“Home Depot Q2 Earnings Beat Street” at CNBC.  “Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, reported a 5.7 percent rise in quarterly sales as customers spent more on home repairs after a severe North American winter…Revenue increased to $23.81 billion from $22.52 billion a year ago. Wall Street had expected the retailer to deliver second-quarter earnings of $1.45 a share on $23.61 billion in revenue.” Read more

“Home Depot’s Q2 US Comp Sales +6.4%” “The Home Depot today reported sales of $23.8 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, a 5.7 percent increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Comparable store sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 were positive 5.8 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 6.4 percent.” Read the release

“Dick’s Q2 Comp Sales +3.2% (+7.8% Excluding Golf & Hunting)” “Net sales for the second quarter of 2014 increased 10.3% to approximately $1.7 billion. Consolidated same store sales increased 3.2%, compared to the Company’s guidance of an approximate 1 to 3% increase. Same store sales for DICK’S Sporting Goods increased 4.1%, while Golf Galaxy decreased 9.3%.” Read the release

“Ex-Target CMO’s new pet project: Reviving Lassie” by Mark Reilly at Minneapolis/St.Paul Bus. Journal.  “Michael Francis turned Bullseye the dog into a retailing star for Target Corp. Now he’s taking on a possibly tougher job: Orchestrating a canine career comeback for Lassie.” Read more

“Dollar General’s Family Dollar Bid Fails to Impress” at The Street via Dallas News. “It is the loser of this year’s dollar store sweepstakes that may come out the best. BMO calculates that Dollar Tree could use a $305 million breakup fee in the event Dollar General wins Family Dollar to repurchase $1 billion in stock in 2015, boosting earnings per share by 6%.” Read more

“Dollar General CEO: Dollar Tree bid for Family Dollar a ‘surprise’ “ by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “We have expressed interest in a combination with Family Dollar multiple times over the past few years,” Dreiling said during a conference call discussing Dollar General’s offer…“If I had thought this asset was in play, I would not have announced my retirement,” Dreiling said.” Read more

***A message from Orchard Road Canning Co: Home Canning sales are hot – are you getting your fair share of category sales? The home canning category continues to grow and younger female canners are driving its growth.  Orchard Road targets young females with a simple and elegant glass jar design and unique package graphics that feature authentic food-filled jars.  See the package design.  View the sell sheet.  www.orchardroadcanning.com.  Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for more information.

Bloomberg:  “Walmart Offer for Family Dollar Unlikely” by Renee Dudley and David Welch.  “Wal-Mart determined that Family Dollarwouldn’t be a good fit with its smaller-format stores, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations were private. The company also hasn’t approached Family Dollar about a bid, another person said.” Read more

“Why Wal-Mart should worry about Family Dollar’s fate” by Phil Wahba at Fortune.  “The combined Dollar-General/Family Dollar would have 20,000 stores and annual sales above $28 billion – making it as big as Macy’s…And because Family Dollar and Dollar General overlap a lot more with Wal-Mart than Dollar Tree does, with its single price approach that combination is a bigger potential threat to Wal-Mart.” Read more

“Nordstrom bets on a slow, cautious entry into Canada” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Like Target, Nordstrom is using an outside warehousing firm, a departure for both retailers in their practice of running their own U.S. distribution centres. “This is a big change for us,” she said…Another key challenge was setting up a merchandise buying system for Canada, because the one in the U.S. couldn’t handle foreign-exchange currency and other matters. The retailer invested in an entirely new system, resulting in it now having two different ones, which is “not ideal,” she said.” Read more

“Michael Bloomberg Hits Kroger on Guns” at CNN Money.  “The Moms group that got Target, Chili’s and Chipotle to take a stance against guns called on Kroger to do the same Monday. The organization, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, wants the grocery chain to ban customers from openly carrying guns in its stores.” Read more

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About Eye-on-Retail

Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants/Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created bright and early every morning and delivered between 7-8 am CT. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

“Who’s Afraid of Amazon? Not Costco, Says Craig Jelinek” by Nina Shapiro at Seattle Weekly.  “I called Jelinek this week to ask him what’s going on…“We’re going to open about 30 Costcos a year,” Jelinek says…the Issaquah retailer is dabbling in some kind of online delivery service through Uber…”They come in to buy from us sometime,” says Jelinek, who then has second thoughts about making this revelation, adding that he’s not prepared to say any more. And yet, Jelinek does not seem particularly exercised about ramping up Costco’s e-commerce, nor worried about the threat from Amazon. “It has not affected our business at all,” he says of Prime Pantry.” Read more

Star-Tribune Interviews New Target CEO by Kavita Kumar.  “Three days into the job, Target Corp.’s first outsider CEO has already shown how different he is simply by being seen. Brian Cornell appeared before thousands of employees in a town hall-style meeting on Wednesday and spoke to hundreds of the company’s suppliers Thursday. He then flew to Canada for a firsthand look at the business unit that, for the moment, is Target’s biggest challenge. On Thursday, Cornell sat down for his first interview since starting work and told the Star Tribune that he is humbled to lead such an “iconic brand.” Read more

“Interview excerpts with Brian Cornell, Target’s new CEO” at Star-Tribune. “I think we all know that omnichannel is critically important to our success. I don’t know if that’s priority one, two or three, but it’s certainly not No. 4. Our future as we continue to build this brand is to make Target one of the leading omnichannel retailers of the future.” Read more

“Supermarket chains Supervalu, Jewel-Osco in potential data breaches” at CNBC.  “Two major grocery store chains—Supervalu and Jewel-Osco—on Friday said they may have been adversely affected by computer data breaches.” Read more

“Supervalu Says Hackers May Have Stolen U.S. Customers’ Data” by Robert Valpuesta at Bloomberg.  “The data may have been stolen from cards used in Supervalu stores from June 22 to July 17 following a network intrusion, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company said in a statement today.” Read more

“Denver: Wal-Mart provides update on U.S. manufacturing jobs initiative” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “(Michelle) Gloeckler said 200 suppliers attended this year’s summit and 87 component manufacturers were also there with exhibits to help suppliers put the puzzle pieces together. There were 42 state delegations and representatives from Puerto Rico. “We have 359 meetings scheduled for tomorrow (Aug. 15). That’s 20% more than last year,” she said.” Read more

“How Much of Walmart Is Really Made in America?” by Susan Berfield at Bloomberg.  “Doug McMillon, the chief executive of Walmart, walked onto the stage at its U.S. Manufacturing Summit in Denver and gave the audience a cheery “Good afternoon.” No response. “At Walmart, we yell back, ‘Good afternoon,’” he said, smiling. The audience obliged…Walmart’s head of U.S. marketing, Stephen Quinn, reminded the suppliers in the audience to put “Made In America” on their products, even if that’s always been the case.” Read more

“Walmart’s Recent Open Call Was an ‘Incredible Day’ (Except for Patio Furniture)” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “We held 800 meetings for new products and awarded 15% of them contracts on the spot. Another half of them, we continue to talk about ongoing possibilities,” (Michelle Gloeckler) said.  Many of the new products like Trash Ease, Jen’s Crab Cakes and Taco Plates, because they are made in the U.S., will be in stores by the holidays…The update Gloeckler gave on her efforts to onshore patio furniture manufacturing or assembly was underwhelming. She said after an exhaustive search and more research, most products cannot now be made competitively in the U.S.” Read more

“Amazon Announces Plans for Fifth California Fulfillment Center (Touts Wages Higher than ‘Traditional Retail’)” “We are proud to be hiring for more than 2,500 full-time jobs in California that offer wages 30 percent higher than traditional retail stores and include comprehensive benefits on day one, bonuses and stock awards,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North America operations. “We have found great talent in the state and we’re excited to be growing quickly to serve our customers.” Read the release

“Nordstrom Q2 Comp Sales +2.7% (Misses 3.1% Estimate)” by Lindsey Rupp at Bloomberg.  “Its full-line department stores saw sales drop 1.2 percent, compared with projections for growth of 1.2 percent.” Read more

Consumer Reports: “Amazon Fire smartphone ‘traps’ users” by Michelle Fox at CNBC.  “While the Fire, which wants to be the ultimate shopping phone, taps into all Amazon has to offer, other phones can provide most of those benefits, Mike Gikas, an editor at Consumer Reports, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” Read more

“Walmart Canada Eeks Out .2 Comp Growth in Q2” by Marina Strauss at Globe and Mail. “In Canada, where Wal-Mart got a new leader, Dirk Van den Berghe, on Aug. 1, the division “produced solid results in a very competitive environment,” said David Cheesewright, president of Wal-Mart’s international business and a former head of the Canadian operation.” Read more

Earnings Call Transcript from Walmart’s Q2 Earnings Call  Read more

“Watch out retailers, Wal-Mart takes hit on health care” by Landon Dowdy at CNBC.  “The nation’s largest retailer said Thursday it now expects to spend about $500 million for U.S. health-care costs this year, up from a previous estimate of $330 million.” Read more

“J.C. Penney surprises investors with sales gains, slashed losses” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News.  “The company also said that CEO Mike Ullman is recovering from a “surgical procedure” but is expected to be back soon…Analysts on the conference call wished Ullman a speedy recovery but didn’t seem concerned about his absence. J.C. Penney spokeswoman Daphne Avila said the surgery “is related to a medical condition he has had for more than 20 years.” Ullman has a spinal cord injury that affects his mobility.” Read more

“Saks Fifth Avenue barks legal threat at dog treat company” by Laila Kearney at Reuters via Chicago Tribune. “But Sarabella said its business as usual for Snaks 5th Avenchew — name and all…”As of now, I’m standing my ground,” said the 32-year-old New York native who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.”  Read more / See the video

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About Eye-on-Retail

Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants/Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created bright and early every morning and delivered between 7-8 am CT. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Target’s New Canada Boss, Mark Schindele, Sits Down for Interviews…

“New head of Target Canada plots his course to a turnaround” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “It makes me feel terrible where we’re disappointing our guests [customers] where we have an empty shelf,” Mr. Schindele said in an interview on Tuesday at the Toronto office of the retailer’s public relations firm, decorated in Target’s trademark red and white hues. “We see less of that than we have in the past but we know we still have work to do.” Read more

“Target Canada president aims to ‘reset’ supply chain, improve pricing to win over Canadians” at Reuters via National Post.  “We’re now unwinding some of the decisions we made that were based on speed.” Schindele said that Target was too ambitious when it launched starting in March 2013. “If I could build a time machine and go back, we would’ve liked to have a slower approach,” Schindele said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “It was too much in too short a window. Our biggest issue (was) that we needed more time.” Read more

“Wal-Mart more willing to experiment as it strives to keep up with online retailers” by Anne  D’Innocenzio at AP via StL Post-Dispatch. “Wal-Mart thought shoppers would like the opportunity to use a smartphone app to scan items they want to buy as they walk through store aisles…But customers couldn’t figure out how to work the “Scan & Go” app during tests in 200 stores, so Wal-Mart nixed it. Instead of looking at the app as a failure, though, Wal-Mart took what it learned from “Scan & Go” to create another service.” Read more

“Harris Teeter denies PETA allegations about abuse at dairy” by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “The animal rights group released a video of what it says are cows forced to live in filthy, manure-soaked pools of their own waste. But Harris Teeter, a subsidiary of the Kroger Co., said it double-checked with its dairy supplier and doesn’t receive any milk from the farm in question.” Read more

“Personalization and Subscriptions are Changing Retail” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “Long said subscriptions seems to be more suited to niche areas and he does not believe the sales lost to subscription services are enough to move the needle backward at big box retailers. He adds that Costco and Sam’s Club could risk key impulse sales in their club if they bought too heavily into the subscription arena.” Read more

****A message from Juicebar Chargers – Winter’s power outages are near!  Juicebar’s Hurricane Travel Charger holds enough juice to weather a full week’s worth of hurricanes, blizzards and power outages! With up to 5 full smartphone charges or a full tablet charge and more, Juicebar’s Hurricane is the perfect sidekick when life disconnects you from the grid. Peggable, shipper display or open-stock. See the full lineup: www.juicebarchargers.com. See the video. Email: info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for program details

“A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Altuzarra’s New Target Collection” by Kristin Tice Studeman at Style.com.  “Though the Altuzarra customer profile might not align with the typical Target shopper, and vice versa, the designer says there is a meeting point for the two. “In a way, it’s a different audience, but you are still talking to women who have very busy lives, and they want clothes that don’t hinder them but that work for their lifestyles.”  See the video / Read more

“Amazon.com builds brick-and-mortar presence with card-swiping device” at CNBC.  “Amazon.com unveiled a $10 credit-card reader and mobile app for brick-and-mortar businesses on Wednesday, marking the latest step by the U.S. online retailer to expand its presence in the physical world.” Read more

“Walmart Reports Earnings Tomorrow – Downward Trend Expected to Continue” at Forbes.  “Revenue is projected to be $118.98 billion for the quarter, 2% above the year-earlier total of $116.95 billion. For the year, revenue is projected to roll in at $486.82 billion.” Read more

“Macy’s fined nearly $1 million after decapitation of factory employee” by Caitlin Owens at Chicago Tribune. “In addition to paying the fine, Macy’s must also conduct an audit of balers and compactors at its California stores and distribution centers, which must be approved by the district attorney’s office.” Read more

“Twitter users can expect to see more video ads” by Robert Faturechi at LA Times.  “Video is an incredible storytelling medium,” Twitter said in its statement. For now, companies will be able to pay per view, only getting charged when users start playing their promoted videos.” Read more

“Target to Sell Entrepreneur’s Game that Teaches Kids to Code” by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Bus. Journal.  “It was a simple idea. Dan Shapiro needed something fun to do with his four-year-old twins one weekend last summer while his wife was out of town. So, the serial entrepreneur created a board game to teach his kids how to code. His kids loved it and Shapiro realized he was on to something.” Read more

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About Eye-on-Retail

Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants/Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created bright and early every morning and delivered between 7-8 am CT. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.

Rioters Loot and Burn Ferguson, Missouri Retailers:

“Rioters Burn C-Store to the Ground in Ferguson, Missouri” at Before Its News. “What began as another peaceful vigil this evening in a suburb of St. Louis where Ferguson police shot and killed an unarmed youth Saturday, turned into a scene out of the 60′s Civil Rights era…Quick Trip in Ferguson has just been burned to the ground.” See the pic / Read more

“Ferguson QuickTrip looted, set on fire” at KMOV-St. Louis.  See the video

Tweet via @kodacohen “SWAT troopers raise their weapons as they prepare to enter the looted Family Dollar store”  See the pic

Walmart: Looters fill their cart with home goods at St. Louis Post-Dispatch. See the pic

“Target’s risk-adverse culture nearly sank Cartwheel before it launched a year ago” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Now Cartwheel is being held up within the company as a role model for how the company can move faster and test new ideas in the marketplace in real time instead of getting held up in a boardroom. “Anytime you’re facing change, you have to give people a vision of what you want them to do,” said Jeff Jones, Target’s chief marketing officer. “And you have to give them evidence that it actually works.” Read more

***A message from Orchard Road Canning Co. – Target Millennials to Grow Canning Category Sales. Young female canners are the future of the category and there is untapped potential within this segment.  Orchard Road targets this demographic with a simple and elegant glass jar design and unique package graphics that feature authentic food-filled jars.  See the package design. See the sell sheet. www.orchardroadcanning.com. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for more information.

“Five questions with incoming Canadian Tire CEO Michael Medline” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post.  “I tend to be pretty results-oriented. You can’t do that without a strong team. Something I preach all the time is velocity — nimbleness. We are a big company in Canada, but we are not the biggest company in the world. We have to be more nimble than the biggest retailers in the world.” Read more

“Retailers Report Earnings En Masse this Week” by Laura Lorenzetti at Forbes.  “Walmart  reports on Thursday. Analysts will be trying to gauge how shoppers are thinking – err, spending. They’re expecting Walmart to report profits of $1.21 a share and $119 billion in sales. Macy’s reports on Wednesday, while J.C. Penney, Nordstrom  and Kohl’s report on Thursday.” Read more

“Amazon blocks pre-order of Disney DVDs” by Ian King at Bloomberg via Chicago Tribune. “Amazon.com blocked the pre- order option of Walt Disney hit movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and other titles in disk form, repeating a tactic used in disputes with publisher Hachette and Warner Bros.” Read more

“Palo Alto mulls chain-store ban on main drag” by Lauren Hepler at Silicon Valley Bus. Journal.  “The Peninsula tech mecca is evaluating a ban on chain stores of all types on the commercial strip on the South side of the city, which is currently being redeveloped to cut down on cars and encourage pedestrian traffic.” Read more

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About Eye-on-Retail

Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants/Executives every weekday morning. Eye-on-Retail is unique because it’s timely, smart and fun. It’s created bright and early every morning and delivered between 7-8 am CT. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail.