Tuesday Tipsheet: JCP Resurrects Catalog | Lowe’s Snake Bite | Porch.com Raises $65M

 

Americans shake off economic pessimism – NBC/WSJ poll by John Harwood at CNBC. “The proportion of Americans who say they are satisfied with the economy has risen 10 percentage points in the last five months, to 45 percent.” Read more

 

Retailers expect stronger growth in 2015 by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune via Star-Tribune. “Retail sales are expected to rise 4.5 percent this year, a full percentage point more than the 3.4 percent growth in 2014, according to Kantar Retail…Online sales, though still 10 percent of total retail sales, are expected to grow 15 percent this year.” Read more

 

Snake bites customer on head in Lowe’s by Therese Apel at The Clarion Ledger via USA Today. “The unidentified customer opened a cabinet inside the store around 2:30 p.m. and was bitten by a chicken snake inside of it, WTVA reported. Amanda Manna, spokeswoman for Lowe’s, acknowledged the incident but said she couldn’t comment. “All I can share is that we’re currently investigating the incident,” she said.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney Resurrects Its Catalog by Suzanne Kapner at WSJ. “The new, 120-page book will feature items from Penney’s home department and will be sent to select customers in March, the first time the struggling department-store chain has sent out a catalog since 2010.” Read more (Subscription)

 

…J.C. Penney stopped mailing the ‘Big Book’ catalog in 2009 and phased out its distribution of 70 smaller catalogs a year later via Yahoo.  Read more

 

Younger folks want healthier food – and will pay for it by Bruce Horovitz at USA Today. “The most health-centric are Generation Z — consumers under age 20 — with 41% saying they would willingly pay a premium for “healthier” products. That compares with 32% of Millennials (ages 21 to 34) and about 21% of Baby Boomers (about 50 to mid-60s).” Read more

 

***A Message from Orchard Road Canning:  Offer Something New in Home Canning.  Young female canners are the growth engine behind category growth – tap into the opportunity!  Orchard Road targets millennials with a simple and elegant glass jar design and unique package graphics that feature authentic food-filled jars.  See the package designSee the sell sheet. www.orchardroadcanning.comContact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for more information.

 

Why Lilly Pulitzer for Target is Going Where No Capsule Collection Has Gone Before Old-money label meets big-box retail by Robert Klara at Adweek. “But there’s something else going on here, and it has more to do with age-old class divisions than it does with prices. Target may have partnered with high-end brands in the past, but Lilly Pulitzer is the first old-guard, social-register brand to sign on, and that makes a big difference.” Read more

 

Porch.com Raises $65M Series B Round As It Prepares To Take Its Service Nationwide by Frederic Lardinois at TechCrunch. “Other investors in this round include previous investors Lowe’s Companies, Inc. and Capricorn Investment Group, as well as Founders Fund, Battery Ventures, Panorama Point Partners, and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” star Ty Pennington.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart Takes Aim At Shareholder Bid To Limit Gun Sales by Aebra Coe at Law 360. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is on the warpath over a federal court decision forcing the retail giant to include in its proxy materials a Wall Street church’s proposal to tighten board oversight of certain gun sales, saying the decision could have a ripple effect across the entire retail industry.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Six arrested in bar code scam by Marcos Ortiz at ABC Utah 4. “It was so easy because nobody paid attention,” said Leishman “We would go in and buy tools, like $200 tools for $8 bucks…Switching out bar codes may be catching retailers off guard, especially big box stores where there is self-checkout. Jake Hunsaker is a store manager for Cricket cellular. Their store was not targeted by the group.” See the video / Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail.

Monday Tipsheet: W.Foods +7 in Chicago | Wmart Exec Changes | Menear Congrats

 

How Target’s grand reveal of store locations contributed to its demise in Canada by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “But Target’s first disastrous step — even if it had no other options — was giving competitors so much advance notice on just when the chain would open its doors, and where every location would be. “Normally, retailers do not know anywhere close to that soon what the exact locations will be, not on that scale,” said Alex Arifuzzaman, partner at retail real estate specialist InterStratics Consultants. “With Target, it was telegraphed to them.” Read more

 

More Exec Changes at Walmart by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “John Aden, executive vice president of sales innovation, will be exiting the retailer on Jan. 31…Jane Ewing, senior vice president, business development for Walmart U.S., will lead the “Next Generation Stock-up” work group…Laura Phillips, senior vice president of entertainment, who is moving to “Omni-Channel Assortments…” Read more

 

Whole Foods set to unveil whole new stores by Jessica Wohl at Chicago Tribune. “Whole Foods is preparing to open seven Chicago-area stores in former Dominick’s locations, starting with a store later this month in Streeterville…”Each one of these stores has been completely redesigned,” said Midwest Regional President Michael Bashaw. “We wanted these stores to be authentic Whole Foods Markets, not like a rebranded Dominick’s.” Read more

 

UK supermarkets braced for battle as Tesco comes out fighting by Neil Maidment & James Davey at Reuters. “Tesco has already followed pre-Christmas price cuts on staples like vegetables with January reductions averaging 25 percent on 380 branded products…In Tesco’s toilet paper aisles, products and lines have nearly halved to increase space for top sellers. A subsequent mix of savings on storage, staff hours spent re-stocking shelves and simpler supplier deals have led to an 11 percent price cut for customers.” Read more

 

Home Depot Names Craig Menear Chairman “…effective February 2. He will succeed Frank Blake, who will retire as chairman…He is a 17-year veteran of the company, and is the first merchant to be named chairman and CEO since co-founder Bernie Marcus.” Read the release

 

Alibaba to court China consumer for US retailers at CNBC. “Alibaba is preparing a marketing campaign to raise awareness among U.S. businesses of its global business-to-business wholesale platform, Alibaba.com, so they can buy and sell to and from global suppliers.” Read more

 

Dairy industry braces for a bust after 2014 boom; some farmers asked to pour out surplus milk by Dana Ferguson at AP via Star-Tribune. “The milk glut reached its peak in the Northeast over the holidays, when cooperatives asked farms to pour out some of their milk. “It’s something that no farmer likes to do … it doesn’t feel good to just dump it out,” New York-based Northeast Dairy Producers Association board director Jon Greenwood said.” Read more

 

Many retailers may scope out Target locations by Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew at Toronto Star. “Retail rivals Walmart and Canadian Tire were two names that came up repeatedly when The Star asked retail experts who may be in the running to take over Target locations…U.S. retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. has long said to be considering a move north.” Read more

 

Retailers ask for ZIP code, and lawsuits follow by Jack Newsham at Boston Globe. “A lot of people think it’s required as a condition of completing the transaction, when it’s not required by the card companies,” Leonard said. “The idea just generally is to gather as much data about the consumer as possible.” Read more

 

Industry warns of crippling impact of work stoppage at US ports by Robert Wright at Financial Times. “Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, said it would be “catastrophic” if the dispute — which has gone on for more than six months — led to a complete work stoppage in the already severely congested ports…“About 40 per cent of our footwear comes through the southern California ports,” he said. “Can you imagine how disruptive that would be to the footwear market if there’s a lockout or some kind of total shutdown?” Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail.

Friday Tipsheet: Target: US Cuts Next | D.Gen White Flag? | Kroger Eyes Acquisition

 

Source: Dollar General waving the white flag in battle for Family Dollar by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. “It seems that Dollar General is throwing in the towel when it comes to acquiring Family Dollar. The company did not raise its bid or offer any reassurance to Family Dollar shareholders that the deal would close — instead, it said it needed more time.” Read more

 

Kroger eyeing major acquisition, analyst says by Steve Watkins a Cincinnati Business Courier. “All signs point to management’s willingness to make a major acquisition,” Carol Levenson wrote in a report last week analyzing Kroger’s bonds. She’s director of research at New York-based corporate bond research firm Gimme Credit.” Read more

 

15 years of training Walmart supplier analysts by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Can you imagine all the universities, including the University of Arkansas, that would like to have this access to Retail Link? It was given to NWACC for the purpose of training up an analytical retail workforce and it has not been duplicated,” Halliburton said.” Read more

 

Sellers Need Amazon, but at What Cost? by Angus Loten & Adam Janofsky at WSJ. “Mr. North of Terapeak said he cautions people who are just getting into the game that “it’s more competitive than ever” to be a third-party merchant on Amazon. “Larger merchants and retailers have become far more present online, and you’re competing with low-cost shipping and same-day shipping.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Why Whole Foods, Dollar General, and Panera have all been sued over a tiny hiring technicality by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “Employers are getting tripped up by a little-known law related to background checks, and it’s costing some of them serious time and money. When it comes to background checks—dare we say it—the devil is in the details.” Read more

 

New Cuba rules could flood island with U.S.-made goods by Alam Gomez at USA Today. “One of the surprises in the rules that go into effect Friday allows U.S. companies to sell “tools, equipment, supplies and instruments for use by private-sector entrepreneurs” in Cuba…”Americans can actually go down there on a business trip, market their products, research the market,” Oleynik said. “And they’re already asking about it. I’ve got clients climbing out of the woodwork asking questions. It’s a hopping day.” Read more

 

Target will cut U.S. jobs next by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “We are going evaluate each of those positions on a case-by-case basis,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said. “We don’t have details today, but we expect there will be a reduction in headcount in the U.S. related to the Canada news.” Read more

 

Brian Cornell Addresses Questions About Exiting Canada at A Bullseye View. “Target Canada business had reached the point where, without additional funding, it could not continue to meet its liabilities. Simply put, we were losing money every day.” Read more

 

Target tries to soften blow with unprecedented employee fund by Jeff Gray & Tim Shufelt at Globe & Mail. “But in what bankruptcy lawyers say is an unprecedented move, Target Canada’s U.S. parent has set up a trust fund of as much as $70-million to be kept completely separate from the restructuring process and to cover its employees’ severance payments. Most are to receive 16 weeks pay, Target says” Read more

 

Target’s Canadian retreat leaves a 20-million-square-foot hole by Tasmin McMahon at Globe & Mail. “Some predicted that several stores may have to be demolished, others carved into several smaller locations and some, particularly in Western Canada, may struggle to find any tenants amid the turmoil of sinking oil prices.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart, Sears ‘sad’ to see Target go by Lisa Wright at Toronto Star. “We are sorry to see a competitor leave the Canadian marketplace as we believe competition is ultimately good for customers,” said Andrew Pelletier, Walmart Canada’s vice-president of corporate affairs and sustainability.” Read more retailer quotes

 

Cramer on Target at Seeking Alpha. “You don’t just parachute into a foreign country and open 130 stores at once and expect great results,” Cramer said. “It has proven to be one of the dumbest moves of all time,” he added, targeting previous CEO Gregg Steinhafel for the flawed Great White North strategy.” Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. 

Thursday Tipsheet: H.Depot in Court Fri. | Boxed Raises $25M | Etsy Eyes $300M IPO | ‘Walmart Cowboy’

 

Holiday sales increase 4 percent: NRF by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Weaker-than-expected retail sales data shook investor confidence on Wednesday, as sales failed to reflect the boost from a steep drop in gasoline prices that many were expecting.” Read more

 

Drop in December retail sales adds doubt to strength of U.S. economy by Shan Li at LA Times. “In December, retail sales dropped 0.9% to $442.9 billion, the largest fall since January 2014, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The increase in spending from October to November was also revised downward to 0.4% from 0.7%.” Read more

 

Boxed, a bulk shopping app, raises $25 million by Erin Griffith at Fortune. “The New York startup has now raised a total of $33 million in venture funding; it will use the new capital to build out its fulfillment capacity and increase its assortment of goods offered. With a team of just under 30 employees and three warehouses, Boxed has been operating since 2013, when it launched in the Northeast.” Read more

 

Adviser switches Family Dollar recommendation to vote ‘yes’ on Dollar Tree plans by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer. “ISS had previously recommended shareholders delay the final vote on the Dollar Tree deal, which had been scheduled for December, so they could learn more about the competing bid from Dollar General.” Read more

 

Giant Home Depot data breach court battle kicks off Friday by David Allison at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “It will be overseen by Chief Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr., who has scheduled an initial case management conference at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 in Courtroom 2108 at the Richard Russell Federal Building on Spring Street in downtown Atlanta.” Read more

 

Best Buy’s website had glitches for hours yesterday by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Customers were greeted by the words “coming soon” on product pages where an “add to cart” button should have been. But the issue appeared to be mostly resolved by mid-afternoon.” Read more

 

***New Product Spotlight: A message from Bunker Buddy – Get Out of the Sand & On the Green in 1 Shot! Bunker Buddy has been named a Golf Tips Magazine Editor’s Choice for 2014 and featured in Golf Digest as the ‘Sand Saver’ (see story here). Place the Bunker Buddy directly behind a golf ball in the sand, swing your club behind Bunker Buddy and the ball exits the bunker on a pillow of sand. Watch the Video. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for more information.

 

Amazon eyeing majority stake in India logistic firm Blue Dart by Ashwin Mohan at The Economic Times. Read more

 

I Was an Amazon Chew Toy by Corina Zappia at The Awl. “A Level 7 employee to my Level 4, senior management to my near-entry-level, Scott had only had one appointment with me so far, a little “get to know you” when I first started at Amazon that I had to share with another underling; he spent the first part of it on the phone, refilling a prescription. His assistant told me that I would need to take up my quest to be dog-free with human resources. Read more

 

Walmart Canada Finds Innovative Approaches to Raising up Women Managers at Diversity MBA. “The percentage of female store managers was stagnant before Women in Retail began in 2010, remaining at about 15.5 percent between 2005 and 2009. That percentage jumped slightly by the end of 2010 to 16.9 percent and more sharply after that; it reached 26.3 percent by the end of 2013. Adding in all full-time managers, the figure is just over 50 percent, Pinnock said.” Read more

 

RadioShack prepares to file for bankruptcy at Fortune. “Electronics retailer RadioShack is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection by next month, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.” Read more

 

Etsy plans IPO to raise $300M at New York Business Journal. Read more

 

Wayfair Partners with Sherwin-Williams to Offer Shoppers Color Inspiration Read the release

 

Meijer stores to open this summer around southeastern Wisconsin by Max Seigle at WISN-ABC. “The Oak Creek store is one of four Meijer stores that will open in Wisconsin this summer. The others are in Grafton, Kenosha and Wauwatosa.” See the video / Read more

 

‘Walmart Cowboy’ uses guitar to begin life anew by Jennifer Cording at Del Marva Media. “So, he’s the “Walmart Cowboy,” as local social media have dubbed him. He’d heard that people call him that now, says Melzer, 40, who is living in a nearby motel. “I don’t expect people to give me money,” says Melzer. “I’m happy if they just wave to say, ‘Hi.’ But he does need money. That’s why he’s playing the guitar.” See the video / Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. 

 

Wednesday Tipsheet: H.Depot’s Blake is Gold | Buy Dunnhumby | Amazon ‘Tricks’

 

Home Depot’s Frank Blake Accepts Gold Medal award from NRF by Sarah Rand at NRF. “Frank Blake…gave a humble acceptance speech, saying he didn’t belong on a list with retail legends like Costco founder Jim Sinegal and Macy’s Chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren…Blake recalled his advice to The Home Depot board of directors when they asked him to serve as CEO: to think again about their decision and find a more seasoned retailer.” Read more

 

Dunnhumby searches for buyer by Erin Caproni at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Beleagured parent company Tesco announced last week that it had appointed advisers to look for strategic options for the data analytics firm…And potential buyers are already lining up to purchase Dunnhumby for about $3 billion. Interested parties reportedly include global ad giant WPP.” Read more

 

Target’s Mobile Site Shows The Value Of An SEO Spring Clean by Chris Liversidge at Search Engine Land. “So, how much value is Target throwing away? Well, let’s check. Run a search chaining negative “inurl” operators to see how many indexed URLs are left in Google’s index…Yep, just 330,000 results — which is more like the number that should be there. So, we have 3.9 million duplicate URLs, just on their mobile platform. That’s an 85% duplication ration for the site. Ouch!” Read more

 

Supervalu testing culture-specific Save-a-Lot stores by Mark Reilly at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “Supervalu hasn’t disclosed how many stores have been included in the program or what changes are involved, though the effort does seem to be deeper than just offering more Mexican food and calling the store “Hispanic.” Read more

 

Game Stop Holiday Comp -3.1%Total global sales for the holiday period were $2.94 billion, a 6.7% decline compared to the 2013 holiday sales period.” Read the release

 

Companies Tiptoe Back Toward ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ by James R. Hagerty & Mark Magnier at WSJ. “Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School, is less optimistic. “China has really captured the whole electronic supply chain,” he said, and that is unlikely to return to the U.S.” Read more (Subscription)

 

How Amazon Tricks You Into Thinking It Always Has the Lowest Prices by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Amazon may not actually be the lowest-priced seller of a particular product in any given season,” the report reads, “but its consistently low prices on the highest-viewed and best-selling items drive a perception among consumers that Amazon has the best prices overall — even better than Walmart.” Read more

 

Amazon.com’s prices beat Walmart.com on popular items by Don Davis at Internet Retailer. “Amazon’s prices were 4% lower on average on the most popular products, and it was particularly aggressive in certain categories, including home audio, video games, phones and electronics…For 63% of the products studied, the two retail sites had exactly the same price in the Boomerang study of 39,122 identical products.” Read more

 

This will be a big trend in e-commerce: Macy’s CEO by Tom DiChristopher at CNBC. “Macy’s CEO and Chairman Terry Lundgren predicted on Tuesday that any major company that only sells online today will have bricks-and-mortar stores in five years.” Read more / See the video

 

San Antonio: H-E-B’s Nogalitos store to open Friday after undergoing major makeover by Stephanie Guzman at San Antonio Business Journal. “After tearing down its oldest operating store and building a new store in its place, H-E-B’s Nogalitos location will re-open Friday, Jan. 16 as the company’s first two-story grocery store in Texas.” Read more

 

Company bursting at seams due to product inspired by ‘cream can suppers’ by Cole Epley at The World-Herald. “McGinn said he got the idea to move the method off the ranch and onto the patio when he realized he was spending hours behind a grill during summer cookouts. “I thought to myself, ‘This is dumb. I’m having a party and doing all the work while everyone has a good time and I only get to see these people two or three times a year,’ ” he said.” Read more

 

Bauer opening North American stores with indoor rinks to target hockey lovers by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “If too few kids are lacing up to get onto the ice these days, Bauer Hockey hopes bringing the ice rink to the kids will do the job. Opening eight to 10 North American retail stores offering a venue for customers to test the merchandise live on an indoor hockey rink.” Read more

 

Ohio State win means $1.5 million in free furniture by Shauna Steigerwald at Cincinnati.com. “As part of the company’s “Big Game Promotion,” many customers who bought at least $1,999 worth of furniture in a single day between Dec. 17 and 7 p.m. Jan. 1 qualified for a full rebate because the Buckeyes won by at least seven points.” Read more

 

Deloitte: 80% say they are more likely to buy from consumer products companies that they believe protect their personal information, yet only 37%  believe that these companies are adequately doing so  Read the release

Tuesday Tipsheet: Ex-Wmart CEO on CNBC | Target Express in Philly? | Wayfair +51%

 

Former Walmart CEO Bill Simon on CNBC by Tom DiChristopher. “Gas is an emotional purchase, as you know. People drive all the way across town for 2 or 3 cents a gallon. And now with gas at about half of what it was a year ago, I think consumer confidence is really starting to pick up,” Simon said in an interview on CNBC.” See the video / Read more

 

Retailers Presenting Today at ICR XChange (Wayfair, Big Lots, Five Below, Michaels) See the schedule

 

Amazon faces $25 million lawsuit from New York developer over Manhattan deal by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Durst Organization, a New York real estate company, is suing Amazon for $25 million. Durst alleges the Seattle retailer did not follow through on an agreement to lease more than 300,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan.” Read more

 

Wayfair Reports Record Growth for Peak Five-Day Holiday Shopping Weekend “Wayfair reported a 51 percent increase in overall gross sales, defined as dollars of order intake, and a 76 percent increase in Direct Retail gross sales for the five-day peak shopping period of Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.” Read the release

 

Next Target Express market could be central Philadelphia at Philly Business Journal. Read more

 

Amazon to take over textbook sales at UMass Amherst by Dan Adams at Boston Globe. “Under terms of the five-year deal, the online retailer will pay UMass Amherst a 2.5 percent commission on most sales to students through the school’s dedicated Amazon storefront. The company has agreed to pay at least $375,000, $465,000, and $610,000 in the first three years, respectively.” Read more

 

Gravie partners with Target on in-store health insurance advice by Katharine Grayson at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “The service, which launched last week, is available Thursday through Sunday at three Target stores: 2500 E. Lake St. in Minneapolis, 4175 Vinewood Lane N. in Plymouth and 15150 Cedar Ave. in Apple Valley.” Read more

 

***New product spotlight – A message from Comfy Sacks – Not your parent’s bean bag chair!  Incredibly soft micro-suede covers and our uniquely comfortable shredded foam filling make the mega-size Comfy Sacks an experience your customers won’t want to miss (up to 7.5 feet in size!) Great for living rooms, basements, kids rooms, dorm rooms, etc. Bring some fun and excitement to your stores today.  See the website  For program details contact: info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Walmart, Kroger Execs Return as Multicultural Retail 360 Co-Chairs at Convenience Store News. “For the second consecutive year, Javier Delgado-Granados, senior marketing manager for Walmart Stores Inc., and Angel Colón, director of multicultural development for Kroger Inc., will co-chair the conference, which will take place Aug. 12-14 at the Anaheim Marriott.” Read more

 

Former Family Dollar President Takes Helm at Fred’sFred’s, Inc. announced that it has named Michael K. Bloom as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, effective January 12, 2015.” Read the release

 

Dollar Tree CEO: We ‘have reached the end of our patience’ by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. Read more

 

Gay ex-Lowe’s employee alleges discrimination by Lee Higgins at The Journal News via USA Today. “Adam Haimowitz, 32, of Tallman, N.Y., says his frequent complaints to the human resources department fell on deaf ears and the company fired him in retaliation for his testimony on behalf of another gay employee who sued for sexual harassment.” Read more

 

Instacart Confirms $220 Million Investment. Now Comes the Hard Part. by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “CEO Apoorva Mehta confirmed that Instacart is experimenting with outsourcing some deliveries to third-party companies, but declined to give more details about which companies or how heavily Instacart is moving into this new model.” Read more 

 

WSJ: Rebuilding History’s Biggest Dot-Com Bust by Greg Bensinger. “Not all are so sanguine about Instacart. When the company tried to expand to Chicago in 2013 by using Trader Joe’s stores, the grocer blocked the effort until a formal agreement could be reached. Instacart is still not delivering goods from Trader Joe’s.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Tiffany Holiday Sales Flat “Tiffany & Co. reported its sales results for the two-month holiday period ended December 31st. Worldwide net sales of $1.02 billion were 1% below the prior year…worldwide net sales increased 3% and comparable store sales equaled the prior year.” Read the release

 

Amazon created 6,000 new permanent jobs in Europe in 2014 at Reuters. Read more

 

***

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. info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

Monday Tipsheet: Amazon=Quick Refunds | D.Tree Divest 300 | Wgreen New Logo

 

Amazon quick to issue refunds for returned products by Spencer Soper at SF Gate. “The Seattle company takes 1.3 days on average to return cash, the quickest among online stores, according to research from StellaService, which tracks e-commerce data.” Read more

 

Obama to propose 30-day notification requirement for companies victimized by hackers at Fox News. “A White House official said Obama would announce the proposed legislation Monday, along with a measure aimed at preventing companies from selling student data to third parties and from using information collected in school to engage in targeted advertising.” Read more

 

Walgreens Boots Alliance unveils new logo by Jessica Wohl at Chicago Tribune. “Walgreens Boots Alliance unveiled a new logo Friday, a sphere meant to look like a globe that is a corporate departure from the red W that has been a fixture at its U.S. drugstores for years. The logo for the Walgreens stores is not changing, the company said.” Read more

 

PriceSmart expanding its warehouse clubs further into Latin America by Ronald White at LA Times. “With 36 stores, PriceSmart is the largest operator of warehouse membership clubs in Latin America, analysts say. PriceSmart is in an expansion mode. On Friday, during a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Jose Luis Laparte said that “it was certainly one of the busiest quarters we have at PriceSmart with the opening of three new warehouse clubs in a six-week period.” Read more

 

Barron’s: Best Buy shares could rise 20 percent this year at CNBC. “The company is expected to report holiday same-store sales on Thursday, and while management says to expect “flattish” results, the street is looking for a 0.8 percent increase.” Read more

 

Dollar Tree expects to divest less than 300 stores to buy Family Dollar at Reuters. “Dollar Tree said it would likely sign an agreement by the end of the month with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on the number of stores it would have to divest. Potential buyers will be presented to the FTC for approval within a month, the company said.” Read more

 

Family Dollar Issues Open Letter to Stockholders “The FTC staff informed Family Dollar and Dollar General on January 10, 2015, that its most recent economic analysis of the Dollar General proposal indicates that 5,850 stores are presumptively problematic…Most importantly, the FTC staff has made clear that Family Dollar’s price zones, which at thousands of Family Dollar stores take into account the presence of Dollar General stores.” Read the release

 

20 states join U.S. antitrust probe of Family Dollar merger by Diane Bartz at Reuters. “The attorneys general concern focuses on the likelihood that the loss of one of the chains would lead to higher prices for discount store customers.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart ZIP Code Class Ruling Ups Stakes For Retailers by Allison Grande at Law 360. “A California federal judge recently certified a class of consumers suing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. under the state’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act over its collection of ZIP codes during sales transactions, a landmark achievement for plaintiffs that could ramp up the recent influx of suits brought under the data collection law.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Fire breaks out at Amazon facility in Virginia by Jacob Pramuk at CNBC. “It was not a production facility and caused no impact or risk of impact to operations,” an Amazon spokeswoman said.” Read more

 

Walmart to set up 50 more stores in India over next 5 yrs at CNBC. “CNBC-TV18 caught up with Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer on the sidelines of the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, where he said the administrative reforms by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been very encouraging.” See the video / Read more

 

Gawker Hits Target by Hamilton Nolan. “This internal Target training document, entitled “Managing Generational Differences,” was leaked by Target employees and subsequently forwarded to us. It is meant for training Target managers (“team leaders”) in the finer points of interpersonal communication with various “team members.” Read more

 

Nebraska Furniture Mart Gives DFW Shoppers a Reason to Look Around by Deeana Dewberry at NBCDFW 5. “The company has locations in Omaha, Kansas City and Des Moines. The location in The Colony will be the company’s first venture out of the Midwest. Ron Blumkin and his brother Irv, sit at the helm. “As Mr. Buffett so eloquently puts it, ‘the Blumkin kids, we won the ovarian lottery,’ ” said Ron Blumkin. “It’s true.” See the video / Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail. 

Friday Tipsheet: Target.com=60% Mobile | F.Dol Tears | Wmart No To Shotgun Pic

 

Target.com: 60% of Traffic Came from Mobile Over Holiday Season by Nick Halter at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “…up from just 25 percent last holiday season.” Read more

 

ShopperTrak: Sales at 1,000 retail chains nationwide rose 4.6% to $270.1 billion in November and December, ShopperTrak, a Chicago technology company, said Thursday. The results beat ShopperTrak’s forecast for a 3.8% increase and marked the strongest growth since 2005, when sales rose 5.2%.” via AP/LA Times.  Read more

 

Family Dollar CEO: Merger turmoil drives management defections at HQ by Jennifer  Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. “An analyst on that earnings call questioned how Family Dollar is responding to corporate defections, asking if the company is searching for replacements, reconfiguring the work load or just ends up with fewer members of the corporate staff. “Yes, yes and yes,” Levine responded, before jokingly adding, “And in addition sometimes we cry.” Read more

 

…No discussion of pending sale on conference call via Deon Roberts at Charlotte Observer.  Read more

 

She Said Yes; Walmart Clerk Says No To Engagement Photo With Gun at WFMY News 2. “But it’s the explanation that caught the couple off-guard. Wehner said the clerk told her the photo couldn’t be released because the weapon would promote a “gang culture.” “To automatically to be lumped into that category of a gang… that hits a little close to home for us, because that isn’t our intent at all,” Strobl said.” Read more / See the video

 

Amazon Secretly Working on New Platform for Inventors by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “One listing for a senior marketing manager asks, “Are you inspired by inventors who develop and launch new products? Do you want to market the world’s best end-to-end platform for startups? Do you see the opportunity to connect these entrepreneurs with Amazon’s hundreds of millions of customers through creative and strategic marketing?” The jobs, which appear to have first popped up in the fall, sit in the Hardlines category at Amazon, which consists of product groups such as toys, electronics and tools.” Read more

 

Macy’s to Close 14 / Open 2 at Cincinnati.com. “…resulting in annual savings of roughly $140 million. Macy’s says it plans to reinvest those savings into its business.” Read more

 

Macy’s mulls taking on T.J. Maxx, Nordstrom Rack in “off-price” wars by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Separately, Macy’s said Thursday that comparable sales rose 2.1% during November and December, falling a bit short of Wall Street analyst expectations.” Read more

 

Lilly Pulitzer for Target line gets mixed reaction on Twitter by Lori Grisham at USA Today. “Some were excited to learn that the upscale designer would be partnering with the affordable retailer, others on social media argued the association would cheapen the Lilly Pulitzer brand following the death of the line’s creator and namesake in 2013.” See the Tweets / Read more

 

Amazon Marketplace sales soar nearly 27% during the holidays by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. Read more

 

J.C. Penney to close 40 stores this year by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “The stores, which are mostly in malls, will close on or before April 4, spokeswoman Daphne Avila said…Penney will operate 1,020 stores after this batch of closings. About 2,250 employees are affected.” Read more

 

FAA bypasses Amazon, grants Spokane company commercial drone license by Sarah Aitchison at Puget Sound Business Journal. “The FAA has received 214 requests for exemptions from commercial use entities, and have granted 14, including these two.” Read more

 

New Target hires learn offers were rescinded by Leah Beno at KMSP-Fox Minneapolis. “Shortly after rebounding from the massive data breach, according to a Fox 9 source, Target hired about 40 people in August and September. People in that group spent the fall giving notice to current employers, leaving jobs, moving from out of state and buying homes in the Twin Cities, only to get a phone call two weeks prior to reporting for work that their job offers were rescinded.” See the video / Read more

 

The Real Story Behind Jeff Bezos’s Fire Phone Debacle and What It Means for Amazon’s Future by Austin Carr at Fast Company. “Some designers bristled at Bezos’s presence and privately questioned his taste, while others who were wowed by his wide-ranging insights loved his approach. Regardless, Bezos’s heavy hand certainly took getting used to, even for Chris Green, Lab126’s VP of industrial design. “In the beginning, Chris would take Jeff’s feedback a bit literally,” says Randall, the former Lab126 VP, “and there was many an evening spent over beers and sushi counseling him, saying, ‘Calm down, it’s going to get better.” Read more

 

***

Eye-on-Retail is a tipsheet read by thousands of Retail Merchants & Executives. It’s created and delivered early AM every weekday. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s happening in the world of retail.