Thursday Tipsheet: Kroger Tests Pick-Up | Wmart SVP Creative ‘Unplugged’ | J.D. Ranks Appliance Retailer Sites

 

“Kroger Testing Grocery Pick-Up Service in Cincinnati” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “The service is not yet available to customers at the Liberty Township store. Kroger is in such early testing, only associates are using it. “We are now in the embryonic stages of a click and collect test at one of our local stores – so early in fact, we just started testing with our associates,” said Rachael Betzler, a Kroger spokeswoman.” Read more

 

J.D. Power Ranks Top Appliance Retailer Websites (Home Depot #2, Costco #5) “The incidence of using a smartphone or tablet to research information online has increased to 26 percent, up from 20 percent in 2013. More than three-fourths (76%) of shoppers indicate retailer websites are highly useful when shopping for appliances. Among smartphone/tablet owners, 57 percent access online content while at a physical store location.” Read the release

 

“Wal-Mart Mexico Unit Probed on Complaints of Cockfight” by Nacha Cattan at Bloomberg. “Fines of as much as 96,000 pesos ($7,240) could be levied if Walmex is found responsible, said Jose Luis Hernandez, commercial director of the city of Boca del Rio, where betting on fighting roosters is illegal. A Walmex spokesman, Antonio Ocaranza, said the roosters weren’t armed with blades, no betting took place at the store and no birds were harmed.“It wasn’t a cockfight,” Ocaranza said yesterday in a telephone interview.” Read more

 

“Target faces different challenges in Quebec: Survey” by Francine Kopun at The Star. “Quebecers are significantly less familiar with Target than shoppers in the rest of Canada…“This might be good news for Target in Quebec as the bar was likely not set as high,” according to Eric Blais, president of Headspace Marketing Inc…The survey of 1,000 women shoppers living near Target stores in Canada found that less than one-quarter of Quebec respondents (23.7 per cent) had ever shopped at a Target store in the U.S…Among women shoppers in the rest of Canada, more than half of respondents (54.4 per cent) had shopped at a Target in the U.S.” Read more

 

“Porch discloses $33M in total funding, with Lowe’s as major investor” by Todd Bishop at Geek Wire. “The company says it has raised $33 million to date, including a $27.6 million Series A funding round led by the Lowe’s home-improvement chain.” Read more

 

…Porch’s cofounder battling brain cancer by Hollie Slade at Forbes. “All this while Castro battled brain cancer after repeated trips to the doctor for what he thought was a sinus infection turned out to be a tumor. Writing about the experience on VentureBeat, Castro says if he’d still been working at Google or Expedia he’d have likely resigned but the chance to build a startup he’s passionate about keeps him busy instead.” Read more

 

Walmart’s Andy Murray (SVP Creative) ‘Unplugged’ by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Today you’re getting me unplugged but since there’s just one person here from Wal-Mart and one from the media we’ll see how it goes. You will get your money’s worth, I am just not sure what will happen to me,” Murray joked…He admits that many supercenters look like they were frozen in time in 2006. “I counted 27 standees in one store many of these displays cluttering the entrance. I am not sure that’s how we want to greet today’s shopper,” Murray said. He expects to see more product demonstrations in stores saying they bring excitement and animation to the shopping climate as opposed to standing cardboard displays.” Read more

 

“Home Depot’s PR problems dwarfed by Target breach” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “According to YouGov’s BrandIndex, which gauges daily brand perception among consumers, Home Depot’s rating fell from about 20 a week before reports of its data breach, to a score of 5, two weeks after…the dive was nowhere near as steep as the one experienced by Target, which saw its score fall from nearly 28 to minus 26 over a comparable period. At its lowest point during this time frame, Target’s perception touched minus 32.5; it’s since rebounded to around 15.” Read more

 

Family Dollar: Go Away by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “In a statement Wednesday morning, Family Dollar Stores Inc.’s board of directors advised the company’s shareholders to reject the $9.1 billion hostile takeover attempt by Dollar General Corp.” Read more

 

Dollar General: We’re Not Going Away “Dollar General has made every good faith effort to engage in constructive discussions with the Family Dollar Board of Directors,” said Rick Dreiling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dollar General. “At each turn, despite Dollar General’s superior proposals and to the detriment of the Family Dollar shareholders, the Family Dollar Board has refused to engage, leaving Dollar General with no choice but to launch a tender offer.” Read the release

 

Internet Retailer on Dick’s Website:  A few key changes would speed things up by Abby Callard. “Reddy says one JavaScript file and a couple of images add more than 250 kilobytes—almost half the total page weight. Dick’s could further improve its site through a process called “minification” of JavaScript files, he says, which involves removing any extra characters, white space and comments from source code.” Read more 

 

Fortune Exclusive: “Kohl’s CEO puts comeback plan into high gear” by Phil Wahba. “Mansell, a 32-year company veteran and CEO since 2008, is looking to kickstart growth through what he calls Kohl’s “Greatness Agenda,” which is as much about giving executives a framework for their thinking as it is about specific initiatives. “I’ve likened it a lot internally to how Kohl’s developed its original personality: the brands-value-convenience premise,” Mansell told Fortune in an exclusive interview. “We knew we needed to create a new path forward.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart China Accused Of Firing Workers Who Claimed The Company Was Selling Expired Food” by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. “Wal-Mart China spokeswoman Vivian Jiang told Bloomberg that the employees were terminated for “performance issues and for deviation from company policy.” “They were not terminated for talking to the media,” Jiang said.” Read more

 

“Walgreens Launches “Get a Shot. Give a Shot” Ad Campaign” by Lewis Lazare at Chicago Bus. Journal. “Walgreens has indicated it will send one dose of vaccine to Africa for every immunization administered at one of its drugstore outlets. The goal, says Walgreens, is to deliver 6 million doses of vaccine over a year’s time.” See the ad / Read more

 

HuffPo: “New Target Ad Features Gay Dads, Shuts Out All The Haters” by Emily Thomas. “A Target spokeswoman told The Huffington Post the new ad campaign “represents and celebrates” the company’s diverse community.” Read more / See the ad

 

“Here’s What Your Supermarket Will Look Like in 50 Years” by Marine Cole at CNBC. “Studio Industries is creating a physical pop-up grocery store through a project called the Future Market that will launch in New York City in the summer of 2015. The supermarket of the future will include smart shelves that will display products customized to every shopper based on an embedded food ID chip, according to Supermarket News.” 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.

Wednesday Tipsheet: Dick’s Pres. to Retire | Savings Catcher Returns $2 Mil | Google Search Ad Wars

 

“Amazon Spends More on Google Search Ads than Walmart/Target/Home Depot Combined” by Tim Petersen at Ad Age. “Amazon spent $157.7 million on Google U.S. search ads in 2013, by far the most by any company…there’s good reason to have expected more stores to make the ranking, considering that search is the dominant digital-ad format for direct-response advertisers like retail brands.” See the rankings / Read more

 

“Savings Catcher returns more than $2 million to Walmart shoppers” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Since inception we have helped our customers capture more than $2 million by using Savings Catcher. Immediately after the August 4 rollout the app was the No. 1 downloaded lifestyle app from the iTunes App store,” said Molly Blakeman, Wal-Mart spokeswoman.” Read more

 

“Dick’s President to Retire – Search is on for Successor” by Teresa F. Lindeman at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Joseph H. Schmidt, who has been president and chief operating officer since 2009 and been with the company since 1990, expects to retire either at the end of the year or whenever works best for the retailer, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it has started a search for a successor to Mr. Schmidt.” Read more

 

Canada: Will Dollarama be the ‘consolation prize’ to loser of U.S. dollar store battle? by Hollie Shaw at The Province. “The raw purchasing power of Dollar General and Dollar Tree ($12-billion and $5-billion of annual purchases, respectively, far outweigh Dollarama at $1.2-billion,” Mr. Petrie said. Dollarama currently trades at to 21.7 times Mr. Petrie’s 2015 forward earnings estimate and about 18.4 times 2016 estimates; its U.S. peers trade at an average of 18.5 and 16.8 times 2015 and 2016 estimated earnings, respectively.” Read more

 

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“Wal-Mart caught charging New Yorkers more for Coke than advertised” by Katie Lobosco at CNN Money. “Wal-Mart tried to get New Yorkers to pay more for Coca-Cola than advertised, and sometimes employees claimed the markup was because of a state “sugar tax.”…The retailer has agreed to pay $66,000 to settle the investigation, Schneiderman announced Tuesday.” Read more

 

Sears:  Return & Exchange Items Without Ever Leaving Your Car “The new integrated retail service, powered by the Shop Your Way mobile app, lets members pick up, return or exchange their purchases for free – guaranteed in five minutes or less – without ever leaving their vehicle.” Read the release

 

“Expert: New Wal-Mart communicator must be ‘battle tested under pressure’ “ by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “(David) Tovar told The City Wire Tuesday (Sept. 16) he has nothing but good things to say about Wal-Mart and he respects the company’s decision. He said 18 years ago, after four years at the University of Delaware he walked in the graduation ceremony, only to find out later than he lacked a few credit hours toward earning his bachelor’s degree.” Read more

 

“Bloomberg Reporter Hits Walmart’s David Tovar” by Chris Roush at Talking Biz News. “In fall of 2013, Tovar accused Dudley of ‘having an agenda’ and told CNBC that ‘we’ve tried to speak with her editors and it seems to fall on deaf ears.’ “In June of 2014, Dudley was told that once again she wasn’t welcome at Wal-Mart’s media week events. “Last Friday, Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported that Tovar was resigning his corporate communications position. Wal-Mart explained that he was ‘just ready to move on to his next adventure,’ and left it at that. “Dudley, though, got the rest of the story.” Read more

 

“New Walgreen holding company to be incorporated in Delaware” by Peter Frost at Chicago Tribune. “Walgreens is not headed to Europe. But it is going to Delaware…Walgreen, which is currently domiciled in Illinois, will maintain its corporate and operational headquarters in Deerfield.” 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.

Tuesday Tipsheet: Wmart Spokesman Out Over Resume | Target’s Top Toys | Sears Gets $400 Mil Loan

 

“Wal-Mart’s Chief Spokesman Said to Resign Over Resume Falsehood” by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. “David Tovar, who announced last week that he was leaving the job as vice president of communications, has previously said he earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Delaware in 1996…Tovar gained attention this year by criticizing the New York Times on Wal-Mart’s blog. He posted a copy of a “wildly inaccurate” Times editorial by Timothy Egan and marked up the text with red editor’s notes.” Read more

 

“Eddie Lampert giving Sears a $400 million loan” by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “The loan comes less than a week after Fitch Ratings downgraded Sears Holdings’ credit rating to CC status, meaning “default of some kind appears probable.” Read more

 

“Target’s Top Toys List” “Target Corp. today unveiled its annual list of top toys for the upcoming holidays, as well as a new and expanded assortment of boutique brand toys that are designed to inspire creative play…” Read the release

 

“Neiman Marcus buys German retailer” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “The Mytheresa.com website has been in business since 2006 and has customers across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It ships to more than 120 countries, and two-thirds of its online sales come from outside of Germany.” Read more

 

“Tiny Target store coming to San Diego’s South Park” by Katherine P. Harvey at U-T San Diego. “Mega-retailer Target is hopping on the small-store bandwagon, and Monday announced plans to open its sixth TargetExpress store in South Park next July. The store will be on the property currently occupied by the Gala Foods supermarket at Fern and Grape streets.” Read more

 

“Jeff Bezos’s Startup Is Part of Bid to Deliver Astronauts” by Andy Pasztor at WSJ. “Blue Origin LLC, the space-exploration startup Mr. Bezos has been quietly toiling over for years, is part of a team led by Boeing Co. that is expected to soon garner a NASA contract to ferry astronauts to and from the international space station, according to people familiar with the matter.” Read more

 

“Apple to steal business from malls this Christmas” by Michelle Fox at CNBC. “It’s going to be a decent Christmas, but it’s going to be driven in a very different direction from last year with the launch of the iPhone and some other things that are going on,” Mary Epner, principal of Mary Epner Retail Analysis, said in an interview with CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “That’s going to take some business away from some of the traditional mall retailers.” Read more

 

“Costco: New home for affluent?” at CNBC. “Does Costco offer a compelling luxury product to consumers? Oliver Chen, Citigroup retail analyst, and Gregg Greenberg, TheStreet.com, debate if Costco is a luxury play.” See the video

 

“Kroger Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index” Read the release

 

“Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock Unloads $16,560,496 of Stock” at Sleek Money. “Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 541,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,613,333.” 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.

 

Monday Tipsheet: Sinegal’s 1st GOP Donation | Target’s Costco Compliment | Wmart’s Uniform Headache

 

“Costco Turns Tables on Democrats” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “Employees and executives have donated more than $48,000 to Republicans and $17,000 to Democrats so far this year in (WA) state contests, according to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission…Kinda conspicuous, isn’t it?” said Sinegal, the former Costco CEO and current board member, who acknowledged the liquor fight in Olympia was at the heart of the shift in donations..Sinegal said he doesn’t recall ever donating to a Republican before. (A search of election records suggests he’s right.).” Read more

 

“Target Aims to Be ‘in a class with the Costcos’ “ by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “We’ve always considered ourselves the leader among peers, in a class with the Costcos of the world who perform well quarter after quarter regardless of economic or consumer conditions,” (John Mulligan) said. “Right now, we’re too far back in the pack. And we need to get back to leading.” Read more

 

“Former Home Depot Managers Depict ‘C-Level’ Security Before the Hack” by Ben Elgin, Michael Riley & Dune Lawrence at Businessweek. “Home Depot’s in-store payment system wasn’t set up to encrypt customers’ credit- and debit-card data, a gap in its defenses that gave potential hackers a wider window to exploit, according to interviews with former members of the retailer’s security team…The former workers, including three managers, asked that their names not be used because they fear retribution from their former employer; some now work for companies that perform security functions for Home Depot.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart’s new uniforms causing controversy—again” at CNBC. “As part of its newly mandated uniform requirements—which already had employees up in arms for adding an extra cost to their budgets—the company’s new vests were, in fact, not made in America, according to Gawker. Instead, they were made in Jordan…Michelle Gloeckler, executive vice president of consumables and U.S. manufacturing at Wal-Mart, confirmed the vests were made in Jordan, explaining the retailer made this decision because it couldn’t find a supplier in the U.S. to churn out 1.4 million vests under such a quick time crunch…Gloeckler said these replenishments would be made as soon as Wal-Mart can finalize the selection of a U.S. vendor.” Read more

 

“As Altuzarra collection arrives, Target hopes for a hit” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “It is to demonstrate the style credibility of the brand,” said (Jeff) Jones. “When people line up, of course we’re thrilled. But that’s not why we do them.” That’s also one of the reasons Target once again teamed up with Net-A-Porter.com, a luxury fashion website, to sell certain pieces of the collection.” Read more

 

***A message from Lock-it Block-it: 79% don’t feel safe at home & 5,000 kids fall from windows each year. Lock-it Block-it is an adjustable window security bar that keeps open windows & doors secured to let the fresh air in! This patented security bar replaces clumsy wooden sticks and creates a new category for window security. And the average home has 16 windows! Easy to install – easy to use – grow your safety category sales with this truly unique product. See the new sell sheet / Watch the video / lockitblockit.com info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

“Shrinking middle class takes a toll on retailers” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “I don’t even know how to define the middle class anymore. It’s been hollowed out. There’s only growth in lower-income and upper-income classes,” Lewis said. So what choice do retailers have? They are forced to “discount their brains out,” Lewis said. “It’s the devaluation of brands and retail. We’re in the worst of the worst, and it can lead to real deflation, and then consumers stop buying.” Read more

 

“As Wal-Mart thinks small, this retailer says bigger is better” by John Kell at Fortune. “At Home is sticking with a more traditional method: big-box retailing. It operates 75 stores with an average of 120,000 square feet and hopes to expand to 600 locations across the U.S. The bet on big physical stores is for now an all-in strategy, as At Home doesn’t operate an online store. “We win on assortment,” At Home Chief Executive Lee Bird said. “We need the size to do that.” Read more

 

WSJ: “Alibaba Says Company to Expand Aggressively in U.S.” by Prudence Ho, Lorraine Luk & Juro Osawa. “Mr. Ma also said the company missed a “great opportunity” to list in Hong Kong. “We respect Hong Kong’s decision…Hong Kong shouldn’t change its principle for one company,” Mr. Ma said. Alibaba decided to list in New York instead of Hong Kong because Hong Kong’s stock exchange refused to accept its so-called “partnership” structure, which allows Mr. Ma and other executives to nominate more than half of the company’s board.” Read more

 

“Hudson’s Bay Co halves loss as sales jump 87% with help from Saks” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Saks, coming to Canada with its first two stores in 2016, is showing the greatest growth in its Off Fifth banner, where brands are marked down 20% to 60% from the original price. Same-store sales jumped 15% in the quarter.” Read more

 

” ‘Location, location, location.’ How where you live influences how you shop online” by Sarah Halzak at Washington Post. “David R. Bell makes the case in his new book, “Location is (Still) Everything,” that the neighborhoods we live in — and the acquaintances we encounter there — still have deep influence on how we shop. That may have seemed intuitive in an era in which shopping was done at the corner store. But Bell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School who specializes in digital marketing and e-commerce, says those elements retain a strong pull, even on our online shopping habits.” Read the interview

 

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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.

Friday Tipsheet: H.Depot Hearing | D.Gen Waits on Feds | Amazon Builds

 

Walmart: “Woman-owned suppliers connect through non-profits” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “We’ve set specific goals for 2016 and are working toward them with good progress,” (Ravi) Jariwala told The City Wire. He said Walmart.com is now working with 35 woman-owned companies who are supplying more than 350 items for sale via the Empowering Women Together website page on Walmart.com. Sales begin in March 2013 from 19 woman-owned businesses from around the world.” Read more

 

“Dem wants hearing on Home Depot hack” by Julian Hattem at The Hill. “The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants his panel to hold a hearing on the recent hack at Home Depot, which may have jeopardized financial information for tens of millions of shoppers. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) told Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Thursday that investigating the company’s data security would be a fair move, after the multiple sessions the committee has held on HealthCare.gov.” Read more

 

“Dollar General waiting on feds for Family Dollar deal” by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “Dollar General plans to delay a decision whether to go “hell or high water” with its hostile offer for rival Family Dollar until it gets feedback from regulators on its proposal by mid-October, sources told The Post.” Read more

 

Seattle: “Amazon files plans to build two more office towers downtown” by Jay Green at Seattle Times. “Amazon submitted two different sets of plans to the city of Seattle to build two office towers that will fill a city block across from the three blocks already designated for 37- or 38-story buildings at its future high-rise campus in Denny Triangle.” Read more

 

“4 reasons shoppers will shrug off Home Depot hack” by Anne D’Innocenzio at AP via Mercury News. “Take Johnna Horn. She stopped shopping at Target for two months after its breach was disclosed. Yet when she heard the news about Home Depot, she wasn’t alarmed. “With Target, it was more shocking,” said Horn, who lives in Wentzville, Missouri. “With Home Depot, it’s like here we go again.” Read more

 

“NFL Fans Are Beside Themselves in Funny New Lowe’s Campaign” by Michael McArthy at AdWeek. “Four humorous spots from BBDO New York show men and women being urged by their inner pigskin selves to get their home improvement projects done—so they’ll be free to watch pro football on Sunday. The well-acted ads are aimed at men and women. Indeed, the best of the bunch shows a woman berating herself to get her gardening done in time for kickoff.” Read more / See the ads

 

“Newly elected city counselor collecting Costco membership fees to lure retailer to town” at CBC News. “Normally, Costco won’t even consider a new location with a population of less than 250,000 and Bathurst’s population currently stands at about 15,000. But Barbeau contends the borders aren’t that clear cut…Residents from across the Chaleur region have already started dropping off $55-cheques at Bathurst City Hall as Costco membership down payments.” Read more

 

“Home Depot Malware Hints at Different Hackers Than Target’s” by Dune Lawrence & Michael Riley at Bloomberg. “A second cybersecurity researcher familiar with the investigation confirmed that the malware used is a different family and said its name, FrameworkPOS, is derived from the McAfee (MFE) antivirus agent it impersonates…The malware’s disguise was meant to keep Home Depot’s security team from taking a deeper look, even if the retailer wasn’t deploying McAfee products on its registers or elsewhere in its network.” Read more

 

***A message from Lock-it Block-it: 79% don’t feel safe at home & 5,000 kids fall from windows each year. Lock-it Block-it is an adjustable window security bar that keeps open windows & doors secured to let the fresh air in! This patented security bar replaces clumsy wooden sticks and creates a new category for window security. And the average home has 16 windows! Easy to install – easy to use – grow your safety category sales with this truly unique product. See the new sell sheetWatch the video / lockitblockit.com info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

UK: “Amazon to join rush for Silicon Roundabout” by Murad Ahmed at Financial Times. “(Amazon), which already has two offices in the UK capital, now plans to move into Principal Place, a 15-story tower, which will be developed by 2016. Amazon will take up the vast majority of the 600,000 sq ft of space, which will also house shops, cafés and restaurants. The Brookfield Property Partners, the Canadian property group, will begin construction next month.” Read more

 

“Kroger Q2 Comp Sales +4.8%” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. Read more

 

“Kroger CEO says he’s spending a lot of time on online sales plan” by Steve Watkins a Cincinnati Bus. Courier. “I would say we feel very good, but we’re not satisfied, and with the changes that we’ve made over the last couple of years we feel increasingly happy about what we’re seeing,” McMullen told analysts on a conference call.” Read more

 

“Clash of the titans: Wal-Mart rejects Apple Pay to pursue a competing mobile payment system” by Danielle Douglas at Washington Post. “Apple Pay will launch next month. The pilot for CurrentC began earlier this month; the nationwide roll-out is expected next year. Officials at Wal-Mart declined to comment beyond a statement that they have no plans to join Apple Pay. Apple did not return multiple requests for comment about Wal-Mart’s decision. Retailers may have greater financial incentive to join CurrentC than Apple Pay.” Read more

 

“Arthur T. Demoulas happy ‘just being a grocer’ “ by Casey Ross at Boston Globe. “In his first interview since agreeing to buy the company from rival relatives, Demoulas said Market Basket has already accomplished a remarkable turnaround thanks to employees who worked day and night to replenish shelves stripped bare by the summer-long family standoff over the business.” Read more

 

“For UPS, E-Commerce Brings Big Business and Big Problems” by Laura Steven at WSJ (Tiered Subscription). “When United Parcel Service Chief Executive David Abney bought his first book from Amazon.com about 15 years ago, e-commerce seemed no more complicated than ordering from a catalog. “Pretty basic,” he says. Online sales have mushroomed since then into a huge business for the package-delivery company—and a big problem…” Read more

 

“Elderly Homeless Couple Living in a Walmart Parking Lot Prayed for God to Send ‘Angels’ — and Here’s What Happened” by Billy Hallowell at The Blaze. “Brandi offered to buy the couple food. And while they at first resisted and said they didn’t want to be a burden, she insisted, saying it just “felt like the right thing to do.” After the encounter, one of the girls decided to launch a crowd-funding campaign to help raise money for the family. While a $1,000 goal was set, the campaign has already brought in more than $5,500.” 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.

Thursday Tipsheet: Target Annual Mtg | Wmart Rebrands Express | DHS Needs Retailers

 

“Dept. of Homeland Security Asks Retailers to Watch Customers Behavior” by Stephen Dinan at Washington Times. “Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his department will be issuing new guidance to retailers this week giving them pointers on how to spot potential terrorists among their customers by looking at what they’re buying. While saying the government cannot prohibit sales of some everyday materials, Mr. Johnson said retailers should be trained to look for anyone who buys a lot from what he described as a “long list of materials that could be used as explosive precursors.” Read more

 

Target’s Annual Meeting Highlights:

“Target revs up managers for holidays” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “After Jamie Foxx and before Taylor Swift, the new leader of Target Corp. took the stage before thousands of his top managers and employees and laid out the company’s challenge in six words. “We need to be cool again,” Brian Cornell said Wednesday afternoon in the climactic event of Target’s annual two-day gathering…Target also announced it was teaming up with comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.” Read more

 

“With new CEO, Target ready to move forward” by Hadley Malcolm at USA Today. “(Brian Cornell) says changing the way Target is talked about by media is the biggest challenge the company still faces. Target’s internal data show customers have moved on from the data breach, he says, “yet every article that gets written about Target has a paragraph about the data breach. We have work to do, but we are in a much butter place than the media broadly gives us credit for.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart rebrands Express formats to Neighborhood Markets” at The City Wire. “All 21 of the Express formats and all future small formats will bear the name Neighborhood Market. It’s a widely known and accepted brand that consumers can easily identify with,” said Wal-Mart corporate spokesman John Forrest Ales.” Read more

 

“Family Dollar Fate May Hinge on Decision by Billionaire Paulson” at Bloomberg. “If you get 22 percent on one side of the fence, it’s a pretty high hurdle for Dollar General to cross to win enough shareholders over,” Hebert said. “Winning over a majority of shareholders becomes substantially more difficult.” Read more

 

Former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli Appears on Fox Business to Discuss Breach: “Home Depot will do all the right things”  See the video

 

“Wal-Mart’s School Supplies Are a Little More Expensive Online” by Vanessa Wong at Bloomberg. “Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, compared 31 identical school supplies at Walmart stores and on Walmart.com—crayons, markers, pens, etc.—and found cheaper prices in the stores in three of four surveys. Wal-Mart’s official policy is to have the same prices online as in stores, spokewoman Jaeme Laczkowski says. The difference wasn’t great: at most, a 1.8 percent premium on a $118 checkout.” Read more

 

Forbes: “The 25 Companies Investing The Most In America’s Future (Walmart #5, Amazon #25)” by Christopher Helman. “A new report out today from Diana Carew and Michael Mandel at the Progressive Policy Institute details the 25 big businesses — dubbed “investment heroes” — that are placing the biggest bets on America.” See the list

 

“Wal-Mart joins U.S. crop-tour fever seeking food chain edge” by Karl Plume at Reuters. “The Pro Farmer crop tour last month involved 120 people, double the number a decade ago, from countries spanning Switzerland to Argentina…Wal-Mart sent representatives for the first time on this tour…”We are always looking for ways to better understand our business. We attend farm tours to learn about crops so we can make smart buying decisions in our efforts to pass on savings to our customers,” said Tim Robinson, Wal-Mart’s director of dry grocery, who traveled from Ohio to Minnesota with the tour.” Read more

 

“Restoration Hardware Comp Revenue Up 14% in Q2” “We did experience a sales shortfall during our Fourth of July Promotional Event as we underestimated the negative effect of the later Source Book mailing which led to lower than expected revenues in the second quarter.” Read the release

 

Study: Buy Online, Pickup In Store Will Boost Holiday Retail: “82% percent would consider doing so to receive a $10 rebate on a $50 item.” Read the release

 

Report: Sears may not have enough cash beyond 2016 by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “Sears took issue with the report, saying: “We don’t agree with their action given our demonstrated history of honoring our financial commitments while continuing to invest in our transformation. We have proven that we have an asset rich portfolio that provides us with what we believe to be substantial financial flexibility.” Read more

 

“RadioShack posts tenth straight quarterly loss” at CNBC. “RadioShack’s same-store sales declined 20 percent.” Read obituary

 

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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.

 

 

Wednesday Tipsheet: D.Gen Gets Hostile | Target’s Product Focus | Wmart’s Women Focus

 

“Dollar General goes hostile with Family Dollar bid” at CNBC. “Dollar General said it would take its $9.1 billion offer directly to shareholders of Family Dollar Stores, after being spurned twice by its smaller rival. The company said it had started a tender offer to buy all shares of Family Dollar for $80 per share.” Read more

 

…Dollar General’s ‘Hostile’ Press Release “Dollar General’s all-cash offer of $80.00 per share provides Family Dollar shareholders with a substantially superior valuation to the $74.50 per share cash / stock offer announced by Dollar Tree, Inc. on July 28, 2014.” Read the release

 

“Target Narrows the Bull’s-Eye, With Emphasis on Signature Products” by Paul Ziobro at WSJ. “Target’s new CEO plans to double down on just a handful of departments like baby products and fashion, a strategic shift as the discounter works to bring shoppers back to its stores and better compete with online rivals…”We’ve got to major in these signature categories and make some bold changes to re-energize those businesses,” Mr. Cornell said in an interview. “All categories can’t be prioritized the same.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart continues focus on helping women suppliers” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Executives with Wal-Mart gathered Tuesday (Sept. 10) for a meeting designed to reinforce efforts to empower women like 20-year-old Avani Bhadra of India, and Veronica Moreno, a tortilla baker from Atlanta, Ga…(David) Cheesewright said he is proud of efforts by Walmart Canada to increase its number of women managers all because someone inside expressed the idea…the number of women managers in Walmart Canada has risen from 17% to 26%. In Chile, the same program has helped increase the number of female managers from 35% to 70%.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart unveils its kid-approved toy list, holiday layaway dates” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “To encourage early shopping the retailer said it’s kicking off the holiday layaway option in stores this Friday (Sept. 12). Wal-Mart also said all 20 of the kid-approved toys would be covered on its Savings Catcher program beginning Wednesday (Sept. 10).” See the top toys

 

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“How the Home Depot Credit-Card Breach Affects Small Contractors” by Patrick Clark at Bloomberg. “The hack may have disproportionately affected small business owners: Professional builders and contractors account for as much as 40 percent of Home Depot sales and 4 percent of the chain’s total customers, according to Drew Reading, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. “ Read more

 

…Here Come the Lawsuits at Chicago Tribune. “O’Brien said he used his credit card at two different Home Depot stores in Ilinois, once in Carpentersville on May 19 and the second in Palatine on June 2, and had his personal financial information exposed.” Read more

 

Gawker Won’t Let Up on Walmart’s New Dress Code…“A Walmart employee sends us this photo of a sign posted in a Walmart store, instructing employees on the finer points of the new Walmart dress code. “The followin positions can wear blue or black denim jeans” See the pic / Read more

 

“David Yurman Sues Sam’s Club for Selling its Jewelry” at The Fashion Law. “Yurman states: “Sam’s Club tortiously interfered with and intentionally induced the breach of Yurman’s contractual relations with one or more of its authorized retailers.” In addition to tortious interference, Yurman is charging Sam’s Club with trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.” Read more

 

“Amazon to open first North Carolina fulfillment center this fall” by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “Amazon.com plans to open a 222,500-square-foot distribution center in Concord in November, sources with knowledge of the project tell us.” Read more

 

“Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in Baltimore pull Ray Rice jerseys from shelves immediately” by Josh Sanchez at Fansided. “One store in the area told The Wire that customers have come in to return Ray Rice jerseys. 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.

Tuesday Tipsheet: H.Depot Confirms Breach | Wmart Onshoring Snag | Twitter’s Buy Button

 

“Home Depot confirms data breach” at CNBC. “Home Depot officially confirmed a data breach on Monday. Home Depot’s investigation is focused on transactions made as far back as April. There is no evidence that shoppers’ debit PIN numbers were compromised, according to a statement the retailer released Monday.” Read more

 

.…Home Depot’s Press Release: “We apologize for the frustration and anxiety this causes our customers, and I want to thank them for their patience and support as we work through this issue,” said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. “We owe it to our customers to alert them that we now have enough evidence to confirm that a breach has indeed occurred.” Read the release

 

“Wal-Mart’s onshoring manufacturing effort hits snag with Redman problem” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The suit claims that Ellen Liu, executive director for Sales Chief, made clear her intention to derail the “Made in the U.S.” plan earlier this year. Between March and May, Sales Chief shipped $3.4 million of inventory to Redman in the U.S., but on May 24, Sales Chief revoked Redman’s credit terms requiring full payment of goods ordered, shipped and those in transit.” Read more

 

“Amazon Is Under Attack Like Never Before” by Jillian D’onfro at Business Insider. “People still think of Amazon as a retailer,” says SunTrust analyst Robert Peck, “But when you think about all of its investments, it has expanded into many new areas.” Read more

 

“Activist Investor Scores a Win at Walgreen” by David Benoit at WSJ. “Walgreen facing mounting pressure from analysts and shareholders, said it is giving activist investor Jana Partners LLC two board seats, a relatively large say for a shareholder with a little more than 1% of the company’s stock…The agreement with Jana is a big win for an activist investor.” Read more

 

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“Twitter’s Buy Button” by Anthony Ha at TechCrunch. “Twitter is officially announcing that Buy button today …it will be visible to “a small percentage of U.S. users (that will grow over time).” As a result, users will actually be able to make purchases directly within tweets. If you see something you want, you hit “buy”, bring up a little information, enter your payment and shipping information while still Twitter (it’s encrypted and stored for future purchases), and complete the transaction “in just a few taps.” Read more

 

“In B2B e-commerce, Alibaba has solved the one problem Amazon can’t” by Erin Griffith at Fortune. “This means tinkerers, builders, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can order custom motors and parts from Chinese factories without having to travel there, find a scout, and forge a relationship with a manufacturer before doing business. It opens up the world of international suppliers to people who wouldn’t normally have access to it. They can buy in bulk through Alibaba, which acts as a trusted third party, vouching for the transaction.” Read more

 

“Can 1.3 Million Walmart Workers Deduct ‘Uniforms’ On Their Taxes?” by Robert W. Wood at Forbes. “The clothing must be specifically required by your employer, but the second requirement is the key. The clothing must not be suitable for taking the place of your regular clothing.” Read more

 

“How Walmart’s ‘Dress Code’ Costs Employees” by Erik Sherman at Forbes. “Although a representative had previously told me that the company had first made the announcement in July to give employees time to save up, people making $8 or $9 an hour, even with full-time hours, have little money available for additional expenses. Wal-Mart did remind employees that they could use their discounts to purchase the clothing at the store or its online site.” Read more

 

“Blogger hits the bullseye, designs for Target” by Jana Shortal at KARE 11 NBC. “But it was the call that came last year that’s the one that hit the bullseye. “All of the Pinners that Target enlisted are designers by trade,” Arends said, referring to the call to work on a design project for Target. Target Corporation contacted Kate, and two other major lifestyle bloggers, and enlisted them to design a party décor collection.” See the video / Read more

 

“British firm lays out US expansion ambitions” by Claer Barrett at Financial Times via CNBC. “Primark, the UK’s biggest clothing retailer by volume, has said it will open 10 stores in the US by 2016 as its international expansion supported a 17 per cent increase in full year sales.” Read more

 

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About Eye-on-Retail

Eye-on-Retail is a daily tipsheet read by thousands of Retail 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.