Archive for month: June, 2015

NLRB slaps down Walmart dress code by Sean Higgins at Washington Examiner. “Walmart violated its employees’ rights when it instituted a restrictive new dress code last year that union activists said was intended to prevent workers from wearing labor insignia on their clothes, a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge has ruled. The judge ordered the retail giant to rescind the dress code at all of its stores.” Read more

Sears 1Q loss narrows but sales slump continues at AP. “Sales at Sears domestic locations open at least a year dropped 14.5 percent, while sales at Kmart domestic locations open at least a year declined 7 percent.” Read more

175,000 doses of narcotics stolen in Baltimore riots by Kevin Johnson at USA Today. Read more

NY Post: Walmart CEO ignores laid-off employees’ pleas to get jobs back by Lisa Fickenscher. “But that’s more than Greg Penner, the newly appointed chairman of Walmart, offered. The son-in-law of outgoing chairman Rob Walton “ran away from us and kept going until he reached a tunnel,” Luna said, adding that “security guards stopped us.” Read more

Teri L. List-Stoll to join DICK’S Sporting Goods as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer “Prior to joining the Company, she was employed by Kraft Foods Group from September 2013 to May 2015. “ Read the release

***A message from Mobee’s ‘Bees’: 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.

President of Lord & Taylor & Hudson Bay in NY Times Q&A “We’re in a lot of meetings, and they’re very purposeful and we have agendas. If somebody isn’t listening and following the trail of where we are in the conversation, I get annoyed. When we run a meeting, we expect people to speak up, and if they don’t understand something, they should ask about it.” Read the Q&A

Walgreens gets European makeover with Scottish exec by Ameet Sachdev at Chicago Tribune via Seattle Times. “Scotland native Alex Gourlay, 55, is in charge of the drugstore chain’s nearly 8,300 stores across the country…Under Gourlay, Walgreens plans to aggressively reduce costs in its U.S. pharmacy business by closing stores and removing layers of management, pay more attention to shopping patterns using data collected from its loyalty card and sell more beauty products.” Read more

Walmart’s CEO calls on staff to be like Han Solo, other Star Wars rebels by Phil Wahba at Fortune. Read more

Blue Nile opens first stand-alone store in Long Island mall by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “The so-called “Webroom,” a 325-square-foot space with a half-dozen staffers, grew out of the Seattle retailer’s experiments with temporary counters inside a couple of Nordstrom stores. It also draws on the experience accumulated by placing booths at wedding shows in China — wildly popular fairs that helped drive a 50 percent yearly increase in Blue Nile’s sales there.” Read more

Reese Witherspoon Does Legally Blonde’s “Bend and Snap” at Walmart Event at Us Magazine. “Bend, and you snap, and you stock!” Witherspoon exclaimed…The Draper James designer wasn’t the only star in attendance. Witherspoon was also joined by Carol Burnett, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Brian McKnight, and Drew Barrymore, who was on hand to support her Flower cosmetics.” Read more / See the video

Tipsheet Extra

Rabid bat bites woman at Albuquerque Walmart

Tesco reclaims top spot in Ireland

Behind the Scenes With Carrie Underwood at Her Calia Fitness Line Shoot

Amazon is hiring a dream team to build its first PC game

Eataly Confirms Hack

Here are the top 10 most concentrated ‘Millennial markets’

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. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net

Costco May Comp Sales Flat “Comparable sales for these periods, excluding the negative impacts from gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange, were +6%” Read the release

Why Wal-Mart is ditching its Celine Dion soundtrack and getting a DJ by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “The CD was a punch line multiple times in executives’ presentation to workers, including when a puppet character named Willie joked that being a Wal-Mart store worker was getting dangerous. When Mike Moore, executive vice president of supercenters, asked why, Willie replied, “One of my fellow associates recently developed a serious eye-tic from hearing Celine Dion’s greatest hits on loop in our stores.” Justin Bieber was also name-checked as one of the singers featured on the notorious CD.” Read more

Five Below Q1 Comp Sales +1.7% Read the release

Wal-Mart relaxing dress code & raising temperature in stores to address worker concerns at Reuters. “My job is to make your life easier,” Greg Foran, head of the retailer’s U.S. operations, told the workers at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetville, Arkansas. Under a new dress code due in July, store workers will be allowed to wear black and khaki denim pants in addition to khaki trousers permitted by the existing code. Workers with physically demanding jobs will be allowed to wear blue denim and T-shirts.” Read more

***A message from Dolce Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Among the many unique qualities of Chile is an agricultural paradise situated between the mountains, rivers, and sea. From this oasis comes Dolce Super Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Featuring the lowest acidity rate in the category at 0.2%. Our advanced systems ensure less than 12 hours between harvest and oil extraction to packaging. See the website. Retailers request a sample at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

Dick’s Sporting Goods shareholders approve the re-election of three directors at Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “Vincent C. Byrd, vice chairman of the J.M. Smucker Co.; William Colombo, vice chairman of Dick’s; and Larry D. Stone, former president and COO of home improvement chain Lowe’s…The company’s six-minute-long annual meeting was held Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency at the Pittsburgh International Airport.” Read more

It’s a Plaid, Plaid World at Target this Fall at A Bullseye View. “To help herald in its fall plaid takeover, Target tapped designer Adam Lippes to create more than 50 items inspired by buffalo plaid for the Adam Lippes for Target collection of apparel, accessories, pet goods and home furnishings.” Read the Q&A with Kathee Tesija

Costco welcomes shoppers to its new Wichita store by Jerry Siebenmark at The Wichita Eagle. “Marilyn Regier was one of dozens of Wichitans who arrived before the opening of the area’s first Costco store Wednesday morning – and was rewarded with entry into the store before its official 8 a.m. opening. “We came at 7:30 and they were already letting us in,” said Regier of Wichita. “It’s so exciting.” Read more / See the pics & video

Amazon will start charging merchants more if they want to use its frictionless checkout services at Business Insider. Read more

Rising Walmart executive Stacey Hodoh returns to Buchtel to give commencement address by Betty Lin-Fisher at Beacon Journal. “Hodoh, 48, is quickly moving up the executive ranks at Walmart, where she is now interim vice president of logistics for Walmart’s Mexican operations, called Walmex. In her short-term role, she is in charge of all distribution, transportation, engineering, e-commerce and logistics planning for Mexico.” Read the Q&A

See how Amazon just changed its famed shipping boxes by Benjamin Snyder at Fortune. “Amazon now gets the honor of reportedly being the first company to use its packaging to advertise an un-related product. The company is rolling out ads on its delivery boxes in bright yellow to boost the new Minions movie from theDespicable Me franchise.” Read more

Couple ties the knot at Home Depot in Phoenix at WFSB 3. “Olsen’s bouquet was made out of plumbing supplies. The ceremony took place in the garden section and the wedding party included all of their co-workers.” See the pics

Amazon’s Roy Price Honored at United Friends of the Children’s Brass Ring Awards by Mannie Holmes at Variety. “The 12th annual Brass Ring Awards was filled with golden moments at the Beverly Hilton on Tuesday. Presented by the United Friends of the Children (UFC), the philanthropic event honored Amazon Studios VP Roy Price. Malcolm McDowell hosted the dinner and auction, which began with anecdotes of youth benefiting from the organizations’ commitment.” Read more

US-China Business Council Names Doug McMillon as New Board Member Read the release

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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.

Target offers free shipping on online orders this week by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “This is only the third time Target has offered a free-for-all when it comes to shipping on its website.” Read more

Target CEO Appears on Mad Money by Abigail Stevenson at CNBC. “…so how can Target appeal to all of those different constituencies at once? “We really can’t. We’ve got to make sure we stay very focused and we understand our sweet spot. Our sweet spot today is what we call the demanding enthusiast,” Cornell said.” See the video / Read more

Wal-Mart kicks off next phase of wage increases by Anne D’Innocenzio at AP. “Wal-Mart told The Associated Press late Monday that department managers of complex and service-oriented jobs in areas like produce, electronics and auto care, will start at $13 per hour and top out at $24.70 per hour, beginning next month. Starting next February, they will be paid at least $15 per hour. Previously, the pay range was from $10.30 to $20.09.” Read more

Home Depot asks court to dismiss consumers’ data breach lawsuit by David Allison at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Home Depot’s June 1 court filing marks the first time the company has responded to charges leveled against it due to the data breach…Home Depot contends most of the consumers have been fully reimbursed for their losses. “In addition,” the company claims, “none of the named plaintiffs’ purported injuries are traceable to Home Depot’s conduct.” Read more

Retailers: Stop blaming millennials for weak sales by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Misleading media and hype lead [online business] executives to believe that these changes are somehow different from anything that’s happened before, and that they must address these generational variances immediately or perish,” Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said. “That perception is misguided at best, false at worst.” Read more

Retail watcher talks decades of Wal-Mart coverage, picnics and float trips by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Everyone remembers the time Sam Walton danced the hula on Wall Street in a grass skirt when the company’s sales growth surpassed 8%. In doing that, he endeared himself to analysts. He was a lot of fun and made a big impression on us back then,” (Walter) Loeb shared. Read more / See video of Sam dancing the hula

***A message from Mobee’s ‘Bees’: 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.

Affidavit reveals glimpse into Loblaw pricing practices by Marina Strauss & Jeff Gray at The Globe & Mail. “Loblaw collected more than “tens of millions of dollars” from its suppliers last year for practices which, according to the Competition Bureau, could be anti-competitive and ultimately lead to higher prices. The revelation is contained in an affidavit sworn in Federal Court that is part of the bureau’s investigation into Loblaw’s potential anti-competitive behaviour with its suppliers, forcing them to make up the difference to match retail rivals’ lower prices.” Read more

Sears Shareholders Sue, Claim CEO Is Stripping Company For Parts by Laura Northrup at Consumerist. Read more

The 25 Companies Where Top Millennials Most Want To Work In 2015 (Amazon #11) by Susan Adams at Forbes. See the top 25 list

330 Family Dollar stores to become Dollar Express after acquisition by Jen Wilson at Charlotte Business Journal. Read more

***Check out the new Eye on Retail website www.eyeonretail.net

Wal-Mart shareholder week brings crowds, celebrities, concerts and protestors by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “This year Whaling said Train and Lighthouse will perform on Tuesday (June 2) while Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform on Wednesday night (June 3).” Read more

Kroger making huge investment in Greater Cincinnati, adding 650 jobs by Tom Demeropolis at Cincinnati Business Courier. Read more

Neiman Marcus fills key c-suite job with footwear executive by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. 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.