"Costco Reluctantly Searches the Web for Younger Shoppers" by Kyle Stock at Businessweek.  "We’re open-minded, but don’t expect us to go to everybody’s doorstep,” Galanti said. “Delivering small quantities of stuff to homes is not free. Ultimately, somebody’s got to pay for it.”  Read more   "Home Depot reviews policies as open carry gun rally at Texas store nears" by Carla Caldwell at Atlanta Bus. Chronicle. "Home Depot is reviewing its policies as more than 150 open carry gun enthusiasts plan to gather Saturday at a store in Texas, reports Forbes...Forbes reports Holmes later called to say Home Depot is determining [...]

  "Costco Q3 Comp Sales +5% in U.S."  "Net sales for the quarter increased seven percent, to $25.23 billion, from $23.55 billion last year. Net sales for the first thirty-six weeks increased six percent, to $75.46 billion, from $71.10 billion last year."  Read the release   CNBC:  "Costco results miss estimates as costs rise"  "Warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale reported third-quarter results below analysts' estimates hurt by an increase in merchandise costs and other expenses."  Read more   "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women (Sam's Rosalind Brewer #64...)" at Forbes.  See the Top 100 List   "Target names new digital [...]

  "Walmart Cuts 750 Jobs in Canada" by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "The staff reductions represent less than 1% of total market employment and another 1,300 employees were promoted and 200 store managers were added, according to Alex Roberson, spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada." Read more   "Some Employees Are Furious At Management Payouts In Walmart's Adchemy Acquisition" by Jim Edwards at Business Insider. "They believe that the selling price for the company was actually $30 to $40 million, and that Adchemy CEO Murthy Nukala and four top executives all got payouts of between $1.5 million and $2 million [...]

  "Tampa firm designs first Walmart To Go convenience store" by Susan Thurston at Tampa Bay Times.  "Based in Tampa's Rocky Point, Api(+) started consulting for the retail giant in 1997. It has worked on every store format, including the smaller supercenter at Dale Mabry Highway and Waters Avenue, which became a model for others in urban and suburban areas nationwide." See the pics / Read more   "Military retailer AAFES hopes to expand online shopping to more veterans" by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. "AAFES, the U.S. military’s largest retailer, is asking the Pentagon to allow it to offer [...]

  "BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2014 (Amazon #10, Walmart #22, Home Depot #40...)"  See the Top 100 List   "Target Poaches IPG Mediabrands Exec Kristi Argyilan" by Natalie Zmuda at Ad Age.  "Kristi is known nationally as a transformational, digitally savvy marketer," Jeff Jones, CMO at Target, said in the statement. "As Target continues to accelerate our efforts to innovate and evolve, her expertise in leveraging today's dynamic media mix will help us connect with Target's guests in new and different ways."  Read more   "Walmart COO Gisel Ruiz talks heritage, customer demands and price focus" by [...]

  "Interview:  Target's Interim CEO Speaks with Star Tribune" by Kavita Kumar.  "John Mulligan is fully aware of those embarrassing photos floating around the Internet — the ones showing empty shelves at some of Target’s Canadian stores and visibly illustrating the company’s inventory struggles up north.  “I’ve seen those for far too long, and I would tell you I have the same reaction as the entire Canada team: it’s unacceptable,” Target Corp.’s interim chief executive said Wednesday in an interview with the Star Tribune."  Read more   "Bezos: Alibaba IPO won't affect Amazon; 10,000 robots coming to fulfillment centers" by [...]

  Q1 2014 Target Corporation Earnings Conference Call - Wednesday, May 21, 2014 10:30 a.m. ET  Listen to Webcast   "Lowe's Comp Sales Up .9% - 'Reaffirms' Sales Outlook  - May Performance 'Improved' "  "Sales for the first quarter increased 2.4 percent to $13.4 billion from $13.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013, and comparable sales increased 0.9 percent..."Performance has improved in May which, together with our strengthening execution, gives us the confidence to reaffirm our sales and operating profit outlook for the year," Niblock added."  Read the release   CNBC Headline:  "Lowe's posts earnings and revenue miss" "Lowe's posted [...]

  "Home Depot US Comp Sales +3.3% in Q1"  "The Home Depo reported first quarter of fiscal 2014 net earnings of $1.4 billion, or $1.00 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $1.2 billion, or $0.83 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2013. For the first quarter of fiscal 2014, diluted earnings per share increased 20.5 percent from the same period in the prior year." Read more   "Home Depot Sales, Profit Grow, but Miss Views" by Michael Calia at WSJ.  "The first quarter was impacted by a slow start to the spring selling season," Chairman [...]