Tuesday’s Tipsheet: Wmart Struggles w/Gen Y | 22 Depressing Kmart Pics | CVS Beats Street

 

 “Breaking:  CVS Earnings Beat Street” at CNBC.  “CVS Caremark Corp posted higher quarterly profit and raised its forecast for the year on Tuesday, as sales grew at its drugstore chain and it processed more prescriptions.”  Read more

 

“Wal-Mart managers struggle to capture Millennials” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  ““My team has dug into this, and I personally can’t see what this group is doing. There are great differences between the oldest and youngest in this generation. I understand them until they get to be about 27 with regard to how they shop and what they do,” Scott Huff, general merchandising manager for consumables.  He said the group is important to Wal-Mart, but like most retailers they are somewhat perplexed by demographic.”  Read more

 

“Target expanding skus on eBay for holiday” at Home Textiles Today.  “Target is undertaking in pursuit of omnichannel retailing, it will bump up his presence on eBay from 150 skus to 100,000 for holiday.  “Now this represents a new revenue stream for Target and it introduces a new guest base, which is predominantly men, to our brand,” said Casey Carl, president of multichannel…Carl cited a recent study from Deloitte that found 83% of shoppers use mobile devices while in store.”  Read more

 

“Fear of ‘Showrooming’ Fades” by Drew Fitzgerald at WSJ.  “Wal-Mart says it is benefiting from “reverse showrooming” as shoppers explore products online before buying them in stores. Target Corp. says it installed Wi-Fi at its stores partly to encourage customers to browse products on their phones.  “As my colleagues and I have said several times: We love showrooming—when Target gets to book the sale,” Target merchandising executive Casey Carl wrote in a blog post.  But their optimism doesn’t mean there isn’t cause for concern. The Internet’s share of overall purchases is still growing.”  Read more 

 

“Family Dollar president to appear on “Undercover Boss” “ by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “Family Dollar President Mike Bloom will appear on the CBS show “Undercover Boss” on Friday night…“Bloom faces his fear of heights when learning to operate a forklift that takes him 35 feet into the air, nearly blows his rock ‘n’ roll disguise when one employee invites him to a jam session and more,” the Matthews-based discount company said in its description of the episode.”  Read more

 

“Tesco’s In-Store Ads Watch You—and It Looks Like You Need a Coffee” by Carol Matlack at Businessweek.  “Tesco is installing scanning software in its 450 gas stations across the U.K. to develop targeted in-store advertising based on customers’ physical features and shopping habits… The software, created by British digital-media group Amscreen, collects data on shoppers’ appearance to “guess” their rough age and gender. By matching that information with data on their purchases, Tesco can tell that a middle-aged woman buying gas in suburban London at 11 a.m. on a weekday might be in the mood for a coffee, while a man in his early 20s would probably prefer a soft drink.”  Read more

 

“22 Depressing Photos That Show That Kmart Is Dying” by Ashley Lutz at Business Insider.  “Brian Sozzi at Belus Capital Advisors visited several Kmart locations and took photos that illustrate how grim it is at the retailer.  “The research and photos presented below show that Kmart, believe it or not, may be in worse fundamental shape than Sears!” Sozzi writes. “By fundamental I mean dreadful to visit, borderline unsafe stores that are sending the division’s financials down a path of no return.”  See the Pics

 

“Retail sales up 2.6% in October” at The Retail Bulletin.  “Figures from the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor show that total sales increased by 2.6% year-on-year compared to a 2.4% rise September which was the weakest growth of the year. On a like-for-like basis sales edged up 0.8% in October.”  Read more

 

“U.S. Retailers Forecast 2.5% Increase in Holiday Comparable Store Sales, BDO USA Survey Finds”  “According to a recent BDO USA survey, chief marketing officers (CMOs) at leading U.S. retailers forecast a modest 2.5 percent increase in 2013 holiday comparable store sales. Last year, CMOs had a more optimistic projection of a 3.7 percent increase in holiday same store sales.”  Read more

 

“MacKenzie Bezos blasts new book about husband Jeff and Amazon” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times.  “The new book on Amazon.com by Bloomberg Businessweek writer Brad Stone gets one star from MacKenzie Bezos.  The wife of Amazon founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos posted her review on Amazon Monday in which she criticizes Stone for “numerous factual inaccuracies.”  Read more

 

“Pet food not P&G’s Bag? Why P&G might shed pet food” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com.  “Analysts increasingly are intrigued with the prospect of the Cincinnati-based consumer products giant getting out of the pet food business.  “Iams just doesn’t fit their core business,” said Leon Loewenstine, managing director at Riverpoint Capital Management. “And Lafley’s under pressure to take bolder action to grow sales.”  Read more

 

“Seattle could be first U.S. big city where burger flippers earn $31,000 a year” by Peter Robison at Bloomberg via Vancouver Sun. “Supporting a $15-an-hour minimum wage could be suicide for politicians in Seattle. It’s too low.  Much of the U.S. would scoff at mandating a full-time pay equivalent of $31,200 a year, but in the biggest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest it’s an idea taken seriously.”  Read more

 

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Monday’s Tipsheet: Costco Likes Apparel | Publix Sales Up | C-Stores & Tyson

 

“Jim Cramer: Costco Is a Game Changer” at The Street.  “Costco’s selling $1,000 Versace handbags for $500. The store just got in some killer Italian ties that look no different from the Ferragamos I wear, for 1/10 of what I pay for the name brand…There’s enough selection now — much more than I have ever seen — and enough famous brands, as well as the Kirkland private-label version, that I think Costco may actually be helping to reorder the apparel universe.”  Read more

 

“Peapod who? Online grocer shows Amazon, Walmart how it’s done” by Donna Tam at CNET.  “The Illinois-based online grocer, which has been around for more than 20 years, is growing steadily and now serves residents in pockets of the Midwest and East Coast. It’s now considered the top provider of online grocery deliveries, fighting off competitors as they emerge.”  Read more

 

“Tyson Foods Looks to C-Stores to Sell More Chicken” by Shruti Date Singh at Bloomberg.  “The company is seeking fortune beyond the supermarket meat department. That’s why it’s rushing to sell piping-hot Buffalo chicken bites near the cash register at many of the gas stations and 149,000 convenience stores across the U.S. Such locales may not be sexy or even particularly appetizing, but their sales are growing while revenue at traditional food stores is falling.”  Read more

 

“Publix Same-Store Sales Up 4.1% in Q3”  “Publix’s sales for the third quarter of 2013 were $7 billion, a 5.6 percent increase from last year’s $6.7 billion. Comparable-store sales for the third quarter of 2013 increased 4.1 percent…Publix has 1,076 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.”  Read more

 

“Weis Markets Same-Store Sales Down 2.9% in Q3”  “In the thirteen-week period ending September 28, 2013, the Company’s sales totaled $661.4 million, a 1.0% decline compared to the same period in 2012. Comparable store sales for the same period were down 2.9%…Weis Markets, Inc. operates 165 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.”  Read more

 

“Ron Johnson Fights Back on his J.C. Penney Tenure” by Barbara Thau at Forbes.  “Johnson told me via email that although it’s premature to discuss his tenure at J.C. Penney, he did say that much of the analysis of his stint at the chain has been “lacking in depth, largely inaccurate, and surprisingly uninformed.”  Read more

 

“Online Ads Fall Twice as Fast as Physical Ads at New York Times” at Ad Age.  “Digital advertising dropped 3.4% to $32.8 million, “due to ongoing secular trends and an increasingly complex and fragmented digital advertising marketplace,” the Times said. Print ads fell only 1.6%.”  Read more

 

“Duck Dynasty stars at new Field & Stream store”  See the pics

 

“Google, Apple and others look to a post-cookie era” by Brandon Bailey at San Jose Mercury News via Seattle Times.  “Privacy experts warn that any new system that replaces cookies will likely let Internet businesses learn even more about individuals, especially if it tracks their habits across multiple gadgets that people use throughout the day.”  Read more

 

“OfficeMax and Office Depot Receive U.S. FTC Clearance for Proposed Merger”  “The companies anticipate completing the transaction after market close on November 5, 2013, subject to the satisfaction of remaining closing conditions.”  Read more

 

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Friday’s Tipsheet: Wmart Holiday Deals Start Today | Target’s Pinterest Plan | Amazon “pays” for Reviews

 

“Walmart kicks off online holiday deals today” by Dhanya Skariachan at Reuters.  “Wal-Mart is kicking off its online deals on Friday, a month earlier than usual – underscoring worries that intense discounting aimed at luring budget-conscious shoppers could result in the most tepid holiday spending rise in four years…Morgan Stanley analyst Kimberly Greenberger expects this holiday season to be the most promotional one since 2008. She sees ecommerce accounting for about 12 to 13 percent of overall holiday retail sales versus last year’s 11 percent.”  Read more

 

“Target Pins Its  Hopes on Pinterest This Holiday Season” by Christine Champagne at Fast Company.  “A study by Curalate that was commissioned by Social@Ogilvy revealed Target was the most shared brand on Pinterest last December…Target worked with Pinterest last spring to pilot Rich Pins, a technology enabling pins enhanced with product information like price and availability. These Rich Pins were a hit, resulting in a 70% increase in visits to Target.com from Pinterest, according to Jeff Jones, who says that huge bump in traffic from Pinterest–as well as the aforementioned study–gave Target the confidence to partner more heavily with Pinterest this holiday season.”  Read more

 

“India Minister snubs Walmart chief Scott Price, cancels meeting” at Economic Times.  “Sources said the Walmart has not clearly spelt out their India plans and the policy support they require for that.  “Walmart officials have met us several times and have always raises one or other new issue. They are not conveying what exactly they want,” the source added.”  Read more

 

“Top Amazon reviewers get thousands of dollars in free swag” by Tim Sampson at The Daily Dot / Salon.  “It turns out not all Amazon customer reviews are written by people who are, technically, customers.  NPR’s Planet Money this week shed new light on a little known Amazon program that provides free products to the site’s top reviewers. In some cases, top-rated reviewers will rake in thousands of dollars worth of free stuff.”  Read more

 

“Best Advice from Karenann Terrell-Walmart EVP & Chief Information Officer” at Fortune.  “Summary: Embrace feedback & pick your boss”.  Watch the short video

 

“Brick & Mortar Retailers Dinged In Consumer Reports Ratings Of Electronics Stores”  “Costco was the lone walk-in retailer to earn a top rating for prices, though it suffers from sub-par selection and is only average for buying ease.”  Read more

 

“Here’s What The Store Of The Future Will Look Like (Hint: Not Amazon)” by Clare O’Connor at Forbes.  “79% listed “instant ownership” as the most appealing attribute of any retailer, online or off. “In other words, Amazon still can’t compete with, ‘I can just get in my car and go get it now,’ said Peterson…However, when the data was sliced across age groups, it became apparent that online retailers have a huge edge with Millennials, who ranked “unlimited options” and “customer reviews” as their top two shopping ideals.”  Read more

 

“Walmart Announces Suppliers Committed to US Manufacturing”  “Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit that three suppliers have made new domestic manufacturing commitments that will create 385 jobs.  Elan-Polo, Louis Hornick & Company and EveryWare Global, Inc. will produce footwear, curtains and glassware, respectively.”  See the full list

 

“Morgan Stanley:  Holiday-season retail sales look bleak” by Tiffany Hsu at LA Times.  “The report anticipates that during the fourth quarter, retailers will see a scant 1.7% increase in sales at stores open at least a year…Strip out struggling J.C. Penney Co., which researchers predict will roll out deep discounts early in the season, and projected sales growth slips to 1.6%…That’s less than half of last year’s 3.5% expansion, according to Morgan Stanley.”  Read more

 

“Sears Is Not A Retail Story, It’s A Holding Company Holding A Fire Sale” by Laura Heller at Forbes.  “As a retailer, Sears is pretty much done.  All that’s left is to ravage the bones. Or, as Lampert is doing, sell off the parts.  Gone are Sears Hometown and Outlet stores. Gone is nearly half its ownership in Sears Canada with four more locations sold, including a flagship store in Toronto. Gone, soon, may be Lands End and Sears Auto Centers.”  Read more

 

“Harris Teeter Same-Store Sales Up 2.2% in Q4” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com.  “Ahead of its acquisition by Kroger, Harris Teeter reported Thursday a $108 million annual profit – up more than 30 percent from a year ago…same-store sales – a key measure of retailers health that excludes new stores – rose 2.2 percent, compared with 4 percent a year ago.”  Read more

 

“Rite-Aid Same-Store Sales Up 2.1% in October”  “October front-end same store sales decreased 0.6 percent. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 85 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, increased 3.4 percent.”  Read more

 

“True-Value Same-Store Retail Sales Up 4.5% in Q3”  “Revenue was $346.5 million, an increase of 2.0 percent or $6.9 million from $339.6 million a year ago. Comparable store sales to core domestic hardware store outlets were up 2.8 percent at wholesale and 4.5 percent at retail for the quarter.”  Read more

 

“Container Store Raises $225M in IPO” at Fox Business.  “The 35-year-old retail chain will have a market valuation of about $827 million at the offering price.  The company operated 62 stores in 22 American states and the District of Columbia as of Oct. 1.”  Read more

 

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Have a great weekend!