Lowe's Q2 Comp +4.3% "Comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business increased 4.6 percent for the second quarter and 4.9 percent for the six month period." Read the release   Lowe's posts earnings miss, revenue beat on big ticket sales by Reem Nasr at CNBC. "(Lowe's) posted second-quarter earnings of $1.20 per share, up from $1.04 a share in the year-earlier period...Wall Street had expected Lowe's to deliver quarterly earnings per share of $1.24." Read more   Target to Webcast 2nd Quarter Earnings Conference Call at 9:30 am CST  Listen here   Costco’s online photo center delayed again, may [...]

  Walmart Q2 US Comp +1.5% "Neighborhood Market comps increased approximately 7.3%...E-commerce sales globally increased approximately 16% on a constant currency basis." Read the release   Walmart Cuts Guidance, Sending Shares Lower via CNBC. "The company posted earnings of $1.08 per share, down from $1.21 a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue edged up to $120.2 billion from $120.13 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected Wal-Mart to report earnings of $1.12 a share on $119.72 billion in revenue." Read more   Home Depot Q2 Comp +4.2% (US +5.7%) "Home Depot raised its fiscal 2015 sales guidance and now expects sales will [...]

  Earnings Week: Dick's, Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe's, Target, etc. report this week.  Stay tuned for "Heard on the Call" earnings call highlights all week...   NY Times Hits Amazon: “Nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk.” by Jodi Kantor & David Streitfeld at NY Times. "The internal phone directory instructs colleagues on how to send secret feedback to one another’s bosses. Employees say it is frequently used to sabotage others...“You walk out of a conference room and you’ll see a grown man covering his face,” he said. “Nearly every person I worked with, I saw [...]

  Target to sell its west campus building, move 1,300 employees to Brooklyn Park by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "We decided that doing a consolidation between the downtown and north campus would align the teams in the best way,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said Thursday. “We are very committed to our headquarters locations in Brooklyn Park and downtown.” Read more   NY Times: Stores Suffer From a Shift of Behavior in Buyers by Hiroko Tabuchi. "The religion of consumption has proven to be unfulfilling,” he said. “The ‘pile it high and watch it fly’ mentality at department stores no [...]

  Walmart opens 21st store in India after a hiatus of about four years at The Economic Times. "Walmart India recently announced plans to add 50 more cash and carry stores over four to five years, saying it continues to focus on B2B segment in the country." Read more   Target Names Former Clorox, Safeway CEOs to Board of Directors by Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg. "Donald Knauss, 64, served as CEO of Clorox from 2006 to 2014 and was previously chief operating officer for Coca-Cola North America. Robert Edwards, 60, stepped down as head of Safeway in April." Read more [...]

  Target execs ask suppliers to embrace changes in stores and online by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "That anxiety is being especially felt among packaged-food companies as Target looks to add more natural and organic products to its shelves. “There’s a simple truth: This wellness movement is incredibly important to our guest,” Cornell said. “It’s a really big space. … It’s growing faster than just about anything else.” Read more   ...Jeff Jones Says "On-Demand" Grocery Delivery Service Coming Soon  See Link Above   Costco CEO Fires Back Amid Caged Egg Billboard by Jade Scipioni at Fox Business. "Costco’s CEO [...]

  Humane Society ups PR ante in battle with Costco by Kate Gibson at CBS Money Watch. "Starting Monday, the animal welfare group will broadcast graphic footage of hens allegedly being mistreated at a Pennsylvania supplier of eggs to Costco on a 1,700 square-foot billboard in Times Square. The group shot the undercover footage as part of a campaign to pressure the retailer to only sell eggs from cage-free hen." Read more   Wal-Mart Still Wanted by a Majority of New Yorkers, Poll Shows by Matthew Townsend at Bloomberg. "A majority of New York City residents -- 55 percent -- [...]

  Target to remove gender-based labeling in toy aisles by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. "(Target) said its teams are identifying other parts of the store where they could make similar changes, but added that gender-based language still makes sense in some departments such as apparel where sizing and fit are different." Read more   ...“Why don’t you paint your store white so you offend nobody at all” one Facebook commenter wrote via Jessica Contrera at Washington Post. "Of course, getting rid of gender-based marketing is a marketing move, too. Target will surely be looking out for customers’ reactions, and so far, many [...]