Today’s Tipsheet: Ex-Wmart CEO Crashes Plane | Target Shutters 13 | BOPUS: 50% Had Problems | L.L.Bean New CEO

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By Jason Long, jlong@eyeonretail.net

 

Plane piloted by former Walmart CEO Bill Simon crashes in Arkansas by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. “The pilot deployed an emergency parachute and the aircraft descended onto Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fayetteville near Fayetteville High School. When the plane touched ground, it collided with a 2012 GMC truck driven by Shakemia Harris. Harris was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.” Read more

 

Target Shutters 13 Stores by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “The decision to close a Target store is not made lightly,” spokesperson Kristy Welker said…”Typically, the decision to close a store is as a result of seeing several years of decreasing profitability.” See the list of 13 / Read more

 

…Around 9,000 Target-Lovers Rally To Save Their New Ulm (MN) Store by Kelsey Hering at KEYC 12 News. “The New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce was notified of the close Monday, but already almost 9,000 have joined the #SaveNewUlmTarget Facebook group in an effort to keep the store from closing.” See the video / Read more

 

Lumber Liquidators names new CEO as sales slump continues at Reuters. “Lumber Liquidators appointed board member John Presley chief executive…” Read more

 

Sam’s Club (again) shakes up its merchandising team with key changes by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Bryant Harris, senior vice president, general merchandise manager (GMM) of food and beverage, will now hold a similar role as general merchandise manager of fresh. Reporting to Harris will be:
• Paul Hunt – vice president, divisional merchandise manager (DMM) of freezer/cooler
• Russell Mounce – vice president, DMM of produce
• Mike Turner – vice president, fresh operations
• Dennis Horn – senior merchandise director of café
• Eileen Fischer – senior merchandise director of bakery”  Read more

 

L.L. Bean Names Ex-Walmart Exec as New CEO by Taryn Luna at Boston Globe. “L.L.Bean has gone outside its ranks for the first time to pick a chief executive, on Tuesday naming veteran retailer Stephen Smith to lead the 103-year-old company. And Smith, 45, who starts in early January, said he already feels the pressure…” Read more

 

Google abandons plan to open retail outlet in New York, but why? by Gina Hall at Silicon Valley Business Journal. “The company spent millions to restore and build out 131 Greene Street. According to the report, the renovations included glass skylights, large windows, exposed brick, and removing a portion of the ground floor to create an area in the back with high ceilings. The exterior of the building was also restored.” Read more

 

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Retailers Struggle Getting E-Commerce Goods to Customers, Study Says by Loretta Chao at WSJ. “A survey of over 1,000 online U.S.-based shoppers by and JDA Software Group Inc. shows that, of 35% who opted to buy online and pick up goods in a store in the past year, 50% encountered problems getting their purchases.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Walgreens Takes Top Spot in Radio, Home Depot Falls to Fifth at Radio Ink. “The drug-store chain cranked out over 50,000 spots last week. The Home Depot dropped from first to fifth with 27,132 commercials aired.” Read more

 

Dick’s Rewards Customers for an Active Lifestyle “The new “Move” feature of the DICK’S Sporting Goods app allows users to connect to fitness tracking applications MapMyRun and Fitbit to earn DICK’S ScoreCard points for achieving activity goals.” Read the release

 

Will Target Be Open On Thanksgiving? Employees Push Back by Sarah Berger at International Business Times. “The petition calling for Target to stay closed on Thanksgiving was started by a employee from Woodbury, New Jersey, who has worked at the retailer for more than nine years, according to the petition. As of Tuesday evening, the petition had garnered 37,231 signatures.” Read more

 

Walmart exec assumes COO spot at Brookdale by Michael Johnsen at Chain Store Age. “The top executive over Health and Wellness of Walmart’s U.S. division is leaving to join Brookdale Senior Living as its COO. Labeed Diab will have responsibility for all aspects of Brookdale’s operations, including community and field operations, marketing and sales.” Read more

 

Bankrupt A&P unable to get buyers for 1/3 of stores by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. Read more

 

Sears names Carrie Kirkman president and chief merchant by Pete Evans at CBC News. “Prior to coming to Sears (Carrie) Kirkman had been the interim president of shoe retailer Nine West Canada and was president of Jones Apparel Group from 2010 until April of 2015. She’s also worked at Sears rival Hudson’s Bay Co., Liz Claiborne, Kenneth Cole and Alfred Sung.” Read more

 

Sugar Paper Unwraps a New Holiday Line of Paper Goods for Target at A Bullseye View. Read more

 

Esty Struggles to Remain Cozy and Local Amid Global Expansion by Elizabeth Segran at Fast Company. “..no matter how trendy or local the factory, manufacturing at scale goes against Etsy’s original value proposition of offering handmade, one-of-a-kind items.” Read more  Read the release

 

Pepsi Plans New ‘1893’ Soda by E.J.Schultz at Ad Age. “A PepsiCo spokeswoman confirmed the launch of 1893 to Ad Age but provided no further details. The company in August filed a trademark application for the phrase “1893 From the makers of Pepsi-Cola.” Read more

 

Canada: Ex-Target locations to be divided into smaller stores by Jamie Sturgeon at Global News. “RioCan is still owed hundreds of millions of dollars in back rent from Target, which exited Canada in April. The mall owner is currently negotiating with the retailer on a settlement, RioCan said.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

CVC summons top Walmart India official in link to alleged bribery case

RioCan feels pinch of Target Canada’s exit as search for new tenants begins

Tiffany’s First-Ever Retail Partnership Has Major, Retro Glamorous Appeal

Publix retains iron grip on No. 1 spot in Florida’s competitive grocery business

Maps reveal the first days of snow across the US and show the areas most likely to be worst hit

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

Today’s Tipsheet: Target Exec to W.Foods | Introducing Dollar Express | Amazon Bookstore Store Opens Today

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NY Times: Wall Street Sours on Whole Foods Market by Stephanie Strom. “Their single biggest problem is their price image,” said Meredith Adler, who follows the company for Barclays Capital…”The Whole Foods Market brand may never shake that label,” Mr. Mackey said in a wide-ranging interview during a recent trip to New York.” Read more

 

Dollar Tree sells 330 Family Dollar stores to newbie Dollar Express by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “The divested stores will operated under the Dollar Express banner. Sycamore Partners has offered few details about the new concept.” Read more

 

Kroger Expands “Scan, Bag, Go” Pilot by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Kroger is expanding testing of its “Scan, Bag, Go” pilot in Greater Cincinnati to 15 local stores…the program gives interested shoppers personal scanners as they shop.” Read more

 

Today: Amazon opens first-ever physical bookstore by Jeanine Stewart at Puget Sound Business Journal. “These aren’t metaphorical doors: these real, wooden doors are the entrance to our new store in Seattle’s University Village,” the company said.” Read more  Read Amazon’s letter

 

…Inside Amazon’s first bookstore by Taylor Soper at GeekWire.  See the in-store pics / Read more

 

Whole Foods taps Target Exec to lead non-perishable purchasing at Supermarket News. “(Don) Clark is responsible for all functions of Whole Foods Market’s non-perishable business, including growth through strong supplier relationships, inventory and category management initiatives and the management and expansion of the grocer’s exclusive brands program.” Read the release

 

Nielsen: Majority of Millennials shop Wal-Mart over all other retailers at The City Wire. “75.5% of Millennial consumers shopped at Wal-Mart in the last three-month period. Target garnered 55.6% of the demographic’s shopping trips and Amazon registered 46.8% of their retail business. The rest of the “Top 10 Retailer” list includes: Dollar Tree 38.6%; Kohl’s 30.9%; Dollar General 30.2%; JCPenney 26.4%; Family Dollar 25.6%; Best Buy 25.5%; and Macy’s 22.9%.” Read more

 

…Target closes gap to 2% with upscale millennials via Nielsen See the upscale millennial ranking

 

When It Comes to Coupons, Shoppers Prefer Paper by Molly Blake at NBC News. “Surprisingly even 18- to 24-year-olds, arguably the most mobile and tech savvy generation ever, use paper coupons more than twice as much as any other method.” Read more

 

Macy’s Starts Off Holiday Effort With Wish Fulfillment by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “This time around, the department store chain has produced a three-minute film online featuring a magic pen that grants wishes — like making it snow — and encourages children to believe in the spirit of the season.” See the video / Read more

 

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Paul Ryan Keeps his Distance from Lobbyists but Maintains Friendship with Home Depot’s Kent Knutson by Anna Palmer at Politico. Read more

 

Google X Drones Could Deliver You Something as Soon as 2017 by Mark Bergen at Recode. Read more

 

HEB to offer its 55,000 employees stock at Austin Business Journal. “Beginning Jan. 1, eligible employees will receive a portion of stock worth 3 percent of their salary, plus $100 in stock value for each year they have earned by the end of 2015.” Read more

 

With New CMO, eBay Extends Holiday Season to Become Browsing Destination by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “On Nov. 2, the San Jose, Calif.-based company unveils its Wish Bigger campaign, which will include a single “holiday hub” website address for all seasonal shopping, and a “heatmap” that tracks hot items in different regions.” Read more

 

Amazon Revamps Parental Leave Policy by Nitish Kulkarni at TechCrunch. “…new policy includes 20 weeks of paid parental leave for birth mothers and a novel leave-sharing system that allows employees to share up to 6 weeks of paid leave with a partner.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Man accused of setting off explosive to protest Wal-Mart removing Confederate merchandise

Chicago designer accuses Target of t-shirt design infringement

Best Buy Adds Same-Day Delivery in San Francisco

Walmart offers employees free GED program

MIT researchers say their drones can safely navigate forests at 30 mph

How Bloomingdale’s Plain Paper Shopping Bags Became So Incredibly Iconic

Amazon gets more clicks than Canadian web retailers, but it isn’t hurting sales — yet

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Today’s Tipsheet: Cramer’s Ideas for Wmart | Star Wars Book Pushed | Blue Light Back | Largest Costco “On the Planet”

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By Jason Long, jlong@eyeonretail.net

 

Amazon doubles holiday ‘lightning deals’ to 30,000 by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “The move is one piece of Amazon’s early Black Friday sales event, which starts Monday and runs through Dec. 22.” Read more

 

Target Senior VP: “We think it’s all going to be about drones and Star Wars” this holiday season by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. Read more

 

Walt Disney Co. is so determined to maintain the secrecy surrounding its hotly anticipated “Star Wars” movie that it asked its publishing partner to delay the release of a hardcover book tied to the film and forgo a potential holiday sales bonanza by Jeffrey Trachtenberg & Ben Fritz at WSJ. Read more (Subscription)

 

Fortune: Look out, Home Depot: Gracious Home is making a comeback (with ex-Walmart exec at the helm) See the video

 

Forget delivery drones, meet your new delivery robot by Jeniece Pettitt via CNBC. “God forbid a drone or a robot hits a toddler, or kills a cat or a dog,” Broughton said. “The liability is just too high.” Read more

 

Cramer drafts ideas for Wal-Mart at CNBC. “It could strike a deal with T-Mobile, and offer to slice phone bills low…Or it could offer customers free internet if they spent $100 at Walmart.com or $50 on specialty marked items in store. Heck, it could even tell Howard Schultz from Starbucks that it will give away coffee for free to anyone with a Wal-Mart credit card and reimburse Starbucks for the coffee. “That’s why I didn’t want CEO Doug McMillon to commit to that $20 billion buyback over the next two years…” Read more

 

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FBI Takes a Bullet in Banks’ $50 Billion Fee War With Retailers by Elizabeth Dexheimer & Robert Schmidt at Bloomberg. “The FBI has accidentally stepped in a hot-button political issue,” said Nick Holland, who tracked the incident as an analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, a consulting firm that focuses on the payments industry.” Read more

 

QVC: The unlikely juggernaut of mobile shopping by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “With a strategy centered on “second screening” — the tendency to watch TV while also swiping and tapping on a gadget — QVC has become the fifth-largest mobile commerce retailer in the United States…In fact, it is projected to ring up a mobile sales haul this year that is nearly as large as Wal-Mart’s.” Read more

 

Salt Lake Costco becomes largest in the world by Jasen Lee at Deseret News. “We decided to add a business center and combined it with a (traditional consumer) warehouse for a hybrid,” said general manager Craig Jamieson. “Currently, we’re the largest Costco on the planet.” Read more

 

Walgreens willing to shed 1,000 stores on Rite Aid deal by Ameet Sachdev at Chicago Tribune. “The cap represents about 8 percent of the combined company’s 12,700 U.S. stores.” Read more

 

How Wal-Mart’s Halloween Swat Team Stops Offensive Costumes by Jeff Green at Bloomberg. “The Wal-Mart compliance team doesn’t simply react whenever a product provokes a public backlash. Each day, often with (Bao) Nguyen’s help, the group scours headlines and online products to identify items that might become newly offensive in light of the day’s news. It’s a responsibility that extends beyond Halloween.” Read more

 

Struggling retailer Kmart turns the blue light back on by Nathan Layne at Reuters. “The retailer started sounding the blue sirens used to flag the surprise, 15-minute long deals to shoppers at its 942 stores on Friday, and will kick-off a marketing campaign to highlight the move with a TV ad on “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.” Read more

 

WSJ: Retailers Work Harder to Lure Holiday Employees by Suzanne Kapner & Paul Ziobro. “Toys “R” Us Inc. is giving part-time employees the chance to double their hours compared with a year ago. Macy’s Inc. is looking to turn more part-time jobs into full-time positions and Target Corp. is offering holiday workers more money for the busiest shifts…” Read more (Subscription)

 

Tipsheet Extra

ConAgra selling private label unit to TreeHouse Foods

Amazon Kills Credit Card Reader And Square Competitor, ‘Register’

It Turns Out Shopping-Center Santas Actually Do Bring People in the Door

Inside Best Buy’s new Seattle technology development center

P&G discloses more on feminine care ingredients

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories