Monday Tipsheet: Target: Clinics & Ellen | Wmart: GW | Amazon HQ ‘Protest’

 

Busy Earnings Week – Highlights:

11/18: Home Depot

11/19: Lowe’s, Target & Staples

11/20: Best Buy & Dollar Tree

 

“Target to offer primary care services in new clinic model” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “The fact that Kaiser … will be staffing these clinics is a major departure for Target,” said Tom Charland, CEO of Shoreview-based Merchant Medicine, a retail clinic research and consulting firm. “Up until now, they felt their guests should be treated by Target employees.” Read more

 

“Bulk retailer Costco sees potential growth in demand for Australian produce in international outlets” by Catherine McAloon at ABC Rural. “Mr (Patrick) Noone says Costco is already the biggest seller of Australian lamb internationally and also sells large quantities of Australian beef overseas, while oranges from Griffith in New South Wales are sold in Costco outlets in the USA and Asia. Carrots and onions from Tasmania are sold in Costco outlets in Asia and there’s growing demand for South Australian abalone in Costco outlets internationally.” Read more

 

“Why Target Canada Won’t Have an Online Store Anytime Soon” by Daniel Tencer at HuffPo. “We know e-commerce needs to be part of our longer term strategy in Canada, but first we have to get the basics right,” Target spokesperson Eric Hausman told HuffPost Canada in an email. “We do have a small team looking at what it would take to develop a digital strategy in Canada, but we have nothing more to share at this time.” Read more

 

“Hundreds gather at Bentonville Walmart for book signing by former President Bush” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The book signing for “41: A Portrait of My Father,” took place at the Walmart Supercenter on Walton Boulevard after the former president was a special guest at the retailer’s monthly Saturday morning meeting at the corporate offices across street…The scene looked like a Black Friday event except for the higher security and individual searches conducted by the Secret Service.” Read more

 

“Ellen Goes Holiday Shopping At Target (Race for the Elsa life size doll)” “She went to pick up a few things for the holidays, and had some fun with Target shoppers!” See the video

 

“Protesting outside Amazon HQ, former employee asks current employees to stop working so hard” by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “3) Don’t kill yourselves to keep the ship running. Slow down. Amazon will be fine…Oh, boy. Questioning the company’s business ethics is one thing, but urging employees to be less productive? It will be interesting to see how Amazon reacts.” Read more

 

“Home Depot data breach lawsuits rise to 39” by David Allison at Atlanta Bus. Chronicle. “A federal court agency known as the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is scheduled to hold a hearing on Dec. 4 in Charleston, S.C., about how to possibly combine and litigate many of the cases as one combined court action.” Read more

 

“Review: I paid with mobile for a week, and here’s what I found” by Anick Jesdanun at AP via Charlotte Observer. “The good news: I didn’t get arrested for failing to pay my debts. But on two occasions, friends had to buy me drinks. Another night I had to borrow $43 in cash. And I prepaid for drinks at one bar because I couldn’t leave a card to keep the tab open.” Read more

 

“Chocoholics beware! A chocolate shortage looms” by Javier E. David at CNBC. “The Post cited data showing the world ate more than 70,000 metric tons of cocoa than it produced in 2013. By 2020, the two major chocolate manufacturers believe that deficit could burgeon to more than a million, a whopping 14-fold surge. By 2030, the gap could blow out to 2 million metric tons.” 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.

 

Friday Tipsheet: Costco CEO in IN | Target’s South Park “Worry” | Cramer Likes McMillon

 

“Walmart Stores Are Now Price-Matching Amazon.com” by Amit Chowdhry at Forbes. “Greg Foran, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said that the price-matching plan simply formalized what many of the stores were already doing. “About half of the stores were doing it anyway,” said Foran.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart Q3 2015 Earnings Call Transcript  Read more

 

“Target Express plans worry people in South Park, San Diego” by Dominic Garcia at CBS 8. “South Park is really unique,” resident John Moore said. So when he heard a big box chain was moving into the old Gala Market, “My first reaction was, this has gotta be made up.”…”That landlord might say ‘I can get some more money for my little space, how about I invite in a Subway?’ And then one by one it changes the character of the neighborhood,” he said.” See the video / Read more

 

“Walmart Canada gaining ground in retail food fight” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “The country’s biggest mass merchant has been locked in an aggressive pricing war with rivals such as Loblaw Cos. for the better part of two years…“In an increasingly competitive environment, Canada gained 20 basis points of market share in food, consumables and health and wellness combined,” (David Cheesewright) said.” Read more

 

“Costco CEO attends pre-opening of new Mishawaka store” by Heidi Prescott at South Bend Tribune. “Jelinek chuckled when he was asked about his rather unusual pre-store-opening tradition. He explained how each dollar, which he carefully inspected before the employee could walk away, contained the worker’s name and his or her projection for first-day sales. Whoever comes closest wins the entire amount.” Read more

 

“Target eyes Mid-South for distribution center with up to 600 jobs” by Ryan Poe at Memphis Bus. Journal. “Target is currently negotiating leases, and is in talks with both Tennessee and Mississippi economic development officials, sources familiar with the matter said.” Read more

 

“How Sam’s Club plans to push back against Costco” by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Brewer warned investors last month that “it’s going to take some time” for Sam’s Club weak business traffic trends to improve, but she is optimistic. “The base of our business is very strong,” Brewer told Fortune. “If I could pull out those few soft points, we do compare pretty strongly category by category to Costco. We’re not hyperventilating at all.” Read more

 

“Report: Amazon plans big Austin office” by Michael Theis at Austin Bus. Journal. “The report, based on unnamed sources in the local real estate scene, said that the company could be bringing up to 250 tech jobs to work in a 76,000-square-foot office at Domain 7 at 11501 Alterra Parkway.” Read more

 

“23 Arrested In Protest At Pico Rivera (LA-Area) Walmart” at CBS LA. “There also were reports of some Walmart workers, with mouths symbolically taped shut, staging sit-down strikes at other Los Angeles-area Walmarts.” See the video / Read more

 

“Want to fix retail? Close more stores” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Belus Capital Advisors analyst Brian Sozzi said that he predicts Wal-Mart will also begin closing underperforming stores in 2015. “Theoretically, its own investments in its future of mobile buying is crippling the sales potential of new, and old, supercenters,” he said.” Read more

 

“Kohl’s 3Q profit misses consensus, same-store sales down 1.8%” by David Schuyler at Milwaukee Bus. Journal. “In a conference call, Kohl’s chairman and CEO Kevin Mansell said the company is projecting a 2 percent to 3 percent increase in same-store sales in the fourth quarter.” Read more

 

“Jim Cramer: Doug McMillon Is Helping Turn Walmart Around” at CNBC. “Jim Cramer says we got a nice upside surprise from Walmart Thursday when the retailer posted third quarter results that beat expectations. He credits CEO Doug McMillon with putting Walmart back on the map.” See the video

 

“Nordstrom beats same store sales” by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “Same store sales grew 3.9 percent, pleasing analysts who expected 3.3 percent growth.” 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.

Thursday Tipsheet: Wmart: Comp +.5%; Axe 200 at Can HQ? | Target: Rosa Parks & Chicago

 

“Walmart Q3 Comp Sales +.5% in U.S.” “Sam’s Club comp sales, without fuel,1 increased 0.4 percent for the 13-week period ended Oct. 31. Sam’s Club increased membership income 10.1 percent for the quarter, and grew operating income more than twice the rate of sales growth. E-commerce sales globally increased approximately 21 percent on a constant currency basis.” Read the release

 

CNBC’s Take: “Wal-Mart tops earnings estimates; shares climb” “The retail giant reported a profit of $1.15 a share on revenue of $118.01 billion. Wall Street had expected the company to post earnings of $1.12 per share .” Read more

 

“Target buys in-store personalization startup Powered Analytics” by Justin Coyne at Pittsburgh Bus. Times. “With its Fabric product, Powered Analytics developed the first in-store personalization platform to bring an “Amazon-like shopping experience” into a physical store.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart Canada set to axe 200 employees at head office” by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, said on Wednesday that he could not comment on rumours or speculation. “In this competitive retail climate it’s not unusual for rumours to circulate.” Read more

 

“Meet the Canadian Hero Who Opened His Own Rogue Trader Joe’s in Vancouver” by Sierra Tishgart at Grub Street. “They got a picture of me from some press thing, so a year ago, I’d go into a Trader Joe&’s, and within ten minutes, someone would be tapping me on the shoulders saying, “We’re not going to sell to you.” Now I hire shoppers off Craigslist. It sounds sketchy: “So, you’ve got to sneak into Trader Joe’s for me and buy groceries.” Read the interview

 

“Two Chicago TargetExpress stores are reportedly in the works” by Nick Halter at Minn./St. Paul Bus. Journal. “The Minneapolis-based retailer is planning stores in Chicago’s Lakeview and Streeterville neighborhoods, reported Crain’s Chicago Business, citing unidentified sources.” Read more

 

***New Product Spotlight – Lock-it Block-it’s window security bar keeps the bad guys out and lets the fresh-air in. Adjustable window security bar blocks criminals from entering a home through open windows. Windows can be open AND homes remain secured. Helps prevent children from falling out open windows. Easy installation.  Watch the video  See the sell sheet  info@shiftmarketinggroup.net 

 

“Target Canada undergoes sales strategy makeover as key Christmas season nears” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “We had a lot of wool outerwear last year, and it didn’t sell,” John Butcher, target Canada’s senior vice-president of merchandising, said in an interview this week. Canadians prefer a more “durable” product — coats with fabric that repels water and wind — rather than the coats that sell well in some cold-weather U.S. markets. “We got rid of 90% of our outerwear assortment from last year and just started over.” Read more

 

NY Times: “Alex From Target: The Other Side of Fame” by Nick Bilton. “Mr. Fooks said that in addition to death threats, people have leaked the family’s personal information online, including Social Security numbers, bank accounts and phone records. The family, worried for the safety of Alex and his five siblings, has been in contact with the local police. Alex’s parents have met with his school’s principal and security officers, as well as Target managers, to put together security plans in case of an emergency.” Read more

 

“Ace Hardware reports record third quarter revenue” by Lewis Lazare at Chicago Bus. Journal. “Ace Hardware today announced record revenues of $1.13 billion for the third quarter of 2014, a year-over-year increase of $94.6 million (9.1 percent).” Read more

 

“House Dem presses breached companies for info” by Cory Bennett at The Hill. “Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.) sent letters Wednesday to five companies that have experienced high-profile data breaches this past year — Home Depot, Target, Kmart, Community Health Systems and U.S. Investigations Services (USIS).” Read more

 

“Rosa Parks Institute Says Target Merch Is Not Free Speech” by Bill Donahue at Law 360. “Target Corp. is claiming merchandise bearing the name and image of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is protected free speech, but the group that owns Parks’ publicity rights on Monday called it “an arrogant and reckless disregard for the only charity started by [a] selfless martyr.” Subscription required

 

“Retail Janitors Have Had Enough – Threaten  Black Friday Strike” by Bill Sorem at The Uptake. “Janitors who clean Home Depot and other Twin Cities stores are using the upcoming holiday shopping season to put pressure on the big box retailers and the subcontracting companies that employ the janitors to raise their pay. Dozens of janitors are threatening to strike if there is not an agreement to comply with a “Responsible Contractor Policy” like Target Corporation agreed to earlier this year.” Read more / See the video

 

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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.

Wednesday Tipsheet: NY Times & Leaked WMart Memo | Black November | Online Tax Dead

 

NY Times: “Walmart Memo Orders Stores to Improve Grocery Performance” by Steven Greenhouse & Hiroko Tibuchi. “The memo — leaked for public use by a Walmart manager unhappy about understaffing — also tells stores to be sure to “rotate” dairy products and eggs, which means removing expired items and adding new stock at the bottom and back of display cases.” Read more

 

“Walmart Spreads Black Friday Across Five Days” by Craig Giammona at Bloomberg. “The “New Black Friday” will include five days of sales on Walmart.com and in stores, starting at 12:01 a.m. online on Thanksgiving and running through Cyber Monday, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said in a statement today.” Read more

 

…Up Next: Black November? by Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “It used to be called Black Friday, then it became Thursday, now it’s a week long,” said Wal-Mart U.S. chief merchant Duncan Mac Naughton. “Maybe we should just call it November.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Best Buy bucks trend by not pulling Thanksgiving all-nighter” by Kavita Kumar & Paul Walsh at Star-Tribune. “Best Buy will open most of its stores an hour earlier than last year, at 5 p.m. on that Thursday. But then it will close its stores at 1 a.m. and reopen them at 8 a.m. on the actual Black Friday.” Read more

 

“Amazon Expands Its R&D In Cambridge, U.K.” by Natasha Lomas at TechCrunch. “Amazon is expanding its R&D operations in Cambridge, U.K., with a plan to staff out a large research lab — expanding on the foothold it acquired when it bought Cambridge-based speech tech startup Evi Technologies two years ago, TechCrunch has learned.” Read more

 

“How a female veteran became a Wal-Mart exec” by Caroline Fairchild at Fortune. “I understand that Rosalind Brewer, the president and CEO of Sam’s Club, mentored you. How has she developed you as a leader? Absolutely. She has helped me develop as a businesswoman and build my business acumen…She really embodies how important it is to really be yourself and to bring your whole self to work.” Read the Q&A

 

“What Is a Pinfluencer? Well, They Now Have Talent Agents” by Nellie Bowles at Recode.”I know. I totally understand the skepticism. People hear Pinterest star and they’re like, what?!,” she said. “But after three years of doing this, seeing clients making hundreds of thousands of dollars and quit their jobs and pin full time, it’s real.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart pushing suppliers for Millennial insights” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “We need to collaborate more with our suppliers on this. We know Millennials want ‘now, new and always.’ Wal-Mart will also be Wal-Mart and that resonates as the now, but we need help with the new. That’s where our suppliers can join us and that’s the exciting part. This customer is moving faster. They are leading us more than we are leading them,” (Matt) Kistler said.” Read more

 

“Most People Confused How To Write Names Of Walmart, Lowe’s” by Chris Morran at Consumerist. “While the correct “Walmart” did end up being the most frequently selected answer, it still only represented 36% of all responses to this question, making it the second-lowest score in the entire quiz. “ Read more

 

“Republicans signal demise of internet sales tax bill” by Barney Jopson at Financial Times via CNBC. “A spokesman for John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said a bill to tax online shopping – which passed in the Senate last year – would not move forward in the final weeks of the current Congress, the lame duck session.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart CEO & Actor Jon Voight Salute America’s Veterans at Bentonville Celebration” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon opened his segment with a photo of his father Morris McMillion, who served as a dentist during the Vietnam War. “Service men in Vietnam might not have thought they needed a dentist, but if they had a toothache in Vietnam, I can assure they needed a dentist,” McMillon said. “I am honored to remember my father’s service today.” Read more

 

“24% of millennials expect student debt forgiveness” by Amy Langfield at CNBC. Read more

 

“Talk of activist interest boosts Wal-Mart call volume ahead of earnings” at Reuters. “…amid rumors that the retailer could face activist pressure to spin off its Sam’s Club division.” Read more

 

72% of Americans said they want to know where their child is located in real time  Read the release

 

“O’Hare rated worst U.S. airport during winter” by Gregory Karp at Chicago Tribune. “Some 42 percent of flights are delayed at O’Hare during the winter, according to flight data site Hopper, which ranked America’s 20 largest airports.” Read more

 

Businessweek’s Top 85 Business Schools See the list

 

“Man trapped for three days between Marshall’s store walls” at Reuters. “Crews determined the man was stuck between the exterior and interior walls,” she said. Firefighters sawed a hole through an exterior wall to extract Felyk, Meehan said. He had plummeted about 20 feet from a vestibule on the roof sometime over the weekend, police 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.

Tuesday Tipsheet: Target’s Mojo | Wayfair +47% | Costco Holds Amex Jewel

 

Happy Veterans Day!

 

“Target joins the Black Friday early birds” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Black Friday shoppers, set your watches — err, smartphones — for 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. That time is shaping up to be the main event for the big shopping frenzy this year. On Monday, Minneapolis-based Target said it would open then, too, two hours earlier than last year.” Read more

 

“AmEx Costco Card Seen as Crown Jewel Worth 15 Cents EPS” by Elizabeth Dexheimer at Bloomberg. “The lender’s exclusive role as the credit-card provider for Costco’s U.S. stores may generate 20 cents to 30 cents of earnings per share next year, according to William Ryan at Portales Partners LLC.” Read more

 

“Shipping wars: Retailers to push order deadlines later” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “According to a new study by Kurt Salmon, which surveyed more than 100 retailers with revenue greater than $750 million, 26 percent will guarantee Christmas delivery for orders placed one to three days ahead of time. That’s up from 17 percent in 2013. What’s more, nearly 50 percent will guarantee on-time delivery for Christmas orders placed by Dec. 20. That’s also up, from 37 percent last year.” Read more

 

“Alibaba smashes Singles’ Day sales record” by Leslie Shaffer at CNBC. “Alibaba’s sales for Singles’ Day, China’s equivalent of Cyber Monday — surged past last year’s record of around $5.9 billion after just 13 hours of the 24-hour shopping promotion.” Read more

 

“Why China’s Singles Day Won’t Become a American Shopping Holiday” by Akane Atani at Businessweek. “Sorry, U.S. retailers: Inciting further consumer spending among America’s singles is going to take more than embracing a modern Chinese custom. Celebrating singledom is fine, but Rogers has a suggestion for a retail holiday that could really warm a millennial’s heart: “Just Got Your First Job Day.” Read more

 

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“Target’s starting to get its mojo back: Pro” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick on Monday upgraded his rating on the company to “buy” from “hold,” saying it appears Target is playing more “on offense” lately.” Read more

 

Video: Whole Foods NYC Rooftop Garden Featured by Anthony Ha in TechCrunch. “For our latest episode of Built in Brooklyn, we went to the new Whole Foods in Gowanus — which might seem a little strange, but that’s where you’ll find urban agriculture startup Gotham Greens.” See the video / Read more

 

“U.K.: Tesco loses top spot in entertainment sales to Amazon” by Ben Marlow at Telegraph. “Tesco surrendered the number one spot to US retail juggernaut Amazon, which saw its share leap from 17.6pc to 22.5pc year-on-year.” Read more

 

“Wayfair Revenue Up 47% in Q3” “The number of active customers in our Direct Retail business reached 2.9 million as of September 30, 2014, up 61.0% year over year.” Read the release

 

“Deloitte: Holiday Shopping Study” “Respondents with annual incomes of less than $100,000 expect to spend 54 percent of their total holiday budgets in-store, versus 46 percent for those with incomes over $100,000.” Read the release

 

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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.

Monday Tipsheet: Wmart China’s Austerity Problem | Costco/GM Promo=35K | WSJ Launches ‘Sales Tracker’

 

“Wal-Mart Feels Pinch From China Austerity Campaign” by Laurie Burkitt at WSJ. “The Chinese government’s push to clean up excessive consumption at its state-owned enterprises has hit overall consumer confidence and retail, Mr. (Scott) Price said in an interview Sunday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit. “The austerity campaign was broad-based,” he said. “It wasn’t limited to the luxury market.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Wal-Mart: Online rivals can’t sway Chinese moms” by Leslie Shaffer at CNBC. “Wal-Mart’s rival in the U.S., Costco, is among the competitors wading into China via e-commerce, but the world’s largest retailer doesn’t expect the additional online competition will hamper its growth on the mainland. “It’ll be awhile before 50-year-old moms allow somebody else to pick her fresh [groceries],” Scott Price, Wal-Mart’s CEO for Asia, told CNBC.” Read more / See the video

 

“Costco-GM promo moves more metal” by Arlena Sawyers at Automotive News. “Gina Paolino, president of Costco Auto, said the company expects its members to have bought about 35,000 program-eligible Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles when the Oct. 1-Jan. 2 promotion ends. That is up from 22,000 purchased in last year’s program, which was about two weeks shorter.” Read more

 

“This Verbal Confrontation Shows Why Walmart Will Never Accept Apple Pay” by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “At a recent payments conference called Money2020, (Mike) Cook’s public questioning of a top Visa executive made it clear that the credit card debate is alive and well and a big reason why Walmart isn’t accepting Apple Pay. Cook stepped to the microphone in the audience during the Q&A session of a panel discussion and made it clear he was as interested in simply making a point as he was in getting an answer to his questions.” Read more / See the video

 

“Wall Street Journal Kicks Off ‘Christmas Sales Tracker'” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “This holiday season, The Wall Street Journal will monitor those strategies with a new online tool—the Christmas Sale Tracker—which will follow the prices of 10 popular holiday gifts, including a doll set from the Walt Disney Co. movie “Frozen” and a Razor electric scooter, at big retailers such as Amazon.com Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Toys ‘R’ Us.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“The Packaging Problem With Amazon’s Grocery Delivery Service, Amazon Fresh” by Jen Carlson at Gothamist. “I reached out to Amazon’s PR team regarding this—specifically asking why the cucumber and chives were delivered in their own big bags, and the problem New Yorkers may face when leaving piles of packaging outside of their buildings for pick-up. Read more

 

“Struggling Target Canada faces big test this holiday season” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Soberman, from the University of Toronto, says Target also has big incentives to make the expansion in Canada work. The retailer doesn’t have much more room to grow in the U.S., he noted. And if Target retreats from its first attempt at international expansion, that would suggest it can’t adjust to other countries.” Read more

 

“Retailers in focus this week on Wall Street” by Katy Barnato at CNBC. “Retailers will take center stage this week, with Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Kohl’s and Macy’s posting third-quarter earnings.” Read more

 

…Walmart Releases Q4 Earnings Thursday.  Read more

 

“Family Dollar-Dollar Tree merger delayed” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “(Family Dollar) and Dollar Tree have agreed not to close their transaction prior to Dec. 30 in order to facilitate an ongoing review by the Federal Trade Commission.” Read more

 

“Sears Decides it’s No Longer a Retailer” at Reuters. “Struggling retailer Sears Holdings said it was exploring the conversion of 200-300 stores to a real estate investment trust (REIT) and offer it to shareholders through a rights offering to raise cash.” Read more

 

“Mike Myers’ pitch for a flagging retailer: ‘Sears Canada. My brother works there’” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “The Canadian star of Wayne’s World and Austin Powers has made a video with his brother Peter Myers, a 32-year employee at the dwindling chain. It sees the actor arrive unannounced at the company’s Toronto headquarters to ask his older brother if Sears Canada is going away.” See the video / Read more

 

“Hundreds of Kids Harmed by Detergent ‘Pods:’ Study” by Lindsey Tanner at AP via ABC. “In the study, 144 had eye injuries, 30 went into comas and 12 had seizures.” Read more

 

“Walmart worker caught on camera ‘using sticks of Old Spice deodorant before returning them to store’s shelves'” by Jill Reilly at Daily Mail. “Cops did not address whether the used deodorant ended up being purchased by a customer.” 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.

 

 

Friday Tipsheet: Target & Boutiques | Wmart Likes College | Orange Friday

 

“Target’s new elves have a story to tell” by Sabrina Korber at CNBC. “The partnership between the companies began eight weeks ago, when Cornell approached Shechtman at the boutique. She had no idea who he was. “I was wearing sweatpants when I met Brian,” she told CNBC. “I was embarrassed at the time, but maybe I should wear sweatpants more often.” See the video / Read more

 

“Whole Foods gets pushback on new store from Hollywood elites” by Michael Theis at Austin Bus. Journal. “The report centers around the passing this week of a Malibu, California, ballot measure that requires new commercial development greater than 20,000 square feet be approved by public referendum. It also places a 30 percent limit on the percent of chain-store retail tenants allowed to operate in a shopping center.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart ‘Gearing’ Up For College” by Tom Van Riper at Forbes. “In the first move of its kind, Wal-Mart is devoting floor space exclusively to college-themed merchandise in 2,700 stores during the upcoming Christmas shopping season. The gear is expected to roll into the stores on November 17.” Read more

 

“For outdoor retailers, Orange is the new Black” by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune. “The planning cycle is getting shorter. They’ve compressed their purchasing closer to the actual deer opening date,” said Charlie Davis, vice president of merchandising at St. Paul-based Gander Mountain. “Deer hunters will wait until the week of, or the day before, the actual opening date.” Read more

 

Walmart’s Scott Huff, EVP Merchandising Operations, to Speak at Chamber Event on Dec. 1st  Read more

 

“Whole Foods CIO Says Apple Pay, Instacart Paying Off” by Steven Norton by WSJ. “Mr. Buechel said the firm has processed more than 150,000 transactions using the service since Apple Pay went live last month.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Best Buy Express kiosks dispense electronics — and lots of profits” by Thomas Lee at SF Gate. “According to a source close to Zoom, Best Buy Express generates anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 a month per kiosk. Do the math and that means the consumer electronics retailer, based in Richfield, Minn., generates roughly between $20 million and $120 million a year in sales off those machines.” Read more

 

“Let’s Call The Amazon Echo What It Is” by Greg Kumparak at Techcrunch. “They want their store “front end” to be floating in the ether all around you, just waiting for you to open your mouth.” Read more

 

“Meet The Network Of Guys Making Thousands Of Dollars Tweeting As “Common White Girls” “ by Ryan Broderick at BuzzFeed. “Cameron Asa is a 21-year-old communications major at the University of Tennessee. He’s also the owner of Tweet Like A Girl, a Twitter account with 1.2 million followers…He said the network  – which has no corporate sponsor backing it — was responsible for the “Alex From Target” sensation on Sunday. “I know for a fact it was the parody accounts that started it,” Asa said.” Read more

 

“Home Depot Hackers Stole 53 Mil Emails Addresses” by Dune Lawrence at Bloomberg. “The hackers went for the 7,500 self-checkout lanes because those machines’ reference names in the computer system clearly identified them as payment terminals, while some 70,000 standard registers were identified only by number, according to the (WSJ).” Read more

 

“Postal Service Will Deliver 7 Days a Week Starting Nov. 17 through Christmas Day” by Hailey Lee at CNBC. Read more

 

“Target taps General Motors executive as chief of compliance and risk” by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Bus. Journal. “Jacqueline Hourigan Rice begins Dec. 1, according to a Target news release. She’ll be a senior vice president and report directly to Cornell.
Rice was most recently chief compliance officer at GM. She worked there for 17 years.” Read more

 

“Kroger Exits Springfield, MO Market” by Steve Watkins at Cincy Bus. Courier. “Kroger Co. has exited a market for the first time in a few years. Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, is selling four stores in Springfield, Mo., pulling it completely out of that market. The stores are part of Kroger’s Dillons chain.” Read more

 

“Food Lion parent to sell Bottom Dollar stores to Aldi” by Jen Wilson at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “Delhaize Group, the parent of Salisbury-based grocery chain Food Lion, has agreed to sell Bottom Dollar Food’s 66 stores to Aldi Inc.” Read more

 

“This is Vudu Spark, Walmart’s very own Chromecast competitor” by Janko Roettgers at Gigaom. “The stick popped up in the FCC database this week, which tends to be a good sign that a release is imminent.” Read more

 

“Canadian Tire profits jump 22 per cent on strong sales everywhere” by Francine Kopun at The Star. “Canadian Tire is on a roll right now, pun intended,” Medline said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday to discuss earnings.” 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.

 

 

Thursday Tipsheet: Amazon Testing Taxis | Power: McMillon #29 | Wgreen +2%

 

“Amazon Is Testing Taxis for Deliveries” by Greg Bensinger at WSJ. “Amazon.com Inc. this fall tested package delivery by licensed cab in San Francisco and Los Angeles using taxi-hailing mobile app Flywheel, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon is studying the broader use of taxis as delivery vehicles, the people said…The Flywheel deliveries were typically done in the early morning when the cabs had fewer fares and were less likely to be noticed by customers and competitors, said the people familiar with the matter.” Read more (Subscription)

 

…Drivers are picking up multiple packages that are all headed to the same area and are being paid about $5 per package by Emily Parkhurst at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. Read more

 

“Home Depot planning delivery-from-store service” by David Allison at Atlanta Bus. Chronicle. “The home improvement giant has filed to trademark the name “Home Depot Delivers.”…Stephen Holmes, a Home Depot spokesman, said in an e-mail that “Home Depot Delivers” is a generic term the company is reserving for all customer delivery options, whether online or from the store. “It’s not specific to any certain project,” he said. Read more   See the trademark application

 

“Should Breakr really be claiming credit for ‘Alex from Target’?” by Teresa Novellino at L.A. Biz. “Adding that Target could have capitalized on this deal but has not, Leonares told CNET that he is trying to negotiate a deal with the Minneapolis-based retailer now. Good luck.” Read more

 

“The Surprising Benefit Of Having A Wal-Mart In Your Neighborhood” by Kriston Capps at CityLab via Business Insider. “The study, performed by Devin G. Pope at the University of Chicago and Jaren C. Pope at Brigham Young University, claims to be the first peer-reviewed investigation of the effect of Walmart on housing prices.” See the Residual Plot of Log Price Regression Before & After Walmart Opening

 

***New Product Spotlight:  Juicebar JamBar delivers a refreshing burst of audio and power that lets consumers entertain on the go and recharge their smartphone at the same time!  Just plug the device directly into the built in 3.5mm audio prong and amplify your favorite music, videos and other media and boost talk time up to 16 hours.  Compatible with virtually any USB device and ready for use right out of the box.   See the sell sheet.  See the videowww.juicebarchargers.com

 

“Costco Said to Weigh Dropping AmEx as U.S. Card Partner” by Elizabeth Dexheimer & Matt Townsend at Bloomberg. “Costco is seeking bids for both an issuer and a payments network for its U.S. cards, the people said, requesting anonymity because the matter hasn’t been made public.” Read more

 

“Walmart Brings Product Search To The In-Store Experience” by Greg Sterling at Search Engine Land. “Walmart’s search My Store allows in-store shoppers to use keywords or product names to search real-time inventory, which then returns a list of products, pricing and the precise in-store location where the products can be found. The company claims in-store product search “puts Walmart light-years ahead of other brick & mortar retailer apps.” Read more

 

“Report: Best Buy swapping credit card partnership from MasterCard to Visa” by Nick Halter at Minn./St. Paul Bus. Journal. “The My Best Buy reward credit cards will make the switch next year, ending an eight-year run with MasterCard, according to a Bloomberg article citing sources briefed on the matter.” Read more

 

“Whole Foods Beats Street, Q4 Comp Sales +3.1%” “FY 15 targets: Comparable store sales growth in the low to middle single digits and
square footage growth of 9% to 10% based on 38 to 42 new stores, including five to six relocations.” Read the release

 

“Walgreen October Front End Comp Sales +2%”Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 1.9 percent while basket size increased 3.9 percent.” Read the release

 

“Pint-size toy reviewers become YouTube stars” by Anne D’Innozenzio at AP via Seattle Times. “Leading the pack of pint-size YouTube personalities is Evan, 8, who has dimples and a few missing teeth. With more than 1 billion views among his three channels, he’s YouTube’s most popular kid. He gets more than 800 million views from EvanTubeHD, where he reviews the toys.” Read more

 

“Retired Walmart CEO sells waterfront Sarasota mansion at nearly $1 Mil loss” by Ashley Gurbal Kritzer at Tampa Bay Bus. Journal. “The Scotts paid $6.65 million for the home in 2010, Sarasota County property records show. The 7,550-square-foot home, which fronts the Gulf of Mexico, has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and three half-bathrooms. It includes a chef’s kitchen, butler’s pantry, formal dining room and temperature-controlled wine cellar.  See the pic / Read more

 

“Forbes’ 2014 Ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People (Walmart’s McMillon Only 28 Spots Behind Putin)” Read the release  Forbes article

 

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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.