Wal-Mart takes weekly circular digital with new ‘Live Better’ focus by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The normal tab we send out every weekend, we are changing how we do that. For one thing we will be doing it less frequently,” (Steve) Bratspies said…“It is going to be integrated in the technological world. Everything is going to be connected with digital partnerships and digital content so that you make the connection of product to the online world and back and forth much more seamlessly than you have been able to do in the past,” he said.”  Read more

Amazon reportedly prepping private-label grocery items by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “(Amazon) which sells baby wipes under the Elements brand, reportedly has sought trademark protection for more than two dozen categories under its Elements brand, including coffee, water, vitamins, dog food and razors…The (Wall Street) Journal reported that Amazon had approached private-label producer TreeHouse Foods of Oak Brook, Ill., to make some products.” Read more

Walgreens chairman: We were ‘whipping boy’ for President Obama by Ameet Sachdev at Chicago Tribune. “We were disappointed with the publicity around inversions because we never intended to invert in the first place,” (James) Skinner said in response to a question from a shareholder.” Read more

Costco philosophical about chicken prices by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “What is your philosophy about chickens?” Adler asked during a call that followed Wednesday’s release of Costco’s earnings.” Read more

Costco Q3 2015 Results – Earnings Call Transcript via Seeking Alpha. Read here

Target Must Reveal Info On Past Data Breaches, Judge Says by Jody Godoy at Law360. “Target Corp. has to tell financial institutions suing over the retailer’s massive 2013 data breach whether it suffered similar attacks in the past and if so, how it responded to them, a Minnesota federal judge ruled in the multidistrict litigation Wednesday.” Read more (Subscription)

Amazon is Looking for the Perfect Warehouse Worker (On a Thin Budget) by Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. “(Amazon) budgeted a total of $26,000 for prizes and $60,000 for travel grants for more than 30 teams participating in the competition this week at the International Conference of Robotics and Automation in Seattle. “If you really want strong teams, you need a bigger investment,” said Alberto Rodriguez, who led a team of graduate-level students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This probably needs 10 times the money.” Read more

Nordstrom’s Innovation Revamp Leads to E-commerce Texting App by Kim S. Nash at WSJ. “Using TextStyle, a salesperson can chat and share images with customers who opt in to the service. Customers can buy a product immediately by texting a unique code to Nordstrom, without having to type personal and financial information already on file.” Read more (Subscription)

Big Lots profit up as same-store sales rise by Lisa Beilfuss at MarketWatch. “In all for the first quarter, the retailer reported income from continuing operations of $32.3 million, or 60 cents a share, up from a year-earlier profit of $28.6 million, or 50 cents a share.” Read more

Amazon launches free same-day delivery for Prime members in 500 U.S. cities by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. Read more

Rexall lands former Shoppers CEO Schreiber for top job by Marina Strauss at The Globe & Mail. “The tightening market has prompted some industry observers to predict that Mr. Schreiber could eventually steer Rexall into being acquired by a bigger global company to give it more purchasing power with suppliers and other economies of scale.” 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.

Lilly Pulitzer called out for fat-shaming by Mara Siegler at NY Post. “Along with shots of Lilly products and staff, the site showed a wall decorated with a drawing of a woman with sagging fat in a bikini that says, “Put it down carb face.” The other says, “Just another day of fat, white and hideous. You should probably just kill yourself.” Read more

…See the pics here.

BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands 2015 (Amazon #14, Walmart #26, Home Depot #31…)  See the top 100 list

Leaked Site Reveals More Info On “ShippingPass” – Walmart’s Answer To Amazon Prime by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “During the brief time the link was live, shoppers were able to sign up and even place orders using ShippingPass, and were able to see which types of items were included in the new program, as well as which geographies ShippingPass served, among other things. They also found that the service would include free shipping on a number of items beyond those that could ship in three days’ time.” Read more

Lowe’s Fails To Man Up Against Home Depot, Underestimates Menards by Pam Goodfellow at Forbes. “Lowe’s shares of male AND female shoppers have dipped while Home Depot has gained. Currently, Lowe’s shopper deficit stands at -10% among both genders (versus the comparable three month rolling average recorded in May 2013), while Home Depot has gained nearly 5% among that profitable male demographic.” Read more

Wal-Mart to add assistant managers to each of its 2,500+ US Walmart Tire & Lube Express centers by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “We began testing this back in 2012 in a couple of stores and it was gradually expanded to 600 stores. Now we are in the process of rolling it out nationwide because the tests have proven greater customer service,” Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg told The City Wire.” Read more

Forbes Most Powerful Women 2015 (Rosalind Brewer #65…one spot behind Taylor Swift) See the top 100 list

Whole Foods’ John Mackey: Sell something your customers want to buy by David Whitford at Chicago Tribune. “In 1994, as he was turning 40, Mackey asked his father to resign. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Mackey says. “I had to overcome a lot of fear, because I was dependent on my dad, emotionally and intellectually. I knew it hurt him a lot — he felt rejected — so I felt guilty. It was a painful decision, and that pain lasted a while.” Read more

We tried everything at the Costco and Sam’s Club food courts. Here’s who won at The Daily Herald.  See the winner

99 Cents Only Stores Announces Chairman of Board of Directors Andrew Giancamilli as New Interim President & CEO Read the release

Claim: Wal-Mart employs more people in China than every Chinese company combined employs in the US by Tim Fernholz at Quartz.  Read more

American Apparel Chairwoman Colleen Brown’s $2.5M Seattle-area manse hits the market by Patti Payne at Puget Sound Business Journal. See the 23 pics

Tipsheet Extra

Petsmart Part Ways with Ad Agency After Less Than Seven Months

Ace Hardware Supports Bees

Are Tesla’s pop-up stores Musk’s secret weapon?

Peter Thiel-backed VC firm backs Granify, a crystal-ball-like retail tech startup

Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH Enters the Downtown Market with First Metropolitan Store Location in San Francisco

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

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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.

Amazon to stop funneling European sales through low-tax haven by Mark Scott at NY Times via Seattle Times. “The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is also investigating whether Apple and Amazon receive unfair state support through low-tax agreements in Ireland and Luxembourg, respectively, where the companies run their European operations.” Read more

Sneak Preview: What it’s like to shop on Jet.com, the startup that’s gunning for Amazon by Tricia Duryee at Geek Wire. “Selection, in general, is probably the biggest ding on Jet’s shopping experience. Then again, some people might find Amazon’s thousands of options per item daunting, so I can see where people might appreciate the limited selection, too.” Read more

Wal-Mart presses meat suppliers on antibiotics, treatment at Dallas Morning News. “That means asking meat producers, egg suppliers and others to use antibiotics only for disease prevention or treatment, not to fatten their animals, a common industry practice. Experts say Wal-Mart is the first major retailer to take a stance to limit the use of the antibiotics.” Read more

How Target Corp’s demise in Canada could be a gain for Lowe’s by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. Read more

Boy picking out prize for riding without training wheels gets bike stolen at Walmart by Carol Robinson at AL.com. “The boy, he said, wasn’t happy. “He was mad,” Jones said. “He just kind of clammed up. He didn’t say much.” That changed when Jones and other officers took him back inside and bought him a new bicycle, with a few extra bells and whistles, or in this case, lights. “He’s happy now,” Jones said.” Read more

***A message from Mobee: Mobee has over 350,000 GPS Tracked, Smartphone enabled ‘Bees’ located within 5 miles of every retail store in the USA. We detect supply chain issues quickly and issue fix alerts to remedy the problem in hours not months. Our “Supply Chain Fix Alerts” have resulted in post-alert sales increases of up to +35% by getting displays up and product on shelf.  How Mobee works video. Contact dowdy@getmobee.com to request a “Free Pilot”.

Proposed $19 million data breach settlement between Target and MasterCard is voided by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “The setback for Target and MasterCard was met with cheers by the lead plaintiffs’ attorneys in a federal lawsuit against Target brought by smaller banks who have denounced the proposed settlement as too little relief. They have called the settlement “laughable”. Read more

France is making it illegal for supermarkets to throw away edible food by Roberto A. Ferdman at Washingon Post. “The European country’s parliament voted unanimously for the new law, which will force grocers to either donate the food to charity or make sure that it is used as animal feed. “It’s scandalous to see bleach being poured into supermarket dustbins along with edible foods,” Guillaume Garot, a former food minister who introduced the bill, told the legislature Thursday evening.” Read more

From the aisles of Costco, Frank Fiorina attempts to humanize his wife by Ben Terris at Washington Post. “This is really weird, you guys,” he told his entourage while picking up a 30-pack of double-ply Kirkland-brand toilet paper. He was a regular at the store, but this was the first time he had gone shopping in service to political journalism. “I don’t know how long you want this to go on, but usually I can do my shopping pretty quick.” Read more

Amazon taking direct aim at Etsy with new marketplace for hand-crafted goods by John Cook at Geek Wire. “We’re offering artisans like you a first peek at Handmade, a new marketplace for handcrafted goods,” according to an email that the Journal obtained that was sent to Etsy sellers.” 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.

Home Depot Q1 US Comp Sales +7.1% “Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 were positive 6.1 percent…the Company raised its fiscal 2015 sales guidance and now expects sales will be up approximately 4.2 percent to 4.8 percent and comp sales will be up approximately 4.0 percent to 4.6 percent.” Read the release

Home Depot sales and earnings beat thanks to the ‘continued recovery of the US housing market’ at Reuters. “Revenue rose 6 percent to $20.89 billion. Excluding items, the company earned $1.16 per share. Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.15 per share and revenue of $20.81 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.” Read more

Walmart Q1 Comp Sales +1.1% “E-commerce sales globally increased approximately 17%. Consolidated operating income declined 8.3%, due to impacts from currency fluctuations and investments in associate wages & training and e-commerce.” Read the release

Wal-Mart revenues and earnings miss by Akin Oyedele at Business Insider. “The world’s largest retailer reported first quarter diluted earnings per share of $1.03, missing expectations for $1.05, according to Bloomberg. The company posted revenues of $114.88 billion, below the consensus forecast for $116.23 billion.” Read more

Dick’s Sporting Goods Q1 Comp +1.8% “The Company expects to open approximately 45 new DICK’S Sporting Goods stores and relocate seven DICK’S Sporting Goods stores in 2015. The Company also expects to open approximately nine Field & Stream stores and relocate one Golf Galaxy store in 2015.” Read the release

Lane Bryant owner to buy Ann Taylor stores for $2.15 billion by Samantha Masunaga at LA Times.  Read more

J.C. Penney bag appearance on Mad Men’s finale was a big surprise by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “Usually a movie or TV producer works with the company to feature new or vintage Penney branding, she said. But in this case, no one at the company recalls receiving a request from Mad Men. And no one is complaining in Plano.” Read more

***A Message from CLUG: The World’s Smallest Bike Rack is Now Available. The CLUG Bike Clip is targeted at the urban cyclist and the casual enthusiast who are short on storage space for their bikes.  CLUG is a patent pending, high quality product that made the list of 2014 Best Stuff by GQ Magazine in their December 2014 issue.  See the video.  See the sell sheet.  Retailers:Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to request a product sample.

The ‘adventure’ of doing business with Wal-Mart by Kim Souza at The City Wire. Read more

Feds propose multi-pronged plan to bolster decline in bees by Seth Borenstein at AP via Yahoo. “Lessening “the effects of pesticides on bees is a priority for the federal government,” the report said.” Read more

Restoration Hardware plans largest U.S. store for Las Vegas by Jennifer Robison at Las Vegas Review Journal. “At more than 70,000 square feet, the store will be Restoration Hardware’s first Nevada location…The Atlanta store is currently the biggest outpost, at 68,000 square feet. The typical Restoration Hardware store is about 10,000 square feet.” Read more

Atlanta No. 1 city for mosquitoes by Phil Hudson at Atlanta Business Chronicle. See the top 10 city list

The 10 most-purchased brands in the world at Business Insider. See Kantar’s top 10 list

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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.