Department stores duke it out over these shoppers by Krystina Gusfafson at CNBC. "...after losing market share to a swath of competition over the past 10 years, the department store set is clawing back for a bigger slice of the beauty business." Read more   Kroger installing in-store beer taps by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. "This fall, customers will be able to buy or bring in their own growlers to fill with craft beers fresh from in-store taps at the new Kroger Marketplace in Oakley as well as the Harper’s Point Kroger store in Montgomery." Read more   Myanmar [...]

  Companies are on the hook for contractors' labor policies, NLRB says by Shan Li & Chris Kirkham. "The ruling could change operations of high-profile companies in a diverse group of industries, such as Wal-Mart, which subcontracts out warehouse work...The three Democrats on the board voted for the ruling and the two Republicans voted against." Read more   Woman Finds Vials of Blood Inside Target Order by Josh Einiger at ABC 7 NY. "Packed inside were five different vials of the same person's blood. And, for good measure, she also found a PlayStation game with a creepy title. "What a coincidence, [...]

  Walmart using ‘Star Wars’ to start Christmas push in August by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. "The discounter will kick off its Christmas marketing plans on Friday with a Toy Week that will feature plenty of items tied to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” It’s the earliest Walmart has ever kicked off its holiday push." Read more   Report: Amazon lays off “dozens” in hardware group as it rethinks Fire Phone by Jacob Demmitt at GeekWire. "The group also is reportedly slowing down development of some of its most ambitious projects, like a large-screen tablet. The company had once planned [...]

  Booze at our door in 34 minutes: Testing Amazon’s new Prime Now alcohol delivery service by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. "Amazon previously rolled out alcohol delivery as part of Prime Now in London, but this marks the U.S. debut of the service." Read more   SEC won't penalize Target over 2013 data breach by Evan Ramstad at Star Tribune. "In Tuesday’s filing, the company said it now estimates paying $264 million in breach-related costs...That’s up from its previous estimate of $252 million. About $90 million has been covered by ­Target’s insurers." Read more   How a North Carolina tech [...]

  Target to pay $2.8M in EEOC settlement by Paul Walsh at Star Tribune. "“The tests were not sufficiently job-related,” Schmid said. “The tests on their face were neutral...They disproportionately screened out people in particular groups,” namely blacks, Asians and women...Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said the company has and continues “to firmly believe that no improper behavior occurred regarding these assessments." Read more   Best Buy Q2 Comp +2.7% "Online comparable sales increased 17.0%." Read the release   CNBC: Best Buy Shares Soar 11% After Earnings Easily Beat by Fred Imbert. "Still, Best Buy said its international revenue dropped by [...]

  One year in: Brian Cornell says he's here to stay as tries to modernize Target by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "There’s just change, change, change,” said one longtime employee...Cornell and other executives have also been clear that the next round of layoffs will be in the technology services department, which has been relatively immune to reductions thus far. “I don’t think there are any secrets about it around town,” he said." Read more   Interview: NYT reporter Jodi Kantor on the Amazon story, and what she would have asked Jeff Bezos by Todd Bishop at Geek Wire. "I [...]

  Modular decisions shift back to Walmart store operators by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "This recent shift in decision making means that the store operators have the final say whether an item is right for their store and they can control how it is merchandised...With this shift in modular decisions, large suppliers who in past years have downsized their merchandising staffs could be forced to shift budgets and once again reallocate more resources to the stores." Read more   Wal-Mart makes high-level executive changes in U.S, China by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "In recent internal memo [...]

  Costco Sued Over Claims Shrimp Harvested With Slave Labor by Erik Larson at Bloomberg. "Richard Galanti...said in a statement that the company has been working closely with the Thai government, the Thai fishing industry and other retailers “to address the issues that have surfaced” over the past year." Read more   Target CEO says store's stocking problems are "unacceptable” by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "Frankly, as a result, some retail fundamentals have started to suffer,” (Brian Cornell) said. “Specifically, in-stocks in our stores have been unacceptable so far this year. Our guests deserve better.” Read more   New [...]