“Parents outraged as U.S. Toys ‘R’ Us sells ‘crystal meth’ Breaking Bad dolls” by Rosa Prince at The Telegraph via Vancouver Sun. “Parents took to the toy giant’s Facebook page to say that they did not want their teenagers to be exposed to drug dealing even at the age of 15. One wrote: “Nothing says toys for kids like an action figure with a bag of crystal meth. I can’t wait for my 15 year to grow up like that.” Another added: “A new low . . . Breaking Bad toys? Come on! Pull them and be done with this nonsense and have just a morsel of common sense and decency.” Read more

 

…See the Walter White action figure with bag of meth via Gawker.  See the pic

 

“Wal-Mart Compliance Chief Looking Beyond the Scandals” by Sue Reisinger at Corporate Counsel. “Daniel Trujillo likes to tell the story of visiting Walmart stores when he was first hired to learn more about the retailing business. Trujillo visited one site around Valentines Day that had bought exactly 433 balloons, and seldom returned any product to suppliers. How do you know how many to buy, he asked. By studying 10 different data points on balloon sales, they replied. And he knew he and Walmart International were a match made in heaven.” Read more

 

“Home Depot Names Marc Powers EVP, U.S. Stores” “As EVP – U.S. Stores, Powers will assume responsibilities for the company’s three U.S. operating divisions, as well as Pro, Tool Rental and the company’s installation business.” Read the release

 

“New Home Depot CEO Menear gets $1.3M annual salary” at Atlanta Bus. Chronicle. “Menear, who takes the reins Nov. 1, also has the opportunity to earn a bonus of 200 percent his salary for hitting certain financial targets. And he gets $3.5 million in stock options.” Read more

 

“Sears leasing space to raise much-needed cash” by James Covert at NY Post. “Primark Stores — a British-based low-price clothing chain that’s expanding into the US — will lease space at seven Sears locations in the Northeast, the companies said Monday.” Read more

 

“Why Neiman Marcus picked a New York neighborhood” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “The neighborhood used to be known for its rough tenements, and some people still consider the blocks around the Javits Center between the Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods unattractive. Here’s why the smart folks at Neiman Marcus picked the location…” Read more

 

***A message from Dig It® Handwear.  Garden glove protection for manicured female hands!  Patented line of premium quality gardening gloves provides unique “pillow-top” protection for female gardeners.  Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary is an investor. Nationally distributed in Canada – now offered to US retail for the first time.  View the line at www.digithandwear.com. See the wire rack.  Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to get started.

 

“CVS Plays Hardball With Rival Drug Chains” by Ed Silverman & Paul Ziobro at WSJ. “The plan, offered by CVS’s pharmacy benefits unit Caremark, features copayments that are up to $15 higher on prescriptions filled where tobacco is sold. That could give people covered by such plans an incentive to buy their medications at CVS, which stopped selling tobacco products last month.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Sears clerk arrested for swiping nearly $4 million” in items at CNBC. “New Jersey police charged one lone Sears clerk for stealing —and then trying to sell —$3.7 million worth of goods from a warehouse, The Daily Mail reported on Monday.” Read more

 

“A list of larger merchants taking Apple Pay” at AP via Star-Tribune. “More than 200,000 payment locations in the U.S. are equipped to accept so-called contactless payments, including Apple Pay. Smaller merchants tend to be among the several millions that don’t have the required equipment yet.” See the list

 

“Staples probes possible payment card data security breach” at Fortune. “The office-supply retailer disclosed the investigation after security reporter Brian Krebs reported on his blog Krebsonsecurity.com that several banks have identified a pattern of payment card fraud suggesting that several Staples stores in northeastern United States had succumbed to a data breach.” Read more

 

“America says no to cappuccino-flavored potato chips” by Candice Choi at AP via Star-Tribune. “As for the cappuccino flavor — which was described as “NASTY” and “gross” in some comments on Lay’s Facebook page — Krishnan defended its performance, although he wouldn’t say how many votes it got. “The fact that it made it out of our selection process to make it to the final four is no small feat,” he said.” Read more

 

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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 early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. Contact us @ info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

 

“Former Walgreen CFO sues company for defamation over forecast error” at Chicago Tribune. “Former Walgreen Co. Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon sued the drugstore operator on Thursday, alleging company executives defamed him in news reports that blamed him for errors in its earnings forecast. Miquelon sued Walgreen in a state court in Chicago claiming that Chief Executive Officer Gregory Wasson and director Stefano Pessina, the company’s biggest shareholder, had made “false and disparaging” comments about him in a report by the Wall Street Journal, court documents showed.” Read more

 

“Traffic Stop Near Houston May be Break in Home Depot Data Breach Case” at ABC 13 News. “During a search of their vehicles, police found criminal devices that, after a preliminary investigation, were determined to be related to the Home Depot data breach…The Patton Village police chief said he can’t give out any more information but is planning on a press conference later next week.” See the video / Read more

 

“I Tried It: Kroger’s online ordering and pickup service” by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Bus. Courier. “The service costs $4.95 per order, although it’s waived for first-time users. “As it is now, I don’t think it would be worth the time and energy to use it,” Robin said after we completed the process. “I wouldn’t pay to use it. I could see some benefits if you were in a hurry and knew exactly what you wanted, but I like to browse in the store and see my options, and sometimes I don’t know what I want.” Read more

 

“eBay’s Same-Day Delivery Experiment Is Essentially Dead” by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “On yesterday’s earnings call with analysts, eBay’s CEO John Donahoe was asked for an update on the eBay Now service, which lets shoppers order goods from local big-box stores via an app and get the goods delivered to them that very day. “There is an enormous amount of money that’s going to be spent in same-day delivery, and I don’t think that’s going to be — that’s not essential to our core, target consumer,” Donahoe said.” Read more

 

“AmazonFresh makes East Coast debut in Brooklyn Friday” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “The New York version of Fresh will be available initially in Park Slope, a well-to-do, family-friendly neighborhood. The company said it plans to expand to other Brooklyn neighborhoods “soon.” Read more

 

Fox Business: “Christmas Comes Early for Hunting Retailers” by Matthew Rocco. “Current food trends may be contributing to the increase. Curcuruto noted how the popularity of organic and natural foods is driving a wider group of people to the woods. After all, free-range meat is sold at a premium in grocery stores.” Read more

 

***A message from Dig It® Handwear. Garden glove protection for manicured female hands! Patented line of premium quality gardening gloves provides unique “pillow-top” protection for female gardeners. Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary is an investor. Nationally distributed in Canada – act now for Spring ’15.  View the line at www.digithandwear.com. See the wire rack.  info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to get started.

 

“America’s Ebola Preppers Go Shopping for Clorox” by Claire Suddath at Businessweek. “According to both the CDC and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology, only hospital-grade, EPA-approved cleaners should be used on areas contaminated with Ebola. Surprisingly, that includes some household products made from companies such as Lysol and Clorox. Lysol has updated its website with a flashy graphic and easy-to-find information about its products’ effectiveness against Ebola.” Read more

 

….Clorox Sales Jump 28% in Last  Four Weeks by Jack Neff at Ad Age. “Hand sanitizer sales were up nearly 8% for the four weeks ended Sept. 7, according to retail data from IRI, a reversal from a 2% decline for the 52 weeks ending then and better than the declines or low-single-digit increases seen for other types of soap.” Read more

 

“Amazon.ca sells four times as much as its biggest online rivals in Canada” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “The report from BMO Capital Markets estimates the Seattle-based online shopping giant captures up to 7% of Canada’s $21.6-billion in e-commerce sales, a vastly bigger market share than other retailers who sell online, and more than four times larger than the next-in-line players, Costco.ca (1.6%) and Walmart.ca (1.5%).” Read more

 

Washington Post: “Why the poor pay $4,150 for a $1,500 sofa” by Chico Harlan. “She couldn’t buy via a layaway plan; Wal-Mart offers that option only during the holiday season. Perhaps she could have saved up the money on her own, but whenever she has tried to do so, her stash has been wiped out to handle daily needs. “Rent-to-own was basically all we could do,” Abbott, 33, said.” Read more

 

“Dollar General Coughs Up $4M To End Background Check Suit” by Aebra Coe at Law 360. “Discount retail chain Dollar General has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a proposed class action claiming it didn’t properly notify more than 200,000 job applicants they would be screened by background checks, a Virginia federal court filing revealed Wednesday.” Read more (Subscription)

 

HuffPo: “Walmart Yanks Ammo From Shelves Of Stores Near Ferguson” by Alexander C. Kaufman. “If there is a history of violence and looting and other activity that are going on or things that are putting associates and customers at risk — then yes, decisions can be made based on those circumstances,” Walmart spokesman Brian Nick told KMOV.” Read more

 

“Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine eligible for $6.4M in compensation this fiscal year” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “The plan includes provisions tied to termination or change in control of the company — which would be significant as Family Dollar is slated to be acquired by Dollar Tree Inc. in a transaction valued at $8.5 billion.” Read more

 

NY Times: “Walmart Workers Demand $15 Wage in Several Protests” by Hiroko Tabuchi & Steven Greenhouse. “On Thursday, organizers of a group called Our Walmart took to the streets in New York, Washington and Phoenix to draw attention to their campaign to change labor practices in retailing and other low-wage industries like fast-food restaurants.” Read more

 

“Whole Foods CEO to Baltimore crowd: Big business doesn’t have to be hated” by Sarah Meehan at Baltimore Bus. Journal. “Business is hated,” he said during a lecture at Loyola University of Maryland on Wednesday evening. But, he added, it doesn’t have to be that way.” Read more

 

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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 early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. 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.

 

 

“Amazon Will Open Two Pop-Up Stores in CA Next Week” by Alice Truong at Fast Company. “Amazon confirmed Tuesday that it is opening up pop-up stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, next week for the holiday shopping season. The pop-up stores will carry Amazon-branded e-readers, tablets, smartphones, andstreaming media players. “While customers can already see our products online and at retailers like Best Buy and Staples, we wanted to provide another option to try out our full lineup leading into the holidays,” a representative told Fast Company.” Read more

 

Kantar:  And the Retailer with the Lowest Prices is...by Courtney Reagan at CNBC. “Dollar General widened its lead over behemoth Wal-Mart—which ranked second—with an overall basket price that came in 2.5 percent lower…Target‘s prices were the least competitive of the six stores studied, with a basket that was 52 percent more expensive than Dollar General’s.” See the price comparison chart

 

“Whole Foods to Rate Its Produce and Flowers for Environmental Impact” by Stephanie Strom at NY Times. “The upscale grocery chain will rate the produce of suppliers electing to participate in the program, Responsibly Grown, as “good,” “better,” or “best,” depending on, for example, how they handle plastic waste in their operations and whether they provide conservation areas to foster bees, butterflies and other pollinators.” Read more

 

“Amazon’s Company Town? The retail behemoth feels at home in Seattle. But the city’s not so sure.” by Nicole Brodeur at Politico. “It was as if one day, Seattle woke up to find that 30,000 new neighbors had moved in, with all the attendant headaches you can imagine: traffic jams, housing shortages and soaring rents. There’s a new, laissez-faire working culture of dressing down and dogs at your desk. Buses are so loaded with so-called “Am-holes” that they rush past stops.” Read more

 

“Target Takes Trick-or-Treating to Instagram” by Ashley Rodriguez at Ad Age. “The retailer is transforming users’ Instagram feeds into “Halloween Hills,” a virtual neighborhood made up of taggable images that are displayed together. Each image has two homes – a trick and a treat – that take users to different profiles when they’re tapped.” Read more

 

“Marvin Ellison gets $4M signing bonus to be J.C. Penney’s next CEO” by Danielle Abril at Dallas Bus. Journal. “In addition to his signing bonus, Ellison will also be paid a $1.3 million base salary, compared to Ullman, who had a base salary of $810,606 in fiscal 2013. The pay package also includes a performance-based annual bonus, which could be up to 300 percent his base salary or an additional $3.9 million for 2015.” Read more

 

“Giant Eagle to close 61 of its 100 in-store child care centers” by Teresa Lindeman at Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “The gradual decline in customer usage was a factor in this more regionalized strategy,” said Dick Roberts, a spokesman for Giant Eagle. The activity centers give parents of children ages 3 to 9 a place to hang out for as long as two hours while families are shopping in the store. The first Eagle’s Nest opened 21 years ago, Mr. Roberts said.” Read more

 

“Alipay to U.S. Retailers: Let Us Be Your One-Stop Shop for Selling Into China” by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The move underscores the increasing appetite among Chinese shoppers for Western clothing and beauty brands, and the race to profit off of that interest by Chinese internet companies and U.S. retailers alike. If Alipay is successful, it could also develop into a competitor to companies such as Borderfree that help U.S. companies sells goods overseas.” Read more

 

“World’s 2nd-Biggest Retailer Faces ‘Operational Paralysis’ As Execs Have Laptops Confiscated” by Jim Edwards at Business Insider. “We believe the investigation requires all commercial department personnel to hand over communication systems (laptops) to be interrogated and all supplier meetings to be postponed.” Read more

 

“Kroger nabs P&G ecommerce exec for new senior role” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “The Cincinnati-based supermarket chain tapped Alex Tosolini, currently a senior vice president of global ecommerce at P&G, to become Kroger’s first-ever senior vice president of new business development, effective Nov. 3.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart to offer digital movie access to customers” at Reuters. “About 800 movies available at Walmart stores and 1,100 on walmart.com will be a part of the program at the launch, the company said.” Read more

 

“Nordstrom seeking space for a second Manhattan store, brokers say” by David M. Levitt at Seattle Times. “Executives of the department store chain have approached landlords of South Street Seaport and 1 Wall St. “and maybe one or two others,” Richard Hodos, an executive vice president at CBRE, said today at a briefing for reporters on New York’s commercial real estate market.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart building giant ecommerce center near Atlanta airport” by Douglas Sams at Atlanta Bus. Chronicle. “The project, known in real estate development circles for weeks, is expected to be announced by Gov. Nathan Deal’s office as early as (today).” Read more

 

“Retail jobs are often perceived as lousy jobs. The industry is fighting to change that.” by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “During a campaign it has dubbed Retail Jobs Week, NRF is set to release research that it says will demonstrate the impact of the industry’s jobs on state and regional economies. It will release a study from the University of Georgia on Wednesday that found that retail wages are “highly competitive” with those in other sectors.” Read more

 

“Amazon jumps out to lead in Canada’s online shopping wars” by Jamie Sturgeon at Global News. “Amazon.ca, the Canadian arm the U.S. online retail behemoth, is attracting roughly five million Canadian shoppers to its website a month, a new report on Tuesday said. That’s a sharp increase in the last year that’s helped double the amount of e-commerce business Amazon is winning in Canada.” Read more

 

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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 early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. 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 tries new, bigger strategy for Boston store” by Taryn Luna at Boston Globe. “Target is coming to the Fenway area next year with its own urban-concept store called “CityTarget,” the retailer’s first on the East Coast. But this location will actually be bigger…The CityTarget that will occupy four floors in a building under construction at the intersection of Boylston and Kilmarnock streets won’t just be bigger than the company’s other urban stores. It will be even bigger than an average full-size Target store (and) will cover a whopping 160,000 square feet.” Read more / See the location pictures

 

“Costco’s Annette Alvarez-Peters Talks Wine” by Bill Swindell at the Press Democrat. “We have 11 buyers on the alcohol beverage team. Each is responsible for wine, beer and spirits for their region. Each region consists of two to 13 states with up to 60 stores. Each buyer deals with the necessary paperwork, PowerPoints and supplier/distributor meetings to run their business, in addition to getting into Wine Country and wine shows or tastings when time permits.” Read the interview

 

“Retail prices taking a dip for the holiday season (Can ‘Frozen’ save Christmas?)” by Catherine Curan at NY Post. “Promotions are going to be larger and deeper, and affect retailers’ bottom line,” said Robin Lewis, CEO of The Robin Report, who expects flat holiday sales compared to 2013. “People just don’t have [the money].” The National Retail Federation, by contrast, expects sales to rise 4 percent.” Read more

 

“Highlights from Home Depot’s Asia Investor meeting presentation” by Clark Schultz at Seeking Alpha. “Home Depot expects to gain more efficiency from supply chain changes and forecasting improvements. FY14 guidance is reiterated: Sales growth ~4.8%; Comp store growth ~4.6%, EPS $4.54; store openings +6.” Read more  See the PowerPoint

 

“Macy’s Tries on Silicon Valley’s ‘Fail Fast’ Approach” by Clint Boulton at WSJ. “Some of this stuff isn’t going to stick and that’s okay,” Macy’s Chief Omnichannel Officer RB Harrison tells CIO Journal. Mr. Harrison worked with Macy’s CIO Larry Lewark to develop the strategy, which also includes the integration of decades-old legacy software, including point-of-sale systems, with software for processing mobile payments, beacon technology and RFID sensors.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Will the plunge in gas prices boost holiday retail?” by Uptin Saiidi at CNBC. “A new report by Deloitte suggests lower gas prices could free up $260 per household this year in the United States. The potential savings is dramatic enough that May Epner, principal of Mary Epner Retail Analysis, predicts there will be benefactors as a result of falling gas prices. “A drop in gas prices should be great for Ross Stores, Walmart, and dollar stores.” Read more

 

“Target Continues Liquor Roll Out in MN” by Sam Black at Minn./St.Paul Bus. Journal. “Oh my god, that’s scary. It might affect me pretty hard,” said Tim, a Vintage Wine & Spiritz employee who declined to give his last name when he learned of the news Friday.” Read more

 

“Kmart is latest retailer hit by data theft” at SF Gate. “Sears Holdings says that Kmart’s information technology department detected on Thursday that its payment data systems had been breached. But it couldn’t provide the number of affected cards. However, it said that it was able to remove the malware. “ Read more

 

“Retailers’ Lines Blur on Outlet Stores” by Suzanne Kapner at WSJ. “Desperate for growth at a time when outlet stores are a rare bright spot for shopper traffic, chains are taking the once unthinkable step of putting outlets near their mainline stores in cities and suburban malls and even putting full-price stores in outlet malls.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Retail imports expected to surge ahead of holiday push” at The City Wire. “Import volume at U.S. ports covered by Hackett & Associates’ Global Port Tracker report is expected to total 1.53 million containers this month, topping the 1.52 million monthly record set in August. Cargo volume has been well above average each month since spring as retailers have imported merchandise early in case of any disruption on the docks.” Read more

 

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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 early AM every weekday and delivered between 7-8 am CST. 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.