Thursday Tipsheet: Lowe’s Adds 3-D Print | Wmart CIO Speaks | W.Foods Can’t Win | CEO Post Open

 

Lowe’s brings 3-D printing to home improvement by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “In the latest project to come out of the home improvement store’s innovation labs, Lowe’s Orchard Supply Hardware store in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday will debut 3-D printing and scanning services that let shoppers customize their home accents and fixtures.” Read more

 

Alibaba Secretly Invested In Amazon Challenger Jet.com by Ryan Mac at Forbes. “With promises that his company will offer cheaper prices than Amazon for products ranging from sporting goods to toilet paper, Jet’s founder Marc Lore has raised more than $225 million, a stunning amount given that his company has not yet unveiled its e-commerce website.” Read more

 

Forbes: The Richest Person In Every State (Hank & Doug Meijer – MI, John Menard Jr. – WI)  See the 50 state list

 

Wal-Mart CIO Karenann Terrell at InformationWeek Conference: “Does anyone here believe they have all the talent they need? Let me know, ’cause we’re interested in your talent,” she said, and laughed, knowing there’d be few takers…In a footnote to the proceedings, she also compared her former home city of Chicago to Bentonville, Ark. “The quality of life in Bentonville is fantastic. It’s a little known place with a fantastic amount of talent.” Read more

 

…What Walmart Learned From the Target Data Breach by Sean Michael Kerner at eWeek. “What Target taught the entire industry was that you can’t have any single point of failure,” (CIO Karenann) Terrell said…”So what we learned is that single points of failure anywhere can have really drastic effects, and the ability for an attack to go undetected for a period of time, just exponentially increases the damage that can occur.” Read more

 

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Former REI executive becomes Bartell Drugs’ fourth CEO by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “The anointed executive is Brian Unmacht, a member of Bartell’s board of directors who in January was named president, a move that hinted at the succession announced Wednesday.” Read more

 

Target board picks Ecolab CEO Doug Baker for leadership post by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. “Ecolab CEO Doug Baker has been elevated to lead independent director on the Target Corp. Board of Directors, making him the most powerful non-executive at the Minneapolis-based retailer.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney says it didn’t have suppliers in collapsed Bangladesh factory by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “Penney said this week that while it still won’t comment on the lawsuit itself, it wants to clarify some things: The factories in Rana Plaza were not suppliers for Penney’s private brand merchandise. “Therefore, we did not place orders with those factories.” Read more

 

Walmart opens mini store on VCU’s campus at Richmond Times Dispatch. “The 4,100-square-foot store is the fifth — and largest — of the campus-format shops operated by Arkansas-based Walmart…The store has 20 employees. Holmes said Walmart’s recent decision to raise its starting-employee wage from the legal minimum of $7.25 per hour to $9 per hour is a plus for workplace enthusiasm. “It’s helpful,” she said. “It engages them at a different point.” Read more

 

Whole Foods Under Fire for… Making Sandwiches for National Guard? at Fox News. “Whole Foods took down a photo of the National Guardsmen it fed after backlash on social media. The company posted a photo to Facebook and Instagram of members of the National Guard holding a bag of its groceries. The National Guard has been called in to Baltimore to help manage the protests that have broken out in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death.” Read more

 

Amazon UK doubles the minimum spend for free delivery to £20 by Matt Brian at Engadget. “…in July 2013…the company introduced a £10 minimum spend to have your order delivered on the house. Almost two years later, the online retailer has announced it’s raising that limit again, by doubling it to £20. One reason for the change could be to incentivise customers to put down £79 for Prime.” Read more

 

Retailers struggle to combat out-of-stock problems by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “One of the initiatives underway is known as “DC Pooling” which Wal-Mart said 36 suppliers are doing at this time. This is a result of Wal-Mart’s conversion to the new GRS software. Insiders said DC Pooling is not new, and is merely consolidating freight into full truck loads which is a cheaper and more efficient way to move freight.” Read more

 

Hillman Cos. looking for a CEO at Cincinnati.com. “The company reported 2013 revenues of $701.6 million with 2,570 employees. Founded in 1964 as a fastener and keys company, Hillman has more than 26,000 retail customers in the U.S.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

Wednesday Tipsheet: WMT +115 in China | Joly + $8M | MCX CEO Out | Uber Tests Delivery

 

Wal-Mart to build 115 new stores in China by 2017 at Reuters. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc will build 115 new stores in China by 2017 and upgrade 50 stores this year, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday.” Read more

 

EPA: Top 30 Green Power Users Among Retailers (Walmart #3, Best Buy #7, REI #8)  See the top 30 list

 

…National Top 100 Green Power Users (Kohl’s #3, Walmart #16)  See the top 100 list

 

Uber Is Quietly Testing A Massive Merchant Delivery Program by Jordan Crook at TechCrunch. “Sources say that Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Cohen’s Fashion Optical and Hugo Boss are all in talks with the Uber Merchant Delivery program, and one source in particular said that there are over 400 different merchants currently in talks (or already testing) with Uber for same-day delivery.” Read more

 

Walmart Canada’s CIO Talks Shop by Shane Schick at IT World Canada. “The customer isn’t changing. They’ve always demanded a great experience, and they want the right product at the best price,” (Rich Neuman) of Walmart Canada says. “What’s changing is that the option set for them to get those things is growing dramatically faster than it has before. We have to figure out how to work with them wherever they’re going to be.” Read more

 

The CEO of MCX, the Retail Group Behind an Apple Pay Competitor, Is Out by Jason Del Rey at Recode.  Read more

 

Lumber Liquidators is crashing after earnings by Aken Oyedele at Business Insider. “In the month of March, same-store sales were down 17.8% due to a 6.5% decrease in the average sale and an 11.3% decrease in the number of customers invoiced.” Read more

 

Best Buy Ditches Crispin, Porter + Bogusky by Clare Kennedy at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. “Best Buy is foregoing the agency of record model to do its creative work in-house or with a roster of agencies on a per-project basis.” Read more

 

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Mary Beth West to step down from J.C. Penney board and become its new chief marketing officer by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “She has nearly 30 years experience in consumer and retail marketing. Most recently she held the top marketing role with Mondelçz International Inc.” Read more

 

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly made nearly $8 million by Patrick Kennedy at Star-Tribune.  Read more

 

Alibaba’s Ma says freezing hiring after growing ‘too quickly’ via Yahoo.  Read more

 

Costco Clerk Gets DNA Results in Sammy Davis Jr. Paternity Test at Inside Edition. “An envelope contains the DNA test results that will forever change the life of a photo clerk from Costco.” See the video / Read more

 

CEO explains why SC Johnson hobbled Saran Wrap by Michael Burke at The Journal Times. “PVDC, or polyvinylidene chloride, was a substance responsible for two of Saran Wrap’s product benefits that no other plastic wrap could claim — an impenetrable barrier to odor and superior microwavability,” meaning it withstood high temperatures, Johnson told The Journal Times. “But when products containing any kind of chlorine, including PVDC, end up in municipal incinerators, they can emit toxic chemicals into the environment.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.

Tuesday Tipsheet: Canada Dents Target Pay | Bass Pro Memphis Opens Tom. | Costco Embraces Greece

 

Costco embraces Greek extra-virgin olive oil amid Italian crop’s woes by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said the availability of the extra-virgin olive oil Costco usually purchases is down to one-tenth of the normal level. “We wanted to get a single source of good quality; for this year we went to Greece,” he said.” Read more

 

Canada failure dents Target executives’ compensation by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “Jeff Jones, the retailer’s chief marketing officer, also received a bump of $25,000 to his base salary for his “leadership in rebuilding the brand following the data breach,” the proxy said.” Read more

 

Walmart on Campus Opens at VCU Tomorrow at WTVR CBS 6. “A quarter-century ago, the 900 block of West Grace Street in Richmond’s Fan District was known as the “battle zone ” by cops and as a party zone by just about anyone else under 40. When news of the planned establishment broke, social media was buzzing.” See the video / Read more

 

10 Years in the Making: Memphis Bass Pro Set to Open Tomorrow (Features 103 Room Hotel with Rates Starting at $259/Night) by Jerry Askin at WFSB 3. “Crews are still busy at work for their opening on Wednesday night, but Monday, they offered a sneak peak inside. Restaurants, shopping, a bowling alley and the longest standing elevator in the world are ready for the grand opening.” See the sneak peek video

 

Amazon adds another marketplace: Amazon Business by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “Businesses will be able to register for Amazon Business for free and will receive free two-day shipping on orders costing more than $49.” Read more

 

Kroger buys most of dunnhumbyUSA by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “About 500 former dunnhumbyUSA workers – including more than 450 locally – will become employees of the independently operated Kroger unit and the retailer will occupy its newly constructed headquarters at Fifth and Race streets in Downtown (Cincinnati).”  Read more

 

Apple Pay Coming to Best Buy Stores as Retailer Breaks Ranks From Walmart-Led Rival by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The partnership is a big one for Apple, because it’s the first with a member of MCX, a consortium of retailers and food chains that is building a payment app called CurrentC that is expected to be competitive with Apple Pay. A Best Buy spokeswoman said, “We remain invested in MCX,” but would not commit to accepting CurrentC when it launches to the public.” Read more

 

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Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: Now richer than 3 of the 4 Wal-Mart heirs by Ben Geier at Fortune. “The only Walton who is on par with Bezos is Christy Walton, the richest woman in America.” Read more

 

Family ties prevalent within management, board of Wal-Mart Stores by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “CEO McMillon has close ties to three family members who also work at Wal-Mart or for a supplier to the retailer…McMillon’s sister, Lori Haynie, is an executive officer at Mahco Inc. Last year Wal-Mart paid Mahco and its subsidiaries about $19.3 million in connection with sporting goods purchases…His brother-in-law Greg Bray is a senior director in the finance department…Nichole Bray, sister-in-law to McMillon, is a senior manager in the company’s Information Systems Division” Read more

 

Wal-Mart & J.C. Penney sued by victims of 2013 Bangladesh factory collapse by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. Read more

 

$160K bottle of wine for sale at Sam’s Club in Freehold, NJ by Peter Genovese at NJ.com. “If you buy it, you won’t be able to just drop it in your shopping cart. As part of the purchase, a member of Penfolds’ winemaking team will fly to anywhere in the world to conduct a white-glove-opening ceremony. And Sam’s Club will throw in a lifetime membership.” Read more

 

Amazon India Launches Sunday Delivery Service in 100 Cities at NDTV. Read more

 

Container Store Blames Weather Again by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “(CEO Kip Tindell) apologized for citing the weather for the second winter in a row…Same-store sales declined 0.8 percent but would have been positive if 13 stores hurt by weather were taken out of the mix, chief financial officer Jodi Taylor said.” Read more

 

Home Depot Off The Hook In Defective Decking Suit by Joe Van Acker at Law 360. “The jury rejected claims by Burt Feuerstein and Janet Shalwitz that the Trex decking they purchased from Home Depot was defective and that Trex failed to warn that using a ladder on the deck was “unreasonably dangerous.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Man Punctures Fire Hose As Firefighters Attempt to Put out CVS Fire in Baltimore by Oliver Darcy. See the video

 

Mattel Dumps ‘SeaWorld Trainer Barbie’ After Animal Rights Backlash by Ben Popken at CNBC. “It is very fitting that Mattel would dump Sea World Trainer Barbie,” said PETA spokeswoman Stephanie Shaw. “She’s now able to maintain her animal-friendly image.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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’s Top 50 in Diversity | F.Dollar Sale ‘Inside Story’ | Wmart’s Cheesewright Iview

 

Fortune: The Inside Story of Family Dollar’s Sale to Dollar Tree by Shawn Tully. “When (CEO Howard) Levine, 56, stepped out of the elevator into Icahn’s 11,000-square-foot duplex, he and fellow Family Dollar board member George Mahoney were escorted by a butler to the expansive balcony. There they found Icahn mixing a batch of ­martinis—Ketel One vodka, up with a lemon twist—for himself and two lieutenants. “Can I get you a drink?” Icahn asked Levine. “I’d love one,” replied Levine, “but I’ll say no, since I want to keep my wits about me.” Icahn didn’t miss a beat. “Not drinking isn’t going to help you,” he fired back, “so you might as well drink.” Levine decided to stay sober anyway.” Read more

 

Amazon Wants to Show U.S. Drones Can Safely Deliver Cargo by Alan Levin at Bloomberg. “The letter from the world’s biggest online retailer mirrors comments by other companies and industry groups…Friday was the deadline for companies to formally petition the FAA” Read more

 

Target Named ‘Top 50 Company for Diversity’ at DiversityInc.  See the top 50 list

 

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Walmart’s David Cheesewright Speaks to The Times of India “Startups are cropping up in this space everywhere across the world. However, I think national players will have a big role to play because technology is fairly generic. There will be a few global players who will dominate. Amazon will be one; there will be Alibaba and us.” Read the interview

 

Dollar Tree Stores ordered to pay $2.72 million for illegal hazardous waste disposal by Malaika Fraley at Mercury News. “An investigation by Alameda County and 47 other DA’s and city attorney offices around the state found that Dollar Tree Stores were illegally dumping into landfills hazmat products like batteries, corrosive liquids and e-waste.” Read more

 

Etsy invites designers for Open Call to get retail placements for the holidays by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “Etsy Open Call will select 50 designers…to attend a one-day event this summer at Etsy’s headquarters in Brooklyn, where they can pitch their product lines directly to buyers from five retail partners: Nordstrom, Lou & Grey, Clementine, the Walker Art Center’s Walker Shop and The Land of Nod.” Read more

 

Doug McMillon Pens Story for McKinsey publication “In the long term, a company’s business interests and the interests of society converge. Companies, communities, individuals, and governments: we are all interdependent. Every healthy, high-performing company has an obligation to use its strengths to help society, and each can do so in ways that enhance the viability of the business, too.” Read more

 

Amazon’s One-click Apple Watch shopping App is too trigger happy at 9 to 5 Mac.  See the video

 

LA Times: Pico Rivera Wal-Mart closure a worry for city by Samantha Masunaga. “Salcido estimated that Pico Rivera receives about $1.4 million a year in tax revenue from the retailer, potentially 10% of the city’s sales tax revenue.” Read more

 

Retail’s new reality: Invisible shopping centers and virtual assistants by Lance Eliot at CNBC.  Read more

 

$4.6 billion windfall: CEO Jeff Bezos made higher profit Friday than Amazon by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Business Journal. “His shares were worth $32.7 billion when the market closed Thursday at a share price of $389.99. Bezos’ shares are now worth a whopping $37.4 billion.” Read more

 

E-commerce not quite clicking in Mexico’s populous consumer market ― yet at Fox News.  Read more

 

Honest Walmart worker finds $4,400 cash while picking up trash in the parking lot and helps return it to relieved owner at Daily Mail. Read more / See the pics

 

Consumer Group Says Sears, Kohl’s Mislead Customers by Michael Finney at ABC 7 News. “In a bold statement, Bay Area Consumers’ Checkbook Executive Editor Kevin Brasler said, “I think that Sears and Kohl’s and often Macy’s and some other stores clearly are trying to mislead their customers.” Checkbook has been keeping track of sale prices at seven national retail chains for nearly a year. They’re now telling a good news and bad news story about what was found.” Read more

 

P&G Joins Movement to Cut Ad Costs by Nathalie Tadena & Serena Ng at WSJ. “Procter & Gamble Co. is preparing to make deep cuts in the number of advertising agencies it works with, hoping to save up to half-a-billion dollars in fees that it now pays to outside firms.” Read more (Subscription)

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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.

Friday Tipsheet: Wmart’s Food ‘Upstreaming’ | Top 50 Digital Sites | Cabela’s ‘Disconnect Day’

 

Wal-Mart to focus on food ‘upstreaming’ agenda by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Earlier this month Wal-Mart quietly opened a sorting and culling operation in Los Angeles…Insiders at Wal-Mart said the new center in California is similar to an operation in McAllen, Texas…For instance if product can be purchased green and stored there for ripening. Or, if there is product that certain stores want by customer request such as smaller than specified Roma tomatoes then Wal-Mart could buy the whole field.” Read more

 

Amazon First Quarter Sales up 15% to $22.72 Billion  Read the release

 

Proposed Target store could cause controversy in this upscale San Francisco neighborhood by Annie Sciacca at San Francisco Business Times. “Village Properties…is in talks with Target to open a store at the location at 1600 Jackson Street, according to Village Properties President Rob Isackson….Isackson said he doesn’t have a lease with Target, but he has talked to them.” Read more

 

Sears Canada Looks to Cash In On Target’s Retreat by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “The U.S.-owned department-store retailer has picked up two fashion lines that Target had exclusive rights to carry in Canada: Cherokee apparel and shoes and Liz Lange maternity clothing…it will launch a Wayne Gretzky men’s apparel collection this fall.” Read more

 

Amazon Online Visits Over Double Wal-Mart’s by Douglas A. McIntyre at 24/7 Wall Street. “According to new data from online research firm comScore, Amazon’s March unique visitors in the United States, a number that includes mobile and desktop users, reached 175.1 million. Wal-Mart’s comparable figure was 81.9 million.” Read more

 

…Top 50 Digital Properties Ranked by Visits via comScore.  See the rankings

 

Do-it-yourself Girl Scout Cookies coming to Walmart, Target at CNN Money. “We’re excited to disrupt a toy category that’s been dominated for years by one product,” said Michael Rinzler, co-founder of the toy startup Wicked Cool Toys, which won a licensing deal with the Girl Scouts organization to make the oven…The oven is for kids 8 and up and will be priced at $59.99, including one cookie pack. The cookie mix packs are sold separately” Read more / See the pics

 

Cabela’s Q1 US Comp Sales -0.4%, Plans to Open 11 More New Stores this Fiscal Year  Read the release

 

…Cabela’s Pushes ‘Disconnect Day’ by Sarah Mahoney at MediaPost. “The pledge also helps people set an “Out of Office” generator, prompting a calendar reminder, as well as gear lists. Afterwards, the chain encourages them to share pictures on social media with the #MyDisconnectDay hashtag.” Read more  See the TV spot

 

Macy’s CEO on CNBC:With consumers in “good shape,” Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren discusses the outlook for retail and Macy’s pipeline, with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan” See the video

 

Study: E-commerce Penetration of Total Sales (Restoration Hardware 50%, Nordstrom 15%, Costco 3%) at CNBC. See the rankings

 

P&G to cut thousands of jobs in next 2 years by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “Procter & Gamble will cut another 3,000 to 6,000 office jobs worldwide in the next two years, senior executives said Thursday.” Read more

 

Tesco Will Cut One-Third of its Products from Shelves by Dina Spector at Business Insider. “Tesco currently has 90,000 different products (including 28 different ketchups, compared to Aldi’s one), but Lewis is looking to push that number down to around 60,000.” Read more

 

Tractor Supply Q1 2015 Conference Call Transcript via The Street. Read the transcript

 

…Tractor Supply Company CFO Sells $2,035,069.08 in Stock via WKRB.  Read more

 

Instacart Finally Tells You When It’s Charging You More Than Stores by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “(CEO Apoorva) Mehta said the majority of products on Instacart are now priced the same as they are in stores, though there are exceptions. In Manhattan, for example, Instacart is marking up items from Costco by 15 percent or more, according to a new disclosure on the site. This likely means that Instacart hasn’t yet reached an agreement for Costco to pay Instacart a commission on sales.” Read more

 

Q&A with Doug McMillon: Seeing the Future Through Customers’ Eyes via Walmart.com.  See the video / Read more

 

How a maple syrup rebellion is rising in Quebec by Peter Kuitenbrouwer at Financial Post. “Backed by the Quebec justice system and the provincial police, sheriffs have raided sugar shacks down country roads and seized barrels of maple syrup, using trucks and front-end loaders…“They have more power than police,” says Daniel Gaudreau, a syrup producer in Scotstown, Que. “They can come into my house anytime they want.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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.

 

 

 

 

Thursday Tipsheet: McMillon’s 24% Pay Cut | H.Dep. Phases Out Toxic Vinyl | T.Supply +5.7%

 

Tractor Supply Q1 Comp Sales +5.7% – Plan 110+ New Store Openings in FY ’15 “Comparable store transaction count increased 4.8% and average ticket increased 0.8%. The comparable store sales increase benefited from a solid performance in consumable, usable and edible (C.U.E.) products, including pet and heating consumables, while hardline products such as fencing, truck accessories and tools also performed well” Read the release

 

Corruption Allegation Costs Wal-Mart $612 million Since 2013 by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The retail giant did not report the ongoing tally of FCPA expenses in any of its three reports issued on Wednesday (April 22). Wal-Mart does report the expenditures during its quarterly earnings releases leaving the public to keep their own tally.” Read more

 

Home Depot phasing out toxic vinyl flooring by Mitch Lipka at CBS. “As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot’s new policy sends a strong signal to the marketplace that retailers want healthier building materials free of harmful chemicals like phthalates,”Andy Igrejas, director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, said in a statement.” Read more

 

…Lowe’s Faces Mounting Pressure to Stop Selling Flooring Chemical by Matt Townsend at Bloomberg. “The company said it’s working with suppliers to consider alternatives to offer the “best possible products.” Read more

 

…See the ‘Toxic Chemicals’ Study  Read more

 

Walmart: Doug McMillon’s Compensation Falls 24.2% to $19.4 Million by Mark Friedman at Arkansas Business. “Charles M. Holley Jr., executive vice president and CFO, saw his total compensation dip 9.4 percent to $8.2 million from the previous year…Rosalind Brewer, an executive vice president, saw her total compensation fall from $11.7 million to $9.56 million…Greg Foran’s total compensation was the highest on the list of executives at $19.5 million.” Read more

 

***New Product Spotlight: A Message from Tee Driver – Add Yardage to Drive Distance.  The Tee Driver helps you gain distance & accuracy on drives by placing your tee at a consistent height every time.  The easy-to-adjust Tee Driver finds your optimal tee height – then lets you lock it in. Hit the sweet spot of your driver every time!  See the sell sheet  Available in a peggable clamshell. Request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Walmart Releases 2015 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Materials  See the meeting materials

 

Former Target lawyer joins new Minneapolis firm by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. “(Joe Nunez) was directly responsible for 202 store openings, he said. Nuñez also worked on the Target North campus project in Brooklyn Park and distribution centers in other states.” Read more

 

Amazon will deliver packages to car trunks by Frank Catalano at GeekWire. “Amazon has announced a pilot program to make Prime deliveries right to the trunk of customers’ cars. If they drive an Audi. And live in Munich…The DHL driver is given a temporary, one-time digital access code to keylessly unlock the trunk (but not the rest of the car), puts the package in the trunk, and the vehicle is re-locked with the order inside.” Read more

 

Banks seek to block Target’s deal with MasterCard over data breach at Reuters. “The agreement between Target and MasterCard is nothing more than an attempt by Target to avoid fully reimbursing financial institutions for losses they suffered due to one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history,” said a statement on Wednesday from Charles Zimmerman of Zimmerman Reed PLLP and Karl Cambronne.” Read more

 

Texans blame secret military takeover for Walmart closings, secret tunnels by Dylan Baddour at Houston Chronicle. “It may seem crazy, but the fearful aren’t a totally marginal crowd. Online outcry over the original plans to hold the so-called realistic military training in American cities drew an official response from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.” Read more

 

Ontario: Retailers divided about allowing Ontario grocers to carry beer by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “While retailers say they welcome the province’s first steps to bring beer to supermarkets, some big chains are struggling with restrictions that will limit beer sales in each store to about $1-million a year and keep package sizes to six-packs.” Read more

 

Former Target employees burn their shirts by J.R. Rardon at Campbell River Mirror. “In native cultures, burning is a healing,” said Jacquie Creaser, a former Target manager who helped organize the gathering. “It’s closure; there’s no bitterness or anger.” Read more

 

Whole Foods Shows What A Salad Bar Would Look Like Without Bees (Hint: Not Much Salad) by Adele Peters at Fast Company. “Eight years after beekeepers first started reporting massive honeybee die-offs, the problem is still getting worse…To illustrate the scale of the issue, a Whole Foods store in Berkeley, California temporarily took pollinator-produced foods out of its salad bar.” See the pics / Read more

 

Ikea furniture piece so difficult to assemble it’s called the ‘Divorcemaker’ by Hilary Potkewitz at WSJ. “In therapy, so many couples mention fighting while shopping at IKEA or while assembling what they buy there that clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula has started embracing the retailer as a tool for a communications exercise.” Read more (Subscription)

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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: Tesija Patches | 1st Sam’s CEO on Walton | Costco #71

 

First CEO of Sam’s Club shares lessons learned from Sam Walton by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Sam was like a father to me. He coached my first baseball team and after I graduated from Bentonville High School I joined the military and spent four years in the service. After I came home in 1964, Sam approached me about going to college. He wanted to help. He offered to front me the money for college or teach me the retail ropes. Not wanting to go in debt for college, I took him up on the job opportunity,” (Ron) Loveless said.” Read more

 

Target’s Tesija Attempts to Patch Things Up at A Bullseye View. “When we look at the amount of Lilly Pulitzer for Target product being resold, it translates to roughly 1.5 percent of the collection…The experience guests had on Target.com early Sunday morning wasn’t acceptable. It’s as simple as that…We won’t be restocking this collection: once it’s gone, it’s gone.” Read more

 

…Even Lilly Pulitzer’s own family couldn’t beat the rush at Target by Brittany Shammas at Sun-Sentinel. “Liza Pulitzer had her eye on brightly colored beach chairs that debuted Sunday as part of the hotly anticipated collaboration between Palm Beach-inspired fashion label Lilly Pulitzer and big-box retailer Target.” Read more

 

…I survived Lilly at Target by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Five. “A bunch of other shoppers stared eagerly at our finds, and I actually feared we might get mugged…Others were parked inside dressing rooms, ready to scoop up unwanted pieces. One friend witnessed tears from disappointed teens, another saw two fighting over a pillow.” Read more

 

Eva Longoria designs bedding for J.C. Penney by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “More than 150 of Penney’s 1,000 stores, including seven in Puerto Rico, have a large Hispanic customer base. Some of the company’s best-performing stores are in that group. Initially, Longoria’s collection will be in about 100 stores in places like Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.” Read more

 

Tesla Wants to Power Wal-Mart by Dana Hull at Bloomberg. “Tesla is signing up big customers like Wal-Mart and Cargill, accelerating efforts to become a leader in energy storage…Mack Wycoff, Wal-Mart’s senior manager for renewable energy and emissions, said the company is intrigued by energy storage. “Instead of pulling electricity from the grid, you discharge it from the battery,” he said. “Ideally you know when your period of peak demand is, and you discharge it then.” Read more

 

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Costco Wholesale Now #71 Largest Company at Forbes.  Read more

 

Sam’s Club launches slate of new services targeting small business owners by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. “The company is planning to announce today that it is offering discounts on a number of third-party services designed to make running a small business easier. The new services consist of identity theft protection; accounting services; small loans center; credit card processing; and website design.” Read more

 

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. Announces CEO to Step Down Read the release

 

Wal-Mart Looks to U.K. Unit for Lessons on Online Groceries by Saabira Chaudhuri at Dow Jones. “Asda is in the midst of constructing a “supercenter of lockers,” at a gas station on a major road between two of the U.K.’s biggest cities, Liverpool and Manchester, says the chain’s former retail director, Mark Ibbotson, who now leads innovation for Wal-Mart U.S….Once a customer punches in a code, the (robotic) arms locate the orders from their compartments, and put them on a conveyor belt from which they emerge at a collection point for pick up.” Read more

 

Struggling Tesco posts pre-tax loss of $9.5B by Holly Ellyatt at CNBC. “The loss was the largest in the high street stalwart’s 96 year history.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart’s Mexican Unit Sees 1Q Boost in Profit, Sales at Dow Jones. “Walmex Chief Executive Enrique Ostale said sales at Sam’s Club stores open more than 12 months grew by 6.8% during the quarter, for a marked improvement versus a double-digit decline in the unit’s same-store sales for the same period of 2014. Even so, the Sam’s turnaround remains a “work-in-progress,” Mr. Ostale said.” Read more

 

Walgreens Brings Well Beyond HIV Campaign to San Francisco  Read the release

 

Amazon quietly launches all-new travel site by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. “Amazon is now allowing you to add a hotel room to your shopping cart. The new travel site called Amazon Destinations is emphasizing local getaways that are within a short drive of your home, with the tagline “Hit the road: Book local getaways.” Read more

 

IRI Announces Most Successful Consumer Packaged Goods Brands of 2014  See the Top 10 new product launches

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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: Target: Top 100 Citizen | Trish Mueller on PLAY Board | Too Many Vitamins = Cancer?

 

Target in Top 100 of Best Corporate Citizens at Corporate Responsibility Magazine  See the Top 100 list

 

…Top CEO’s of the Year: Larry Merlo from CVS “For us we saw (tobacco sales) as an obstacle to play a bigger role to healthcare delivery…You can imagine the spirited debate we had within the management team.” Read more

 

Congrats: Home Depot’s Trish Mueller appointed to Dave and Buster’s Board of Directors  Read the release

 

How I gamed Target’s big Lilly Pulitzer debut by Julia LaRoche at Business Insider. “Target quickly caught on to our strategy. Jason Goldberger, the president of Target.com and mobile, acknowledged that some of the merchandise was available early on mobile. He also Tweeted that those orders would still be honored.” Read more

 

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Shopping online, in small metro areas drive growth, report says by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “A 2 percent bump in U.S. apparel sales over the past year was driven mostly by online shopping…Online sales of apparel were 19 percent higher during the 12 months ended February than they were the same period a year earlier, while in-store apparel sales fell 2 percent over the same period.” Read more

 

NY Times: Target’s Hasty Exit From Canada Leaves Anger Behind by Ian Austen.  Read more

 

UK Study: Too many vitamins can give you cancer at Mirror. “We studied thousands of patients for 10 years who were taking dietary supplements and placebos…folic acid supplements are thought to be taken by more than 230,000 pregnant UK women each year as it can help prevent spina bifida and other birth defects affecting the brain and spine. But one study examined by Dr Byers’ team found too much increased the chances of getting cancer by 56%.” Read more

 

Shoppers Are Furious At People Reselling Lilly Pulitzer For Target by Sapna Maheshwari at Buzzfeed. “Target seems aware of the bad feelings among some customers. “We’re disappointed to see this Target merchandise for resale, too,” the company told one commenter on its Facebook page. “It takes away from our goal of making great design available to everyone. The appropriate teams are aware.” Read more

 

Flipkart, India’s Amazon, Plans to Shut Down Its Website Within a Year by Rishi Iyengar at Time. “A year ago, 6% of our traffic was coming from mobile. In less than 18 months, that traffic is 10-fold,” Adnani said.” Read more

 

Biggest US outbreak of bird flu in poultry hits Iowa at CNBC. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the Iowa flock numbered 5.3 million birds while the company that operates the farm said it was 3.8 million.” Read more

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. 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.