Thursday Tipsheet: Comps: Costco +5%, F. Dol -0.4% | Bezos Security = $1.6 Mil | Tesco Closes 43

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Costco December Comp +5% in US  “Costco reported net sales of $12.12 billion for the month of December, the five weeks ended January 4, 2015, an increase of five percent from $11.53 billion during the similar period last year.” Read the release

 

Family Dollar Q1 Comp Decreased 0.4% “December Comparable Store Sales Increase 1.2%” Read the release

 

Amazon Bought This Man’s Company. Now He’s Coming for Them by Brad Stone at Bloomberg. “(Marc Lore) wants to reinvent the wholesale shopping club. Jet plans to open for business on a “friends-and-family” basis in January and will start limited sign-ups on Feb. 20. Customers will find just about everything, from clothes, books, and electronics to baby goods and athletic gear. After a 90-day free trial period, Jet customers will be asked to pay $49.99 a year for access to what Lore claims will be prices that are 10 percent to 15 percent lower than anywhere else online.” Read more

 

WSJ: Amazon’s Diaper Deal Spawns New Rival by Greg Bensinger. “The online marketplace, Jet.com, has grand ambitions, including a planned half-billion-dollar marketing budget and projections for $5 billion in annual sales by 2020, according to slides distributed to potential merchants.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Supervalu posts strongest sales performance ‘in years’ by Clare Kennedy at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “(Supervalu) reported positive sales growth in all three of its business units — wholesale, retail and its discount chain, Save-A-Lot — with a total of $4.2 billion in net sales for the quarter ending on Nov. 29. That marks a 4.8 percent increase over the same period last year.” Read more

 

Home Depot #1 for the Year in Radio Spots at Radio Ink. “It’s the second year in a row Home Depot is number one with a spot count of over 2.3 million…Walgreens (#5 with) 1.26 million (spots).”  Read more

 

***A message from Lock-it Block-it – 79% don’t feel safe in their own home. Lock-it Block-it is an adjustable window security bar that keeps open & closed windows & doors secured. The patented security bar replaces clumsy wooden sticks and helps homeowners better-secure their homes. Easy to install & easy to use. See the sell sheet   See the video   Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

 

Here’s what Twitter had to say about Dick’s sharp rise on Wall Street by Paul J. Gough at Pittsburgh Business Times. “Oh, the CEO of $DKS has 60% voting power via class B shares so really everything is up to him.” Read more

 

Which Fortune 100 CEO has the biggest security budget? by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “…it’s Amazon. The online retailer paid $1.6 million in 2013 for security perks for founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, whose personal worth totals an estimated $28 billion. What kind of security can that much money buy? Amazon isn’t telling. A spokeswoman did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.” Read more

 

Former REI executive named Bartell Drugs’ new president by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Brian Unmacht, a former chief operating officer at outdoor gear retailer REI, also served as interim CEO of that company between March and September 2013.” Read more

 

Ace Hardware is teaming with golfer Hunter Mahan by Lewis Lazare at Chicago Business Journal. “For the first time in its 91-year history, Ace Hardware is going the sport sponsorship route…Mahan’s deal with Ace includes a new national TV commercial that will debut in April to promote the hardware chain’s free store pick-up program that is launching the same month.” Read more

 

Tesco to Close 43 Stores by Paul Jarvis & Jillian Ward at Bloomberg. “(Dave) Lewis said he’s also scrapping a number of store-development projects as part of a “significant revision” to the grocer’s expansion plans as it focuses on the fastest-growing areas in food retailing — online and convenience stores.” Read more

 

The Top 150 Cities for Jobs (Seattle #1) at WalletHub.  See the list

 

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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: Costco’s Speedy Site | Wgreen +10.2% | JCP +3.7%

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Walgreens December Sales Increase 10.2 Percent “Total front-end sales increased 3.5 percent compared with the same month in fiscal 2014, while comparable store front-end sales increased 2.6 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores increased 0.3 percent while basket size increased 2.3 percent.” Read more

 

Costco’s Web Site Loaded Quickest Over the Holidays by April Dahlquist at Internet Retailer. “Costco’s site loaded on average in 2.581 seconds on a desktop computer…A Harris Poll survey Dynatrace commissioned found that 46% of all smartphone and tablet users indicated that they will abandon an app or web site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.” Read more

 

Target’s next designer partnership: Lilly Pulitzer by Kavita Kumar. “In order to announce its next designer partnership, (Target) rented out the Four Season Restaurant’s pool room in midtown Manhattan. It shrouded the designer’s identity in secrecy until guests, including New York fashion editors, arrived, building up the suspense by dangling clues on signs in the hallway leading up to the room.” Read more

 

Boston: Whole Foods to open on former Herald site in South End by Dan Adams at Boston Globe. “The store’s decor pays homage to the property’s print journalism history. Old typesetting trays adornthe walls, and the original silver Boston Herald sign, for years a landmark to motorists passing by on the expressway, hangs over a long cooler filled with craft beer. Historic editions of the Herald and its predecessor newspapers serve as the backdrop to aisle signs.” Read more

 

***New product spotlight – A message from Bra Bag: This adorable travel case, shaped like a bra, protects molded bras from denting or lumping in your suitcase so they arrive in form. Available in more than six styles, the Bra Bag can store up to six bras cup sizes A-C.  The Bra Bag has been touted by A-listers and fashion magazines around the world.  See the sell sheet.  Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Reports show online shopper sentiment mixed on in-store pickup option by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Critics of the StellaService study said the report misses the point on some level because many times the main objective with in-store pick-up is to save the shipping costs or eliminate boxes being left unattended on at their front door during the day.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney posts a healthy holiday sales increase of 3.7 percent by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “Penney’s shares were trading 15 percent higher in the after market.” Read more

 

Can Apple Do for Wearable Ads What Facebook Did for Mobile? by Christopher Heine at Ad Week. “So we asked digital marketers what brands…are most likely to test Apple Watch advertising this year…Robinson then rattled off 10 names: Sephora; Target; McDonald’s; Best Buy; Barnes & Noble; Macy’s; Nike; Whole Foods; Cialis; and Humira…And Brian Cohen, evp, group director at Catapult eCommerce, said to keep an eye on Smoothie King and Dick’s Sporting Goods.” Read more

 

Higher shipping rates and the Amazon effect by Heesun Wee at CNBC. “Tiny products including everything from dime-size ear buds to a jar of eye cream under one ounce — wrapped in bubble wrap, then encased in giant boxes — has consequences. There’s a ripple effect to the broad transportation sector, the environment and ultimately consumers.” Read more

 

Discount chains emerge as holiday winners while clothing suffers by Matt Townsend at Bloomberg via Charlotte Observer. “In December, mass merchants posted their best monthly sales gain in more than two years, according to figures collected by research firm First Data. Revenue rose 8.3 percent, the biggest increase since August 2012.” Read more

 

Lucky’s Market brings in new president by L.Wayne Hicks at Denver Business Journal. “(Steve) Black’s prior experience in the industry includes key roles at Sprouts Farmers Market and at rival Sunflower Farmers Market.” Read more

 

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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. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

 

Tuesday Tipsheet: H.Depot/Wgreen #1 App | Amazon +405 @ CES | Online Sls +14%

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Online sales up 14 percent during holidays by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “The growth was more dramatic than the previous year. Online sales grew 8.5 percent during the 2013 holidays compared with the same period in 2012. People spent less per transaction, though. The average online order value dropped 8 percent in 2014 to $119.33.” Read more

 

Home Depot & Walgreens have the best In-Store Mobile Apps by Sarah Mahoney at Media Post. “L2 taps Walgreens and the Home Depot as the winners for in-store mobile apps, citing Walgreens’ enormous popularity with shoppers: It is used by an estimated 55% of consumers while roaming the drugstore chain’s aisles…And the Home Depot wins based on its apps’ “In-Store Experience,” which uses geolocation for store-specific deals and maps, with an easy-to-use list-building interface and ready access to inventory.” Read more

 

Amazon big at the CES party; Apple mostly stays home by Ian King at Bloomberg via Seattle Times. “Amazon, the third-biggest consumer-electronics retailer in the U.S., sent 405 representatives to CES 2014. Apple, the fourth-biggest, sent four, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, which puts on the conference.” Read more

 

Tales Of CES: We Were Promised Flying Cars, We Got Washing Machines Instead by Romain Dillet at Techcrunch. “While LG announced a new phone, most of the other announcements revolved around washing machines and other home appliances. And now, people can’t stop talking about washing machines.” Read more

 

Petco says it pulled remaining Chinese treats nationwide amid fears they sickened, killed pets by Sue Manning at AP via Star-Tribune. “Petco is the first national pet retailer to pull the treats from its 1,300 stores. Phoenix-based PetSmart Inc. said Monday that it plans to have them off shelves at its roughly 1,300 stores by March.” Read more

 

Netflix Will Start Blessing Some Internet TVs With Its Logo by Peter Kafka at Recode. “The streaming video service says it will start designating some new sets as “Netflix Recommended” this spring. Netflix says it wants to highlight sets that come with “consumer benefits including turning the TV on instantly, faster app launch and faster resume of video playback.” Read more

 

*** New product spotlight – A message from Eye Dig It Safety Sunglasses: Fashionable protection….set your sights on this pair of chic sunglasses to find the best of both worlds. Maximum visual perception and shatter/scratch-resistant protection, Eye Dig It helps protect your eyes from debris and provide UVA and UVB protection…there’s no need to sacrifice safety for style. Available in Black and Tortoise Shell. See the sell sheet. For more information contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Amazon reportedly restructures hardware development unit by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “Fast Company cited the failure of the Fire Phone as one reason for the changes, as well as a “bloated” organizational structure at the unit, which has grown to employ more than 3,000 workers. “ Read more

 

Instacart teams with recipe app Yummly for on-demand ingredient delivery by Marlize van Romburgh at San Francisco Business Times. “With a few clicks, items from any Yummly recipe or shopping list can be brought to a customer’s doorstep in as little as one hour by an Instacart Personal Shopper,” the companies said in a Jan. 5 statement.” Read more 

 

Free shipping pounding Amazon’s bottom line by Ben Miller at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Analysts estimate that Amazon loses $1 billion to $2 billion a year on U.S. Prime shipments, and its shipping costs during the first nine months of 2014 rose 32 percent compared with 29 percent for the same time in 2013.” Read more

 

Chicago: Chilly day for some OfficeMax workers by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “While outside temperatures hovered around 5 degrees, the thermostat inside OfficeMax at 550 N. St. Clair St. registered a chilly 54.5 degrees Monday afternoon. Several employees wore their winter coats and hats as they manned the registers.” Read more

 

2014 Digital Cities Survey Winners (LA #1, Seattle/KC #2)  See the list

 

Former intern releases CNN’s ‘doomsday’ video by Adam Carlson at Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “People thought he was joking. We have proof that he wasn’t,” wrote Jalopnik’s Michael Ballaban, a former CNN intern. The video will be the thing “the last living CNN employee will be required to play before succumbing to radiation poisoning, the plague, zombies, or whatever crazy end Turner saw coming.” Read more

 

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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. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

Monday Tipsheet: Target’s 401(k) ‘Reform’ | Dick’s LBO? | ‘Blue Light Week’

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Bloomberg: Target CEO $47 Million Retirement Illustrates 401(k) Gap by Carol Hymowitz & Margaret Collins. “In response to shareholder feedback, we embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of our executive compensation programs to even better align compensation with company performance,” said Eric Hausman, a spokesman for Target.” Read more

 

GM to Offer Retailers a New Route to Reach Drivers by Christina Rogers at WSJ. “The Detroit auto giant, which offers high-speed Wi-Fi in its vehicles, is introducing a new in-car service this year allowing drivers to get coupons from local retailers and make hotel reservations while driving down the road. Dubbed AtYourService, it will be offered via GM’s OnStar information network.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Family Dollar CEO urges shareholders to back Dollar Tree deal by Rick Rothacker at Charlotte Observer. “In a letter sent to stockholders Friday, Levine said stockholders should back the $8.5 billion sale to Dollar Tree over a hostile, $9.1 billion bid from Dollar General.” Read more

 

Amazon Sellers Sold Record-Setting More Than 2 Billion Items Worldwide in 2014 “There are currently more than 2 million sellers on Amazon worldwide that account for over 40 percent of the total units sold on Amazon.” Read the release

 

Dick’s & Bed, Bath & Beyond are Top LBO Picks by Brooke Sutherland & Sonali Basak at Bloomberg. “(Dick’s) is cheap after turning in a worse performance than most other stocks in the S&P 400 Consumer Discretionary Sector Index in 2014. Even so, analysts are calling for sales to keep climbing through at least January 2019.” Read more 

 

‘Blue Light Week’ campaign causes run on specialty bulbs by Wayne Covil at WTVR CBS 6. “We’ve sold 400 in the last couple of days,” said General Manager Donald Rackley. “We ran out multiple times, went back to the warehouse about three times just to pick up more.” The reason behind the sales increase across Central Virginia is because homeowners are buying to show support for law enforcement starting Jan. 1.” See the video / Read more

 

CES 2015 to focus on Internet of Things by Troy Wolverton at Mercury News. “In the days leading up to the show, my inbox was stuffed with pitches from companies exhibiting Internet of Things technologies, devices and services at CES. Among the more interesting gadgets were light bulbs that will turn on when they sense people in the room and a “smart” mattress cover that can track users’ sleep cycles and automatically tell a connected thermostat to adjust the room temperature.” Read more

 

The Race to Build Command Centers for Smart Homes by Don Clark at WSJ. “Every single one of these U.S. retailers and service providers want to have their own offering of a platform,” says Jimmy Busby, chief executive of Alabama-based CentraLite Systems Inc., which designs home hardware and software for other companies.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Restoration Hardware building mega-mansion ‘gallery’ in Tampa by Richard Mullins at The Tampa Tribune. “Now deeply into construction, Tampa’s next mega-mansion will rise three stories tall and spread out over a 47,000-square-foot space, roughly half the size of some Publix grocery stores, and likely feature rooftop gardens, fountains, and a dozen bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms.” Read more

 

NY Times: The Economics (and Nostalgia) of Dead Malls by Nelson D. Schwartz. “About 80 percent of the country’s 1,200 malls are considered healthy, reporting vacancy rates of 10 percent or less. But that compares with 94 percent in 2006, according to CoStar Group, a leading provider of data for the real estate industry.” Read more

 

How Timberland used customer data to reboot its brand by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “the cornerstone of the comeback has been a two-year customer study in which it collected data from 18,000 people across eight countries. In analyzing the trove of responses, Timberland was able to diagnose its problems and to zero in on its ideal customer — an urban dweller with a casual interest in the outdoors.” Read more

 

Whole Foods’ High Hurdle for Investors by Gretchen Morgenson at NY Times. “The skirmish unfolding at Whole Foods Market highlights an issue that is likely to play a prominent role in the 2015 proxy season. After the S.E.C. ruled in favor of the company last month, allowing it to exclude from its proxy a shareholder proposal on director nominations, 10 other companies followed suit, asking the commission to rule the same way for them.” Read more

 

Play-Doh Enrages Parents With ‘Inappropriate-Shaped’ Baking Toy by Belinda Lanks at Bloomberg. “Enraged parents have reportedly been complaining about the tool since November, but following Christmas—when the playsets were presumably doled out in relatively large numbers—angry comments on Play-Doh’s Facebook page garnered more attention. The comments have now been removed.” Read more

 

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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. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.