UPS CEO: ‘Very comfortable’ with Amazon relationship by Tom DiChristopher at CNBC. “Current and former unnamed executives told the Journal they believe UPS’ hub-and-spoke system…is becoming obsolete…Responding to that claim, (CEO David) Abney said UPS’ business “has changed a lot” (and) “I absolutely do not agree that that is a concern.” Read more / See the video

 

INSTACART’S CRAZY-GROWTH DAYS MAY BE COMING TO AN END – Instacart, the $2 Billion Grocery Delivery Startup, Lays Off 12 In-House Recruiters by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Instacart also used the holidays to bury the announcement that it was raising both its minimum delivery and annual subscription fees by 50 percent. Minimum delivery fees are increasing in most instances from $3.99 to $5.99. At the same time, the annual fee for Instacart Express, a membership that includes unlimited two-hour and scheduled deliveries, is jumping from $99 to $149.” Read more

 

Report: Medical Privacy Breaches at CVS and Walgreens by Sean Captain at Fast Company. “A new report by the investigative journalists at ProPublica uncovered plenty of privacy breaches, suggesting that the government has been shoddy at enforcing the law and in tracking repeat offenders. CVS, for example, violated HIPAA 204 times between 2011 and 2014.” Read more

 

Why Alibaba Wants Chinese Shoppers to Buy American by Leena Rao at Fortune. “It’s a scene straight from a Napa Valley tourism brochure—but it’s taking place 6,200 miles away from that cradle of Cabernets. Beyond the gardens lies the industrial sprawl of Hangzhou, China; a thick cloud of urban smog hangs just a few feet above the party. And the California-style tasting area is a pop-up, built on the campus of e-commerce giant Alibaba as part of a campaign by Mondavi to tap Alibaba’s enormous customer base…” Read more

 

Fortune: How Jeff Bezos aims to conquer India by Vivienne Walt. “Amazon agreed to let Fortune spend a week on the ground exploring its barely two-year-old operation in India—a journey that took us through four cities, from north to south, veering from razzmatazz glitz to grinding poverty, sometimes within a matter of hours…” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® Brand: When the flag flies, pests die. The Black Flag® indoor/outdoor pest arsenal arms homeowners in the battle against invading bugs. Offering quick, decisive formulas that act fast and never back down, Black Flag insect and rodent controls get the job done, and take no prisoners. It’s time to Let It Fly. Check out our videos | Visit us on Facebook

 

HAPPENED AT WALMART: Miami Dolphins Player Pays for Woman’s Items in Store After She Assists Him in Line. Days Later He Receives a Mysterious Package. by Kaitlyn Schallhorn at The Blaze. “I just wanted to tell you again, thank you so much. Your mom I’m sure is very proud of you,” she wrote. “Not only are you a professional football player for the Miami Dolphins, but most of all, a wonderful kind person, too.” Read more

 

Feds Say Whole Foods Can’t Stop Employees From Recording Conversations at Work by Clint Rainey at Grub Street. “The manual’s ostensible explanation is that the rule serves to “eliminate a chilling effect on the expression of views that may exist when one person is concerned that his or her conversation with another is being secretly recorded.” But the National Labor Relations Board wasn’t convinced.” Read more

 

COSTCO NUTS A HIT ON TMALL – These Are The U.S. Products That Sell Well On Alibaba’s Tmall by Leena Rao at Fortune. “On Singles Day (Alibaba’s version of Black Friday) in 2014, Alibaba sold 3 tons of Costco Nuts on Tmall. This year, Costco sold 245 tons of mixed nuts, in 2 pound bags. On Singles Day in 2014, Costco sold $3.5 million worth of nuts and other merchandise on Tmall. On Singles Day in 2015, it sold $3.5 million in just the first hour.” Read more

 

The largest container ship ever to arrive at a North American port is now docked in Los Angeles by Chris Kirkham at LA Times. “The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, which arrived Saturday at the Port of Los Angeles on a maiden voyage from China and South Korea, can carry nearly a third more cargo than the largest ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay ports.” See the pic / Read more

 

MORNING TWEET – Target’s Jeff Jones: My absolute favorite! #bestteaminretail #youmaketarget Mom’s FB post thanking Target workers goes viral https://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2015/12/29/moms-fb-post-thanking-target-workers-goes-viral/78032776/ … via kare11

 

GameStop Says We’re No RadioShack as Investors’ Doubts Increase by Christopher Palmeri at Bloomberg. “GameStop appears to be the big holiday loser as digital and e-commerce increasingly eat into its business,” Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, wrote in a Dec. 28 note to investors.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Mom’s FB post thanking Target workers goes viral

Uncle buys plane toy on Amazon with jet noises – but claims it plays Muslim prayers instead

Disney builds robot car that climbs walls, thanks to consumer drone technology

Honest Tea Removes Donald Trump Quote From Tea Bottle Cap

Macy’s recalls Martha Stewart cookware

Target Is Already Celebrating Valentines (10 Photos)

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U.S. holiday retail sales grow a ‘solid’ 7.9 percent: MasterCard at Reuters. “Online sales grew 20 percent in the holiday season this year, MasterCard Advisors, which tracks customer spending, said in a report on Monday.” Read more

 

How an emerging labor movement in China’s Wal-Mart stores threatens expansion ambitions of all Western retailers by Linda Van Der Horst at Financial Post. “Their dispute is part of an emerging labour rights movement, and the consequences are far reaching. “In five to 10 years, (Chinese) workers will be able to reclaim the union through collective bargaining, and that [would be] the biggest national union on earth with bargaining power,” says Han Dongfang, founder and director at China Labour Bulletin.” Read more

 

AMAZON ISSUES ‘EPIC POST-HOLIDAY NEWS RELEASE’: Amazon Prime adds more than 3M new members in 1 week at peak of holiday shopping season by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “In keeping with its annual tradition, Amazon issued an epic post-holiday news release, featuring cherry-picked growth stats and whimsically imprecise factoids…” Read more / read the release

 

Mall Mayhem: Over 1,000 Teens Shut Down Kentucky Mall by Molly Shapiro at ABC News. “As they responded, those calls continued to mount up and they could not handle the volume of calls that they were receiving,” he said. The incidents involved between 1,000 and 2,000 teens, McDonald said. Calls continued to pour in, so police requested assistance from neighboring agencies.” Read more

 

…”SHOTS FIRED”, POLICE SAY A PARENTAL ESCORT POLICY COULD HAVE PREVENTED at USA Today “You have to give our officers some credit,” McDonald said. “They were being cussed at, stuff was thrown at them. … It could have been much, much worse.” Read more / See the video

 

Why Carol Meyrowitz, CEO Of TJX, Is Retailer Of The Year by Walter Loeb at Forbes. “With the exception of Ms. Meyrowitz, the retail industry is largely void of dynamic leadership. In the many times I asked a retail CEO “what is your vision for your company;” I have received few good answers…” Read more

 

Don’t like the gift card you got for Christmas? Target, other retailers will offer you a trade by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Teri Llach, Blackhawk’s chief marketing officer, noted that a company survey found that only 38 percent of consumers were aware of gift card exchanges, so there’s still a lot of room for growth.” Read more

 

…Get a Crappy Present? Zappos Will Trade You a $100 Gift Card and Give the Gift to Charity by David Griner at Adweek. “For the first 500 callers to (800) 927-7671 between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Dec. 26, the online retailer will offer a $100 Zappos gift card in exchange for any unwanted present you might have received, regardless of where it was purchased.” Read more

 

**New Product Spotlight. A message from SpinChill – Get warm drinks cold in 60 seconds! Don’t wait half an hour to get the party started – get the party started fast: Just clip it on, stick your drink in the ice, and Spin it for a Minute! See how it works | YouTube videos Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to request a sample. www.spinchill.com

 

Wal-Mart considers closing 5 percent of Brazil stores at Reuters. “Wal Mart is also considering leasing part of some stores to home furnishings retailers in several regions across Brazil to generate additional revenue, Valor said.” Read more

 

Eight of the top 20 selling books on Amazon currently are coloring books designed for adults (!) by James R. Hagerty & Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at WSJ. Read more (subscription)

 

NY Times: Mattel Takes a Risk, With Barbie and Bugs by Rachel Abrams. “Even though crickets have a life span of only a few weeks and are often sold as iguana food, they had to be able to survive inside the Bug Racer. “We’ve done a ton of bug, insect research,” Mr. Cody said, pointing out the separate chamber for food. “We haven’t lost a cricket behind the wheel yet.” Read more

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL WON’T LET UP ON THERANOS: At Theranos, Many Strategies and Snags by John Carreyrou. “The night before a big meeting with a Swiss drug company in 2008, Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes and a colleague sat in a Zurich hotel, sticking their fingers with a lancet. They drew drops of their own blood to try the company’s testing machine, but the devices wouldn’t work…After two hours, the colleague called it quits, leaving Ms. Holmes still squeezing blood from her fingers to test it again.” Read more (subscription)

 

JEFF BEZOS TELLS GERMAN NEWSPAPER HE REALLY WANTS TO WIN AN OSCAR: Amazon boss reveals plans to make 16 feature films a year and says ‘Now I want an Oscar’ by Daniel Bates at Daily Mail. “He said that the movies will be shown in cinemas but they will be available on Amazon’s online streaming service, Amazon Prime, much more quickly, instead of a months-long wait for a DVD or online release.” Read more

 

If you loved watermelon Oreos, you may be a ‘harbinger of failure’ at Bloomberg via Chicago Crain’s. “Did you love McDonald’s Arch Deluxe, Frito-Lay Lemonade, Colgate Kitchen Entrees, and Watermelon Oreos? If so, you’re probably a “Harbinger of Failure”—a consumer whose taste is so unusual that companies can use your preferences to figure out what not to sell. “Some customers can actually be a strong signal of future failure,” says a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.” Read more

 

Why Myanmar’s massive jade industry is so deadly by Parick Winn at GlobalPost via USA Today. “On Dec. 26, another large landslide was feared to have killed dozens…Myanmar’s jade mines are among the bleakest places in all of Asia. In these zones, death is so common and lawlessness so obscene that the government forbids almost all outsiders from coming to take a look.” Read more

 

SHIPPING PALLETS ARE A THING?! A Design Trend No One Could Have Predicted by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin at Inc. “The DIY aesthetic and the trend of raw, unfinished materials are colliding. As a result, an odd thing is popping up in cool offices: shipping pallets.” See the pics

 

Pizza Ovens Targeted as Italy Combats Air Pollution by John Follain at Bloomberg. “In Lucca in Tuscany, as in Terni in central Italy and in Rovigo in the north, authorities won’t allow traditional New Year and Epiphany bonfires made of wood and shrubs.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

CNBC: This could be the next blow to department stores

Florida woman turns Walmart into personal buffet while riding drunk on motorized shopping cart

Harvard Business Review: Up to a third of value-added collaborations come from only 3% to 5% of employees

Hershey dumps sugar beets because of GM concerns

And the brands played on: how EDM can sell almost anything

Peyton Manning hires Ari Fleischer amid HGH allegations

How an online shoe retailer ‘neutralized’ the U.S. border and cracked e-commerce in Canada

The man who saved Jack in the Box’s brand after its E. coli crisis has advice for Chipotle

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Kroger launches a new fresh food concept by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “It will open its first Main & Vine shop in the Seattle-area town of Gig Harbor, Wash…The store will offer customers “fresh, affordable” local produce and meat and local craft beer and wine.” Read more

 

Whole Foods Forms Crisis Response Team by Will Anderson at Austin Business Journal. “It’s very difficult to prove your innocence in the court of public opinion when people want to believe what they want to believe,” co-CEO and Whole Foods founder John Mackey told the Austin American-Statesman.” Read more

 

First Walmart, Now Trinity Church Campaigns Against Gun Sales at Cabela’s by Liz Moyer at NY Times. “It wants Cabela’s to stop selling weapons that can fire more than eight rounds without reloading. Trinity made the request in a shareholder proposal for the next annual meeting of Cabela’s shareholders.” Read more

 

Valeant Deal With Walgreens Has Unusual Twist by Jonathan D. Rockoff at WSJ. “Essentially, Valeant is buying back its own drugs from Walgreens and then reselling them on consignment to the pharmacy, said a person familiar with the matter. The transaction is a title swap because Walgreens isn’t returning the drugs, that person said.” Read more (subscription)

 

Starbucks projects yet another gift card windfall by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times.”The company says that more than $25 billion has been loaded onto its gift cards since they were launched a decade and a half ago. That’s about the gross domestic product of Trinidad and Tobago.” Read more

 

Search for Elusive ‘Yeti’ Daunting for Holiday Shoppers by Sarah Nassauer at WSJ. “It wasn’t a hot toy causing the 33-year-old hairstylist from Dacula, Ga., to go to such lengths. It was a $40 stainless-steel insulated mug, called the Yeti Rambler. “I have a friend who is in Illinois for business and has gone to 15 different stores,“ says Ms. Inman.” Read more (subscription)

 

Macy’s Knocks Home Depot from Perch at Radio Ink. “Macy’s ran (around) 49,000 commercial last week. moving to the top spot…The Home Depot was pushed down to third with its 35,605 commercials. In fourth was Walgreen’s with 34,105. And rounding out the top five was JC Penney.” Read more

 

Amazon Coaches Merchants To Sell Smarter by Leena Rao at Fortune. “Selling Coach, which is part of Seller mobile app, is one of a number of new features that Amazon has rolled out over the past few months to merchants who sell in its marketplace, Amazon told Fortune exclusively.” Read more

 

**New Product Spotlight. A message from SpinChill – Get warm drinks cold in 60 seconds! Don’t wait half an hour to get the party started – get the party started fast: Just clip it on, stick your drink in the ice, and Spin it for a Minute! See how it works | YouTube videos Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to request a sample. www.spinchill.com

 

How Canadian Tire is grappling with the economics of e-commerce by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “We are in the midst of a transformation, because the economics of e-commerce aren’t there yet,” Allan MacDonald, Canadian Tire’s chief operating officer, said in an interview. “There are still a lot of unanswered questions.” Read more

 

Kroger: Charles Mitchell, VP of operations to retire after 43 years with the company at Supermarket News. Read more

 

Jet.com says it can’t guarantee Christmas delivery by Hadley Malcolm at USA Today. “A banner placed at the top of Jet’s website last week delivers the blow, alerting customers that Jet, “can no longer confidently guarantee delivery,” by Dec. 25 on items that aren’t eligible for two-day shipping.” Read more

 

Holiday Stress: Out of young adults who felt stress in a social situation, 51% of them say they depend on social media to get them through the holiday celebrations by Jonathan Chew at Fortune. Read more

 

Goldman Fund Said to Lend $750 Million for Petco Takeover by Michelle Davis at Forbes. Read more

 

Why Amazon built a warehouse inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower by Ben Fox Rubin at CNET. “We’re standing right in the center of Manhattan. That’s both a blessing and a challenge,” Stephenie Landry, the worldwide director of Prime Now, said in the middle of the warehouse floor Monday.” Read more / See the video

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Woolworths Follows Macy’s, Costco With Plans for Tmall Shopfront

Adweek: Why Do You Get a 2-Foot-Long Receipt for a Pack of Chewing Gum?

Amazon’s Bezos taunts Musk over SpaceX rocket landing

Hy-Vee Launches Grocery Delivery in All 240 Stores

Bloomberg: How the Queen of Home Shopping Does Christmas

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’60 Minutes’ Goes Inside Apple HQ for a Peek at the Apple Store of the Future by Dawn Chmielewski at Recode. “The “60 Minutes” segment, to air at 7:30 pm Sunday, gains access to Jony Ive’s “secret” design studio at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters. It also gives Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook a platform to discuss encryption, corporate taxes and manufacturing products in China.” Read more

 

Reports: Amazon is starting its own air cargo operation, wants to use 20 Boeing freighter jets by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “The Seattle Times also reported about Amazon’s plans on Thursday, but noted that the company is looking to lease jets, not purchase them, because it does not have an Air Operator’s Certificate, among other reasons.” Read more

 

Grocery Shakeout as Organic Goes Mainstream by David Randall at Reuters. “The number of organic items now available in traditional grocery stores is up between 35 percent and 50 percent over the last year, according to estimates from investment bank Piper Jaffray.” Read more

 

REI hires National Geographic executive as CFO by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Her arrival means that Eric Artz, who until now ran the company’s financials, will devote himself to his role as chief operating officer.” Read more

 

Women’s merchandise costs 7% more than those aimed at men by Erin Durkin at NY Daily News. “Gender discrimination is never acceptable, and when we know that women continue to make less than men every year, the findings of this study are insult to injury for female consumers,” said Mayor de Blasio, who said the city would pressure retailers to change gender disparities in pricing.” Read more

 

** Trade Show Spotlight – Retail Buyers Love ASD Market Week!

• “I go to five different markets – if I had to give up a market this is the last one I’d give up” Retail chain owner
• “It’s a very profitable show for us.” Buyer, Hallmark 

Go inside the trade show here. On February 28 – March 2, 2016, discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. Learn more about ASD / See category list | Register Now

 

Shoppers in 108 countries have ordered from Target’s Int’l website at A Bullseye View. 

• Most Remote Shipments: New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Azerbaijan
• Cheapest Item Purchased: up&up Erasers (just $.49!) sent to Hong Kong
• Most Expensive Item Purchased: Upside down, pre-lit Christmas Tree sent to Italy
• Top Seller so Far: Enfamil Premium Infant Formula  Read more

 

Kroger’s Marmer to lead anti-poverty effort by Sharon Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “(Lynn) Marmer is group vice president of corporate affairs for Kroger, from where she will retire Feb. 1.” Read more

 

Black Lives Matter plans Mall of America protest Dec. 23 by Jim Hammerand at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Black Lives Matter Minneapolis said on Facebook that it will call off the “BlackXmas2″ demonstration if authorities release video recordings of the police shooting death of Jamar Clark and prosecute the officers involved.” Read more

 

…Chicago: #BlackChristmas Protesters Plan Magnificent Mile Takeover by Alex Nitkin at DNAinfo. “Christmas Eve: Demonstrators at the event, dubbed #BlackChristmas will at meet at noon at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive and make their way up to Oak Street.” Read more

 

Best Buy hopes faster free shipping will rein in holiday procrastinators by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “(Best Buy) is trying to rein in last-minute holiday shoppers by offering free two-day shipping for online orders placed by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.” Read more

 

The Whole Foods Co-CEO Has Saved Up 338 Days of Vacation Time by Anders Melin at Bloomberg. “With technology today, forget it — you’re never off,” said Jon Luther, former CEO of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., who did take vacations but would spend mornings on work calls before switching to relaxation mode.” Read more

 

New NBA Flagship Store Set To Open In NYC by Kurt Badenhausen at Forbes. “It will be the only NBA Store in the U.S. There are 151 outside the U.S.” Read more

 

Canada: Head start on suds sales has Loblaw’s rivals crying in their beer by Vito Pilieci at Postmedia  News via Financial Post. “Competitors are questioning why Loblaw Cos. got an apparent head start on selling beer that allowed one of its outlets to be the site of a photo opportunity for Premier Kathleen Wynne.” Read more

 

The cashmere sweater at Macy’s I’m following? It’s 80% off today by John Ewoldt at Star Tribune. “Since I purchased the $195 sweater for $69.99 on Black Friday weekend, the price has changed to $97.50, $79.99, $78, $68.25 and a week ago, $52.49. That’s when I foolishly wrote “At 73% off, I don’t think I’ll get much of a lower price, even after Christmas.” I guess that I just don’t know Macy’s very well because today, you buy that sweater for $39.99.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Target: Disgruntled worker crashes car into Target store (gets stuck head-first in cart upon exit)

At a glance: 10 highest-paid female CFOs (Carol Tome #8)

Walmart Crushes Holiday Video Views , Has #1 Viral Video

Butter shortage forces Canada’s dairy commission to import 8.8-million pounds of butter 

Walmart Touts Friday No-Minimum Free Shipping

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