Archive for year: 2016

 

Kate Spade on the hunt for a potential buyer by Carleton English & Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “On Wednesday, Kate Spade shares jumped 23 percent to $17.86 on reports that it was considering a sale.” Read more

 

Nasty Gal Receives $20 Million Offer From British Retailer Boohoo by Caroline Anderson at Los Angeles Business Journal. “Boohoo said the deal only included intellectual property assets and excluded operating costs. Nasty Gal reported $10 million in inventory in its bankruptcy filing, suggesting that Boohoo values the company’s intellectual property at around $10 million.” Read more

 

CVS fires back at Texas regulators in $30 million Medicaid fraud case by Ryan Autullo at Austin American-Statesman. “CVS Pharmacy, accused by the state of Texas of defrauding Medicaid of $30.5 million, is suing the state Health and Human Services Commission, claiming state officials approved the billing practices at the heart of the fraud case.” Read more

 

Apple dominates Samsung in Holiday gadget shopping while Google ‘struggled’ to excite by Arjun Kharpal at CNBC. “44 percent of activations globally were Apple devices, a decline from the 49.1 percent seen in a similar period in 2015, and 51.3 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, 21 percent of activations were Samsung devices, a tiny rise from 19.8 percent last year.” Read more

 

Amazon reveals plans to make deliveries using incredible airship drone base by Rod Chester & Jasper Hamill at The Sun. “The patent, granted by the US patent office in April but only uncovered this week by tech analyst Zoe Leavitt, describes motherships floating above cities that release drones that save energy by dropping with gravity before kicking in with their motors.” Drawings/Read more

 

Michigan mom petitions Meijer for candy-free checkout lane by Judy Putnam at Lansing State Journal. “She posted the petition two weeks ago and has 223 signatures so far. I definitely didn’t roll my eyes over another point she made: the uncomfortable conversations born from racy headlines delivered, again at child eye-level, in the magazines in the checkout lane. Kramer recalls having to explain “cocaine” to her young son at a time she wasn’t prepared to talk about that.” Read more

 

17% NEVER SHOP ON AMAZON – Not Everyone Wants to Shop on Amazon by Sara Germano & Laura Stevens at Wall Street Journal. “…roughly 22 million American households didn’t purchase anything through (Amazon) this year. Those Amazon holdouts tend to be older than U.S. shoppers overall, with an average age of 57 versus 49, respectively, according to Kantar, and they tend to earn less—$45,700 in annual income, compared with $62,800 among all shoppers. They are less likely to have or live with children.” Read more (subscription)

 

Suit: Versace used secret ‘code’ for black customers by Mayra Cuevas at CNN. “The manager instructed Sampiro “to say ‘D410’ in a casual manner when a black person entered the store,” according to the lawsuit. The manager explained the “code is used to alert co-workers that ‘a black person is in the store,'” the lawsuit said.” Read more

 

**A message from Fabe – Italian hand-crafted pillows prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy to America product connection

 

NO FREE BREAKFAST (OR TRAFFIC JAM) – Costco to offer discounts not free breakfast at new store opening in Taiwan at Focus Taiwan. “This will be the first time Costco has not offered free breakfast and gifts at the opening of a new outlet in Taiwan. The decision is intended to prevent a traffic jam in the vicinity of the new Xinzhuang store when it opens on Jan. 7. In April, (Costco) opened a store in the Taipei suburb of Beitou…Its offering of free breakfast and gifts attracted a great number of members who lined up before the store opened, causing serious traffic congestion, which prompted police to impose traffic controls.” Read more

 

NLRB alleges Menards purposefully misclassified delivery drivers by Nick Williams at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “We feel that the NLRB is wrong,” the company responded in a statement. “Our corporation has contracts with various corporations to deliver goods to our customers…We plan to vigorously defend ourselves against these ridiculous allegations.” Read more

 

Amazon scoops up land in downtown Seattle, pointing to potential 5th tower in new campus by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “Property records filed with the King County Department of Assessments Wednesday show Amazon affiliate Acorn Development paid $19.2 million for a half block along Seventh Avenue between Blanchard and Bell streets, across the street from the recently opened Day One tower.” Read more

 

Online traffic spiked by nearly 50% on Christmas Day compared to last year by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. “Meanwhile, at its peak, traffic to the tracked e-retailers was up by 78% compared to the 2015 average on Christmas Day.” Read more

 

Bankrupt shipper Hanjin selling terminal operations at Port of Seattle by Mike Rosenberg at Seattle Times. Read more

 

“CRASH SALE” –  J.Crew extends a promotion to make up for its site outage by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. Read more

 

Costco worker, wearing elf hat, performs life-saving CPR at Times Union. “I looked back and noticed a crowd standing over someone. I don’t know who, but someone said, ‘Mat, Mat, this lady needs help,’ ” Rios recalled. “I looked and immediately realized something was wrong.” Read more

 

50 of 2017’s Most Anticipated Movies by Ashley Lee at The Hollywood Reporter. Read more

 

Amazon tries to recreate Prime Day magic with the first-ever Digital Day sales event by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “For one day only, December 30th, Amazon will discount over 1,000 digital items across its site in order to encourage post-holiday spending.” Read more

 

Meijer photo lab employees allegedly circulate customer’s personal pictures by Alex Jokich at WWMT. “Jordan Areaux tells us she took her pregnancy announcement photos to the Meijer in Plainwell, hoping to surprise her family with the big news on Christmas Day. But she says the surprise was spoiled almost immediately, after workers in the store started spreading them around.” Video/Read more

 

Nursing student who helped save newborn abandoned in Louisiana Walmart says ‘God put me there’ at Montana Standard. “The first thing that came to my mind is either I’m going to start CPR or I’m going to give it a tap on the back to see if it starts breathing,” Bergeron told WBRZ. Bergeron said the baby made a sound and then started crying.” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Inventor of the famous Red Solo Cup dies at 84

Homeland Security agents took $15M in bribes

John Lennon car set to hit block at Barrett-Jackson

C-store veep works 41st consecutive Christmas

Phil Knight gifts $112 million in Nike stock

Watch this mesmerizing update on construction of Apple’s ‘spaceship campus’

These three hot e-commerce startups could have surprise IPOs in 2017

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Reports of mall disturbances light up social media by Susan Miller at USA Today. “Disturbances that led to some malls being evacuated included reports from Elizabeth, N.J.; Fayetteville, N.C.; East Garden City, N.Y.; Aurora, Colo.; Tempe, Ariz.; Beachwood Place, a suburb of Cleveland; and Memphis. About 10 people were injured during a melee at the Jersey Gardens mall in Elizabeth on Sunday evening, Mayor Chris Bollwage said in a tweet.” Read more

 

…Fights, disturbances shut down malls across U.S. at Reuters. Read more

 

Fired Home Depot workers ask community to help them get jobs back by Shaun Ryan at The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “Several motorists driving by gave the men a “thumbs up.” One man, who was headed into the parking lot, turned around and shouted out his window that he was going to Lowe’s instead.” Read more/Pics/Video

 

…prepared to lose home, cars amid fallout by Jessica Schroeder at NY Daily News. “Spector revealed that due to his current unemployment, he is unable to travel to see his kids — ages 3 and 6 — for Christmas. “I’m going to lose my car and I won’t be able to travel to see my kids in New Jersey for Christmas … It isn’t gonna happen for my kids and it sucks,” Spector said.” Read more

 

Toys ‘R’ Us pushes credit cards on workers for sales boost by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “The toy retailer recently put signs on tables in employee break rooms urging them to increase Ebitda, or earnings before interest, depreciation ad amortization, by pushing company credit card accounts, a store employee told The Post. “On the back side are mathematical formulas for calculating incremental sales and Ebitda, as though some clerk were actually going to sit down and do this to see just how much money they can make for the bosses,” the employee told The Post.” Read more

 

Newborn found in New Roads Walmart trashcan reported ‘good, stable and eating’ at The Advocate. “Kyandrea Thomas, 34, or Baker, is believed to have given birth to the child inside the Walmart bathroom, McDonald said. Thomas was arrested and booked Saturday morning into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.” Read more

 

Amazon’s newest brand, Wickedly Prime, brings its private label food business out of stealth mode by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Amazon has launched a new private label food brand that is notable in part because it’s much more obvious that it’s a product of the online retail giant — starting with the name, Wickedly Prime, and the logo, a version of the Amazon smile with a tongue.” Read more

 

Surging U.S. Dollar Could Blow Up Walmart’s Bottom Line by Brian Sozzi at The Street. “The extent of the damage in the fourth quarter could come as a surprise to many on Wall Street as Walmart’s full earnings guidance of $4.20 to $4.35 a share assumed no change in currency rates when it was issued in mid-November.” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® – We take no prisoners. In the battle against indoor and outdoor pests, it’s every man for himself. Arm yourself with Black Flag insect and rodent controls. Our tough, no-nonsense formulas are packed with a powerful punch to make short work of home insect invaders. Whether you’re battling crawling, flying or stinging insects or fending off mice, when the flag flies, pests die. Let it Fly. Facebook page

 

VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS READY – San Diego: Bargain shoppers focus on items for next Christmas by Roger Showly at San Diego Union-Tribune. “As stores opened, San Diegans stood in lines of 20 to 50 deep at Best Buy, Target and other retailers…Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, most workers got Monday off…“We could see a mini-Boxing Day in the U.S.” with this Dec. 26, Cordero said.” Read more

 

Former Costco employee awarded $250,000 over customer’s alleged harassment by Lauren Zumbach at Chicago Tribune. “Suppo alleged Costco didn’t do enough to intervene after a customer, over the course of about a year, repeatedly asked her on dates, hugged and touched her without consent, filmed her at the store and continued harassing her after she reported the incidents to managers.” Read more

 

Here’s what it’s like inside Zulily 3 days before Christmas by Marc Stiles at Puget Sound Business Journal. 19 pics

 

Metro Vancouver shoppers go mad with Boxing Day blowouts by John Colebourn at Vancouver Sun. “The doors at Best Buy opened at 6 a.m. and Nikic said it was busy all day. “This is the biggest day of the year for us,” she said…“Boxing Day you buy for yourself,” said Nikic. “People are happy here, they are now getting what they want for Christmas.” Read more

 

Holiday shopping in 2016 evolved into something more civilized by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. Hour-by-hour chart/Read more

 

Whole Foods managers say they were fired for blowing whistle on unpaid bonuses via NY Daily News. Read more

 

Fred’s adopts shareholder rights plan after ‘unusual and substantial’ activity in its shares at MarketWatch. “The rights plan, also known as a poison pill, is designed to prevent a hostile takeover of the company and to avoid certain default provisions of its credit facilities from being triggered.” Read more

 

FLIGHT TO TABLE – Duck blind goes gourmet: Hunters served three-course meal when chef does on-site cooking by Sarah Baker Hansen at Omaha World-Herald. “There’s a line of camouflaged men munching chocolate croissants and cinnamon twists and drinking hot, percolated coffee made on the blind’s two-burner gas stove. And, on this morning, there will be three courses from chef Nick Strawhecker..” Read more

 

Hilarious photo shows a ring of shopping carts blocking a vehicle that was double parked at Walmart at Daily Mail. Pic

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Walmart truck driver gets lost, ends up overturning off small bridge

Twin Cities getting nearly a dozen more supermarkets in 2017

Fremont council to vote on amended Costco chicken plant plan

Challenge 2017: ‘Pets, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ will dominate the retail landscape

Navy aims to mimic Wal-Mart to get more sailors choosing military health care

Wegmans accused of Fair Credit violations

Consumers did a lot of holiday shopping on Sundays this December

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7-ELEVEN BEATS AMAZON to the first regular commercial drone delivery service in the U.S. by April Glaser at Recode. “Seventy-seven customers in Reno, Nev., have now received items ordered from 7-Eleven delivered to their doorsteps via drone. All 77 flights were from one store to a dozen select customers who live within a mile of the shop.” Read more

 

Charles Redfield – Walmart’s top U.S. food exec began as a Sam’s Club cashier by Jennifer Joyner at The City Wire. “He and his wife Sue have two sons, Matthew, 13, who was born in Bentonville, and Avery, 17, who was born in Canada…“What’s next for me is to make sure I see both of my boys through high school and on to college and help set them up for success in life. Sue and I are excited about what the future holds for both them and us,” Redfield said.” Read more

 

Walgreens shoppers stay more engaged when wearables update their data by April Berthene at Internet Health Management. “Consumers participated about four times longer in a health tracking program if an activity tracker automatically logged her data, versus programs that require a consumer to manually enter her results, according to the study from the Scripps Translation Science Institute…The study analyzed data from 315,744 consumers who participated in the Walgreens Balance Reward for healthy choices program throughout 2014.” Read more

 

TV station gets exclusive look at Costco’s expanded chicken processing plant plans in Fremont by Nick Starling at KMTV 3. “The processing plant expands from 250-thousand square feet to 360-thousand square feet. The investment in the project skyrocketed from $180-million to $275-million dollars. Interim city administrator Brian Newton said usage of water, sewer, electric and gas will all increase which is a win for the city, “It’s all good news so we’re really tickled to have them.” Video/Read more

 

SELF-GIFTING AT A 20-YEAR HIGH – 42.6% of shoppers buying items for themselves by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Beemer described the bump as part of the “Trump effect” that has driven the stock markets to new highs.” Read more

 

Walmart trims its Christmas Eve hours at CNN. “…it will close at 6 p.m. this Saturday. In recent years it has closed at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve.” Read more

 

Walgreens, Rite Aid Divest 865 Stores To Fred’s Pharmacy For $950M by Bruce Japsen at Forbes. Read more

 

…“We got a very good price on these stores,” said Fred’s finance chief Rick Hans. Fred’s shares surged 85% to $20.75 in Tuesday afternoon trading. by Paul Ziobro & Brent Kendall at Wall Street Journal. Read more (subscription)

 

**A message from NY NOW – Shop Bold New Trends from 2,400+ Top Home, Handmade + Lifestyle Gift brands this February and elevate your merchandise mix! NY NOW, the industry leader bringing innovation and design across Home, Lifestyle Gift + Handmade collections, will take place at the Javits Convention Center in NYC this February 4 – 8, 2017. 2016 show recap video. NY NOW is your source for volume buying & private label programs. Register now and view comprehensive market details throughout the extensive NY NOW website.

 

Luxury retailers lead in speedy shipping service at Luxury Daily. “At the top of Kurt Salmon’s leaderboard was Coach, which delivered in two days. Following was American Eagle, Burberry and Kate Spade, who all got packages to their destinations in three days.” Read more

 

Follow the pills and you’ll find the overdose deaths – Drug firms poured 780M painkillers into West Virginia amid rise of overdoses by Eric Eyre at Charleston Gazette-Mail. “One mom-and-pop pharmacy in Oceana received 600 times as many oxycodone pills as the Rite Aid drugstore just eight blocks away. In six years, drug wholesalers showered the state with 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, while 1,728 West Virginians fatally overdosed on those two painkillers, a Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation found.” Read more

 

Target Reduces Nascar Sponsorship With Kyle Larson In 2017 at Fox Sports. “Sources said the move frees up about 5-10 primaries worth of inventory on the #42. Target’s deal expires on the NASCAR side after 2017, and the retailer ended a 27-year partnership on Ganassi’s IndyCar side after the ’16 season.” Read more

 

I’M GETTING THIS FOR MY OLDER BROTHER – HE’D BETTER LOVE ME FOR THIS – Customers wait hours outside Best Buy for new NES Classic at ABC 12. Video

 

Woman on journey to Costco in every state stops in Houston at ABC 13. Video/Read more

 

FedEx Plays Hardball With Retailers as Profits Get Squeezed by Paul Ziobro & Ezequiel Minaya at Wall Street Journal. “You can get a lot of volume that is completely non-compensatory and just not make any money,” Mr. Smith said on a conference call Tuesday. “There are a large number of transportation and logistics companies that prove that every quarter, making no money.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon going all Uber in Boston by Jordan Graham at Boston Herald. Read more

 

Houston’s first car vending machine officially opens by Joe Martin at Houston Business Journal. “The Houston vending machine is Carvana’s second in the U.S., but is the company’s largest. It is eight stories tall…After inserting the coin into the machine, the pre-owned car is dispensed out of the machine and into one of the garage bays on street level.” Read more | Video how it works

 

UPS Takes a Stake in Retail Returns Specialist Optoro by Jennifer Smith at Wall Street Journal. “Launched in 2010, Optoro employs close to 500 people in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Nashville, Tenn., where it opened a distribution center this year. Customers include Home Depot Inc., Best Buy Co., Target Corp. and Jet.com.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon’s Echo is still mostly out of stock in the week leading up to Hanukkah and Christmas by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The black-colored version won’t be back until Jan. 16; the white model is slated to return on Dec. 30. The smaller Echo Dot device has been out of stock for at least a few days, too, and isn’t expected back until Dec. 27. Same goes for both devices on the websites of retail partners like Best Buy and Lowe’s.” Read more

 

Costco to open branch in New Taipei’s Xinzhuang District at Focus Taiwan. “The Xinzhuang branch will be the 13th Costco outlet in Taiwan.” Read more

 

Sears & PetSmart discounts online orders picked up in stores by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. “The 20% discount for Sears’ customers is good through Christmas Eve, while PetSmart offers a one-day discount for in-store pickup.” Read more

 

Costco CFO sticking it out with down fund by Juliet Chung at Wall Street Journal. “Richard Galanti, chief financial officer of Costco Wholesale Corp. and an investor with the fund since its inception, described himself as “a believer” given the fund’s long-term record. He said he was keeping his money at the firm and that York’s smaller size might improve performance. “Is a little smaller better? It can’t hurt,” Mr. Galanti said.” Read more (subscription)

 

For Cash-Strapped Monks, Selling Fruitcakes Is A Saving Grace by Jodi Helmer at NPR. “The monks at Assumption Abbey in Ava, Mo., were making concrete blocks when Father Cyprian Harrison joined the order in 1965… “After a lot of inner reflection, we decided [to get out of the concrete block business and start making] fruitcake. We only had to change the recipe a little,” quips Harrison.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Drunk Wal-Mart semi-truck driver fall out of truck, blocks traffic

Hawk decides to make Lowe’s home – snacks on birds that fly into the store

Academy Sports surprises elementary students with bikes

Amazon, Walmart urged to stop selling “spying” doll

Body found behind Walmart missing head & genitals

H-E-B purchases 17 acres near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in SE Austin

43% of homes in Vancouver cost more than $1 Million

A controversial GOP plan could boost the taxes on a sweater from $1.75 to $17

One businessman says Amazon kept his merchandise—and his money

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Angry Amazon pilots say short-staffing may cause last-minute holiday deliveries to be late by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “The pilots say they are paid less, work longer hours and have less rest between flights than pilots who fly for other carriers like UPS or FedEx. That is driving down morale and causing many pilots from Prime Air-contracted airlines to look for other jobs.” Read more

 

Four Home Depot employees in shock after their attempt to stop shoplifter gets them fired by Jessa Schroeder at New York Daily News. “Ippolito, who had only been working at Home Depot for about a year, said there was more to the incident than just stealing. “To me, it wasn’t about pursuing a shoplifter. I saw a guy crashing a cart into one of the cashiers and I was responding to her aid. Then he looked like he was going to attack Joe … He started dropping all the merchandise, and then he ran away,” he said.” Read more

 

Cabela’s acquisition leaves Sidney ‘on edge,’ but some hold on to hope that town can survive by Paige Yowell at Omaha World-Herald. “It’s already, as far as downsizing, affected the town, clear down to our kids. Their friends have had to move,” she said. “We have a lot of houses for sale, and no one is buying.” Read more

 

A $260 billion ‘ticking time bomb’: The costly business of retail returns by Courtney Reagan at CNBC. “Americans returned $260 billion in merchandise to retailers last year, or 8 percent of all purchases, according to the National Retail Federation. That swells to 10 percent around the holiday season. Because less than half of returned goods are re-sold at full price, retailers may end up forfeiting 10 percent of their sales at the busiest time of year, according to Gartner Research.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart Readies Blockchain Pilot for Tracking U.S Produce, China Pork by Kim S. Nash at Wall Street Journal. “Wal-Mart has also expanded the scope of the test beyond its Chinese pork business to a segment of the produce business in the U.S. The project, announced in October, is viewed as a major test of blockchain distributed ledgers outside the financial services industry, where the technology has received the most attention.” Read more (subscription)

 

Velvet is flying off the shelves at Neiman Marcus by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “This fall we had amazing success with velvet,” said Chief Executive Karen Katz on an investor call. “It was all over the shoe, bag department. We didn’t have enough velvet shoes and bags.” Read more

 

Best Buy bought into the outlet concept and has opened five stores by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “Best Buy is focusing on these five stores for now, said Shane Kitzman, spokesman for the Minnesota-based retailer, and not planning more locations…Some were returned for scratch and dents and all still have the manufacturer’s warranty, he said. Prices will be up to 50 percent off.” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® – We take no prisoners. In the battle against indoor and outdoor pests, it’s every man for himself. Arm yourself with Black Flag insect and rodent controls. Our tough, no-nonsense formulas are packed with a powerful punch to make short work of home insect invaders. Whether you’re battling crawling, flying or stinging insects or fending off mice, when the flag flies, pests die. Let it Fly. Facebook page

 

Home Depot is Matt Ferguson’s opera house by C.J. at Star Tribune. “Q: Do you see any impact on refrigerator sales as a result of your singing? A: I kind of do. When I am not working with a customer I’m just standing around or tasking, cleaning the appliances, I’m singing. What that will do a lot of times is bring someone over to me. They ask me questions. They give requests; I usually don’t know the songs. It starts the conversation, so it does help.” Read the Q&A

 

Wegmans ‘unlikely’ to have urban store in Boston’s Fenway anytime soon by Catherine Carlock at Boston Business Journal. “The Business Journal reported last year that (Wegmans) was committed to a 75,000-square-foot location in the “food hall” of the historic Landmark Center.” Read more

 

UPS Is Delivering Packages by Tricycle and of Course It’s in Portland by Mahita Gajanan at Fortune. “UPS launched a similar electronic tricycle delivery program in Hamburg, Germany in 2012, and tested the same system in Switzerland in 2015. Portland is the first city in the U.S. to test the program.” Pics/Read more

 

J.C. Penney bucks a retailer advertising trend this holiday season by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. “J.C. Penney spent 5% more on TV, radio, newspaper and digital display ads from Nov. 21-Dec. 11 than it did a year earlier, making it the only large retailer that increased its ad spending. Even Amazon decreased its spending 1%.” Read more

 

P&G broadens lawsuit against Dollar Shave Club to add other companies by Barrett J. Brunsman at Cincinnati Business Courier. “The amended complaint states that Dorco has distributed shaving products that P&G claims infringe on its patents through Pace Shave Inc. and Dollar Shave Club as well as Costco, Sam’s Club, K-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dorco USA Inc.” Read more

 

LOWE’S SAYS NO – Sherwin-Williams chief holding out for Trump in Valspar deal by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “The FTC, under current Chair Edith Ramirez, who is expected to be replaced on Jan. 20, has in the past two weeks taken the unusual step of asking Lowe’s, Valspar’s biggest customer, to offer its view on the deal, sources said. In fact, the FTC said it would issue a subpoena to get a response if Lowe’s didn’t comply, sources said. Lowe’s, which represents about 20 percent of Valspar’s sales — and promotes only Sherwin and Valspar — responded and told the FTC it does not want to see the merger, sources said.” Read more

 

Hundreds arrested in Venezuela cash chaos, vigilantes protect shops via CNBC. “The worst looting was on Friday and Saturday, especially in El Callao and Ciudad Bolivar in the southern state of Bolivar, and police have used teargas to control crowds in some places. Chinese-run shops have been particularly targeted, witnesses say, and a 14-year-old boy was shot dead in El Callao on Friday.” Read more

 

Moment a delivery driver is caught on camera abandoning an Amazon package at Daily Mail. Read more

 

Canadian Tire to receive tens of thousands in tax refunds by Jeff Walters at CBC News. “Canadian Tire reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), meaning the values of the stores will be reduced.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

USC is building a dining hall that makes you think you’re at Hogwarts (and includes a Trader Joe’s)

Manager shot with BB gun at Sacramento Walgreens

Benjamin Moore tried to ‘quash’ probe into water near its plant: suit

At least 33 die in Russian city from alcohol poisoning

60% of consumers want Amazon to open stores

‘I have a gun come find me,’ Target employee allegedly threatens in note

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