Thursday Tipsheet: Target Liquidates Today | W.Coast Ports Close in 5? | ‘Ikea Like’ Spam Museum

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West Coast ports could shut down in 5 to 10 days by Karma Allen at CNBC. “Traffic at nearly 30 West Coast ports is on the verge of “complete gridlock” and shipping officials have threatened to stop paying dockworkers if a contract deal is not reached soon.” Read more / See the video

 

…New contract proposal is offered to West Coast dockworkers by Andrew Khouri at LA Times. “McKenna said employers offered a contract with fully paid healthcare and wages that would increase about 3% each year. The maximum pension would rise to $88,800 per year, McKenna said. Under the previous deal, dockworkers made between $25.71 and $41.48 an hour.” Read more

 

Target hires media executive away from MillerCoors by Nick Halter at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “Target hired Stevie Benjamin as vice president of media strategie…Benjamin is leaving her role as senior director of marketing connections at MillerCoors of Chicago.” Read more

 

Kohl’s: Sales surged back in retailer’s fourth quarter by Alison Bauter at Milwaukee Business Journal. “Kohl’s reported fourth-quarter comparable store sales up 3.7 percent, upping its predicted earning per share to between $4.20 and $4.22. It marks a resurgence after several previous quarters of dipping same-store sales.” Read more

 

Target Canada liquidation sales get green light, will start today by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “The sales will offer up to 30 per cent off regular prices, Target Corp. spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in an interview. However, refrigerated items such as milk and eggs are no longer being shipped to Target outlets and are already out of stock.” Read more

 

Humble headquarters: quirky sites where 6 big brands originated by Colleen Kane at Fortune. “Cabela first placed a newspaper ad to sell fishing flies in a local paper, but the ad received just one response. He then lowered his price, and more people responded. From there he grew a mailing list. Dick and his wife, Mary, first ran their burgeoning business from their kitchen in Chappell, Neb.” Read more

 

Velveeta revives as young and poor shop dollar stores for groceries by Anjali Athavaley at Reuters. “Customers like Troyan are one reason why Kraft reversed course after considering stopping the sale of single-serve packages of Velveeta cheese sauce, which wasn’t moving in traditional grocery stores. After another look at the numbers, Kraft found that shoppers on tight budgets at dollar stores were gobbling up Velveeta sauce in the affordable small size, and the food got a new lease on life.” Read more

 

Sears bull: Why it won’t go the way of RadioShack by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Instead of viewing the retailer’s deteriorating stores as a reason to be bearish on the stock, they should be seen as a prudent decision that Sears will focus its investments on the future of retail, which is taking place online, Ingham said.” Read more

 

RadioShack Store Closings to Jolt Some Developers by Matt Jarzemsky at WSJ. “Smaller players house a relatively big share of RadioShack’s stores, analysts said. While giant real-estate investment trusts can more readily absorb the loss of a tenant like RadioShack.” Read more (Subscription)

 

‘Ikea-like’ design for Spam Museum stirs controversy in Austin by Clare Kennedy at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. “The drawings prompted some spirited discussion on the Herald’s website. “It is wretched!” said one commenter. “The rest of it looks like Ikea and Crate & Barrel had an illegitimate child.” 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 created and delivered early AM every day.  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.

Wednesday Tipsheet: Costco Jan. Comp Flat | Target Can. Redo? | H.Depot ‘Disney’ Video

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Costco comp sales flat in Jan., misses Street’s view at Yahoo Finance. “Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 1.2 percent rise in sales at stores open at least a year.” Read more

 

…Comp sales +7% excluding gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange. Read the release

 

Target will eventually take a second crack at Canada by Thomas Lee at San Francisco Chronicle. “If Target can’t succeed in Canada, where else in the world can the retailer expand? Abu Dhabi?…But Wall Street won’t ease up on Target for long, and it will force Cornell to show growth. That’s when Target will make a second attempt at Canada. And maybe this time, the retailer will get it right.” Read more

 

Chinese Retailers Play Poker in Empty Malls as Shoppers Go Online at Bloomberg. “The market was packed with people when it first opened in 2004,” said Li, looking up from the TV drama he was watching, for want of customers. “Business has gone from bad to worse in the last five years. The impact from online sales is huge.” Read more

 

Target Canada’s liquidation sales worry landlords by Marina Strauss & Jeff Gray. “The landlords are worried that Target, which is operating in bankruptcy protection, will flout the terms of some of its leases by bulking up on inventory and widely promoting its going-out-of-business sales – potentially sullying their malls’ image and detracting from rival retail tenants.” Read more

 

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Target taps new chief information officer by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “(Bob) DeRodes will continue to serve for a short period in an advisory role at Target. (Mike) McNamara, who is moving to the Twin Cities from England, will join Target later this year. In the meantime, the IT department will be led by (Brad) Maiorino; Jim Fisher, senior vice president of technology services; and Navneet Kapoor, president of Target India.” Read more

 

“The Magical World of Home Depot” at The Mommy Page. “Every year, Home Depot holds a talent contest for its staff across the country—and it’s actually a pretty huge deal…Now they’re back with a brand new song...In this new parody, the team pairs up to belt out famous Disney tunes rewritten with lyrics that compliment the products and services Home Depot has to offer. With lines like, “I can tile your floor, granite, porcelain or marble,” set to Aladdin’s “A Whole New World,” this fun crew sings through the floor, lighting, and paint aisles, awarding each department its own song.” See the video

 

Target’s downtown Minneapolis employment dips in survey by Sam Black at Minn./St. Paul Business Journal. “Target said it has 10,000 downtown employees, down from the 12,582 it reported last February in the 2014 survey of the largest employers by the Minneapolis Downtown Council.” Read more

 

Sam’s Club vs. Walmart: Is Sam’s really worth the $45 membership fee? at WCPO 9 Cincinnati. “When it comes to buying in bulk, is Sam’s Club really worth its membership fee? That’s what WCPO’s sister station KJRH worked to figure out in a comparison study of Sam’s Club versus Walmart…The difference between most items was a few cents, and in some cases less than one penny.” See the video / Read more

 

Macy’s buys spa retailer Bluemercury for $200M by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Based in Washington, D.C., Bluemercury operates about 60 specialty stores in 18 states – typically in prime street-level locations and urban lifestyle centers – and an online business.” Read more

 

Staples to buy competitor Office Depot at CNBC. “The deal values Office Depot at $11 per share. The companies put the transaction’s value at $6.3 billion. The deal is expected to close by year’s end.” Read more

 

Dollar Tree: Feds’ review of Family Dollar deal delays closing by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. “It appears that Family Dollar Stores Inc. won’t become part of Dollar Tree Inc. until at least late April, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday.” Read more

 

Walmart heiress’s ex-husband ‘claims he needs $400,000 a Month in alimony for “necessities” including a personal stylist, a chauffeur and vacations’ by Sophie Jane Evans at Daily Mail. “$30,000 a month would go on vacations, a staggering $80,000 every month would be spent on entertainment and a further $4,000 would be used to pay for a driver.” 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 created and delivered early AM every day.  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: Wmart/Target ‘Herbals’ Sting | Amazon Eyes Rshack Stores | BH&G Top 93 New Products

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Wal-Mart, Walgreens & Target accused of selling adulterated ‘herbals’ by Sarah Kaplan at Washington Post. “Wal-Mart was the worst offender: None of its six supplements that were tested were found to contain purely the ingredient they advertised. Target’s supplements were the least misleading of the lot — though that isn’t saying much, since tests on six of the brand’s products resulted in only one unqualified positive. Two of Target’s other supplements contained DNA from other plants alongside their purported ingredients, while the remaining three tested negative.” Read more

 

…Retailer Response by Anahad O’Connor at NY Times. “Walgreens said it would remove the products from its shelves nationwide, even though only New York State had demanded it. Walmart said it would reach out to the suppliers of its supplements “and take appropriate action.” Target did not respond to requests for comment.” Read more

 

Target liquidation sales could start Thursday, retailer seeks court approval at Financial Post. “Target Canada will seek court approval Wednesday to allow a group of liquidation companies to start to sell off the contents of its Canadian stores.” Read more

 

Canadian pharmacists fighting Target Canada by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. “Franchisees were told to be ready to hit the ground running as the first weeks were the most critical in building up a client base, said Gavrilidis. Instead they were hampered by fax machines that didn’t work on the first day, making it impossible to fax doctor’s offices for prescriptions. The computer software they had to use was relatively untested and difficult to operate, said Gavrilidis.” Read more

 

Seattle Times: 10 years later, Amazon celebrates Prime’s triumph by Jay Greene. “Prime started when an Amazon engineer named Charlie Ward pitched the idea in a digital employee-suggestion box. At the time, Amazon offered customers free shipping on purchases of $25 or more, as long as they were willing to wait a few extra days for their order to arrive. Ward thought some customers would be willing to spend more, and might even shop more often if they could be part of a buying club that offered rapid shipping.Bezos seized on the idea and pulled together a group of executives in November 2004 in the boathouse at his Medina home.” Read more

 

Clorox Loses ‘Club Store’ Suit by Andrew M Harris at Bloomberg. “Clorox lost a bid to dismiss a novel antitrust lawsuit by a Wisconsin supermarket challenging the household product maker’s policy of only selling bulk packages to large retailers.  Woodman’s Food Market Inc., a 15-store grocery chain, claims Clorox last year adopted a policy of selling its large-pack products only to super-stores such as Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unit Sam’s Club.” Read more

 

Amazon in Talks to Buy Some of RadioShack’s Stores at Bloomberg. “Amazon has considered using the RadioShack stores as showcases for the Seattle-based company’s hardware, as well as potential pickup and drop-off centers for online customers, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are private.” Read more

 

Target joins industry trend, will open more express stores this year by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “(Target) said this year it will open nine smaller-format stores and six big-box stores. “For these big, mature retailers, there’s just nowhere else to go with their full, general merchandise stores,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones.” Read more

 

…Philly/LA/DC/San Francisco/Chicago by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Beyond this year, Target is also looking into expanding the TargetExpress concept in greater Philadelphia and in Los Angeles, as well as additional such stores in metro Washington, San Francisco and Chicago.” Read more

 

WSJ: Staples, Office Depot in Advanced Talks to Merge by Liz  Hoffman and Dana Mattioli. “The price and structure of the proposed deal couldn’t be learned. Staples has a market value of about $11 billion, while Office Depot, which in 2013 absorbed rival OfficeMax, has a market value of about $4 billion. There is no guarantee a deal will be reached, the people cautioned.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Awards Announces 2015 Winners See the 93 winning products

 

Target pharmacists seek protection as Wal-Mart secures patient records by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “We’re the illegitimate child,” said Stavros (Steve) Gavrilidis, a Target pharmacist in Windsor, Ont., and and secretary of the Pharmacy Franchisee Association of Canada. “We want to be recognized” in Target’s bankruptcy protection process.” Read more

 

Dick’s Announces that Chief Financial Officer Andre J. Hawaux will Assume Additional Responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer  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 created and delivered early AM every day.  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.

Monday Tipsheet: Target Hackers Hit Parking Co’s | Amazon’s College Push | Super Bowl Ads Ranked

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Target Hackers Hit Third Parking Service at Krebs on Security. “Book2Park.com, an online parking reservation service for airports across the United States, appears to be the latest victim of the hacker gang that stole more than a 100 million credit and debit cards from Target and Home Depot. Book2park.com is the third online parking service since December 2014 to fall victim to this cybercriminal group.” Read more

 

Amazon Makes a Push on College Campuses by Greg Bensinger at WSJ. “Amazon has struck deals with three large universities to operate co-branded websites selling textbooks, fan shirts, ramen noodles and most other items available on Amazon.com. While the deals aren’t exclusive, officials at the colleges say the arrangements acknowledge a reality: Their students already shop on Amazon.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Super Bowl Ad Meter Results at USA Today. See all 61 ads ranked

 

Sam’s Club Wouldn’t Stand By Vodka Money-Back Guarantee (But Comes Through in the End) by Kurtis Ming at CBS Sacramento. “After reaching out to Sam’s Club, they realized the mistake and asked Ed to return to the store. “I showed them my card and they said, ‘Oh, yeah. Mr. Sullivan we’ve been expecting you.’” Ed walked out with a refund and a $25 gift card for his trouble. “I’ve got a different brand we love,” Sullivan said. It’s called Kirkland.” See the video / Read more

 

The Startup Behind Amazon’s Best-Rated Mattress Is Opening Its First Store by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The building is located in an out-of-the way location and only one potential buyer stopped in during the first week. But in Week 2, 75 people came to check out the upstart mattress maker, some even walking out with a mattress that very same day…which allowed them to choose a location with monthly rent between $5,000 and $10,000 rather than $20,000 and up.” Read more

 

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Canada dims the light on the incandescent light bulb by Richard Blackwell at The Globe & Mail. “Last year there was quite a spike, but this year we have seen very little of a rush at all,” said Ron Cleary, senior merchant for electrical products at Home Depot Canada Inc.” Read more

 

Zulily to shutter UK office, shift international distribution back to U.S. by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Zulily’s existing U.S. merchandise team will ship products to the UK. That means all the company’s business will now shift back to its U.S. site and team.” Read more

 

RadioShack is expected to announce store closings by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “RadioShack’s fiscal year ended Sunday, which means CEO Joe Magnacca can close 200 stores without altering a debt agreement.” Read more

 

WSJ: RadioShack, Hedge Fund Hashing Out Auction Process “RadioShack…was aiming to file for Chapter 11 protection as early as Monday, the people said. But as of Sunday afternoon, the company and its advisers were still working out the details of an agreement with Standard General to serve as the so-called stalking horse at a court-supervised auction for RadioShack’s assets, some of the people said.” Read more (Subscription)

 

NYT: Retailers Prepare for Tie-Ins to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Film by Rachel Abrams. “The movie will not be as graphic as the book. Neal Slateford, a co-founder of Lovehoney, the only company that has the rights to make the official “Fifty Shades of Grey” adult products sold in Target and elsewhere, does not expect certain toys used in the book’s steamiest scenes to appear in the movie.” 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 created and delivered early AM every day.  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.