesday by $10, [...]

  "Wal-Mart studies HEB for lesson in ‘fresh’ " by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "Jack Sinclair (EVP Grocery) last week told a group of analysts attending the retailer’s annual investor meeting that “HEB is the best food retailer in the world, particularly on fresh.”  He said Wal-Mart opened an office in San Antonio to work with HEB vendors to learn how to do fresh better, specifically meat and produce. At the time, he said “people still want to feel their apples before buying them,” which is why he believes mainstream grocery delivery in the U.S. in still years away." [...]