Tipsheet: Ex-H.Depot Exec to JCP | Target’s New SVP Apparel | Lowe’s Exits Aust. | BJ’s & JCP CEO’s Join Board

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Another Home Depot executive joins J.C. Penney by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “Until August, (Joe) McFarland had been with Home Depot, where (Marvin) Ellison also worked before joining Penney in 2014. Most recently, McFarland was the president of the Northern and Western Divisions for Home Depot. He left the home improvement chain and started a non-profit real estate company with his wife in Atlanta to provide affordable housing for families.” Read more

 

Target Names Michelle Wlazlo Senior Vice President of Apparel and Accessories via A Bullseye View. “(Michelle) Wlazlo brings more than 25 years of diverse retail experience, nearly 19 of which she spent in various leadership positions at Gap Inc., where most recently she served as Senior Vice President of Global Merchandising, Gap.” Read more

 

Today’s Big Show Schedule (Macy’s CEO 8:30 – 10:00, Under Armour CEO 2:45 – 4:00…) See today’s schedule

 

NRF RELEASES 2016 TOP 250 GLOBAL POWERS OF RETAILING  Read more

 

Lowe’s Exits Joint Venture in Australia “…it has provided notification to Woolworths Limited, its joint venture partner in Australia, of its intent to begin the process of exiting its investment in the joint venture, which operates Masters Home Improvement stores and Home Timber and Hardware Group’s retail stores and wholesale distribution in Australia.” Read the release

 

…Masters roll-out was ‘too aggressive’, says Woolworths’ partner Lowe’s by Patrick Hatch at Sydney Morning Herald. “Colleen Penhall​, Lowe’s vice president of corporate communications: “We were quickly opening up stores before we had determined our optimal assortment mix to best meet the needs of the Australian consumer.”…”In other markets where we have solely operated the business, we have seen a greater level of success,” she said, declining to speculate on whether Masters would have succeeded had Lowe’s controlled a bigger stake.” Read more

 

**A message from ASD Market Week – 45,000+ people don’t want you to read this. Who are they? Retail buyers that have discovered ASD Market Week — the largest wholesale trade show in the United States. Shop in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See the product & buyer categories. See the show layout video. Read ASD’s Insider blog. February 28 – March 2, 2016 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

AMAZON’S VP of PUBLIC POLICY TALKS TO CBS ABOUT DRONES – Amazon Reveals Details About Its Crazy Drone Delivery Program by David Pogue at Yahoo. “I can tell you, it is very real. We’ve beefed up a team at Amazon Prime Air that includes aeronautical engineers, roboticists, a former NASA astronaut. These folks are completely focused on making this a reality — and demonstrating that it is safe before we begin operations.” Read the full interview

 

Wal-Mart de Mexico Plans to Sell Clothing-Store Chain via Dow Jones Business News. “Walmex…said it will consider offers for Suburbia, which has 117 stores located in 44 cities spread over 29 Mexican states…The division accounted for 3.5% of Walmex’s total sales in 2014…The Suburbia process is in its early stages, and there’s no guarantee a sale will be made, Walmex added.” Read more

 

NEW NRF BOARD MEMBERS NAMED: 

B.J.’s Wholesale Club President, CEO and Director Christopher Baldwin
J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison
Disney Consumer Products Executive Vice President of Disney Retail Paul Gainer
Kentucky Retail Federation President Tod Griffin
Saks Fifth Avenue President Marc Metrick
STORY Founder Rachel Shectman

Read the release

 

Macy’s CEO Doesn’t See Recession Coming by Carleton English at The Street. “The U.S. currently has 24 square feet of retail space per person, whereas the figure is nearly half that in Europe, Lundgren said. While he didn’t say that the U.S. needed to get down to European levels, he did acknowledge that there may be room for further cuts in the broader brick-and-mortar retail industry.” Read more

 

Amazon hiring 1,200 people at new fulfillment center in Seattle region by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “It’s the third robotics fulfillment center in western Washington, joining existing facilities in Sumner and DuPont. The company says the facility will specialize in smaller customer orders, such as books, electronics and toys.” Read more

 

Toys”R”Us Opens Its 100th Store In China Read the release

 

Wayfair Launches National Ad Campaign “The campaign, titled “Explore the Great Indoors,” will air nationally on broadcast and cable channels today and includes two creative spots – You Make the Rules and A World of Options.” See the spots / Read more

 

AMAZON’S CAMPUS MODEL DELIVERS 0.5 – 2.15% OF REVENUE TO SCHOOL – Amazon campus store to provide students new, safer delivery option by Anderson Lanham at The Daily Californian. “According to Alexander, the stores are being developed largely with students in mind. Berkeley residents, however, are also able to use the campus store, provided that they have Amazon Prime.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Washington Post: At retail’s ‘Big Show,’ a look at the tech merchants hope will keep them relevant

H-E-B jumps into convenience store business with plans for first San Antonio store

Michelle Obama and the head of school lunches to call a truce on healthy eating in new bill

NRF Interview: Donna Giordano, President Ralphs Grocery Company

Lyme disease–carrying ticks are now in half of all U.S. counties

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Tipsheet: Ex-Target Exec to Lululemon | Wmart Closings ‘Impressive’ | Sports Auth. Skips $20M Payment

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Washington Post: Holiday shopping season was not as merry as the retail industry expected by Sarah Halzack. “The National Retail Federation said sales were up 3 percent to $626.14 billion this holiday season, sharply lower than the 3.7 percent sales increase the trade group had forecast. That figure excludes sales at gas stations and restaurants…“Make no mistake about it, this was a tough holiday season for the industry,” said Matthew Shay, the NRF’s president, in a press release.” Read more

 

…Online holiday sales increase more than predicted by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. “The 9% increase beat the NRF’s October projection of 6-8% non-store sales growth.” Read more

 

US recession probability at highest levels since fall 2011: Survey by Fred Imbert & Steve Liesman at CNBC. “The survey also showed recession fears rising for the sixth straight time among respondents, and are now sitting at 28.8 percent.” Read more

 

Lululemon Hires Former Top Target Executive by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “(Alan) Wizemann will spend time at Lululemon’s headquarters in Vancouver, but also plans to hire a team of front-end engineers and designers in Portland, Ore., where he lives with his family.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart merges tech teams to better connect online and stores by Nathan Layne at Reuters. “The information systems division…will combine with the @WalmartLabs unit next month, creating a new group called Walmart Technology…Chief Information Officer Karenann Terrell and Chief Technical Officer Jeremy King will continue to lead ISD and @WalmartLabs, respectively, although both will report to (Neil) Ashe as head of the combined group.” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® Brand: When the flag flies, pests die. The Black Flag® indoor/outdoor pest arsenal arms homeowners in the battle against invading bugs. Offering quick, decisive formulas that act fast and never back down, Black Flag insect and rodent controls get the job done, and take no prisoners. It’s time to Let It Fly. Check out our videos | Visit us on Facebook

 

Sports Authority Skips $20 Million Interest Payment by Jodi Xu Klein & Lauren Coleman-Lochner at Bloomberg. “Without reaching an agreement with the bondholders for a forbearance, the company will be forced to file for bankruptcy as skipping a coupon payment is considered a default.” Read more

 

Doug McMillon Answers Questions About Store Closures “Walmart will continue to invest in its future, with plans to open more than 300 new stores worldwide over the coming year — in the U.S. Walmart intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters, 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets and seven to 10 Sam’s Clubs. We will also open 200 to 240 stores internationally.” Read more

 

Cramer: Wal-Mart’s move is ‘impressive’ by Fred Imbert at CNBC. “You have to close the stores that don’t work, and [CEO Doug] McMillon continues to take tough actions. I appreciate what he’s doing,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “This is impressive that he’s willing to bite the bullet on stores that should be closed.” Read more

 

Today’s Schedule at Retail’s Big Show: Presentations from Lowe’s/Walgreens/JCP Execs See today’s schedule

 

Target to open Uptown Minneapolis store by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Target Corp. is finally going to open a store in Uptown, a part of Minneapolis where many of its young headquarters employees live. The Minneapolis-based retailer said it’s planning a 21,400-square-foot store on the ground floor of the redevelopment planned for the site of the former Cheapo Discs store.” Read more

 

Tweet from Home Depot’s Mark White: Congrats Anne-Marie Campbell (@AMCTHD )..MET Founder and 30 yr THD vet..promoted to EVP of US Stores! #orangeblooded  See the feed

 

China’s JD.com Invested Around $50 Million in Shopping Startup Wish by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Wish’s Szulczewski told Re/code recently that he believes his startup will be the second or third marketplace to reach $1 trillion in sales, after Alibaba and maybe Amazon.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Court rules Target Canada tried to use insolvency laws to avoid landlord losses

Adidas names Henkel’s Rorsted to replace Hainer as CEO

Time: Why Walmart’s Small ‘Express’ Store Format Was Such a Big Failure

As Used-Car Startups Take Off, eBay Motors Faces Uncertain Future

USPS will hike some postal rates as much as 14% starting Jan. 17

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Tipsheet: Wmart Shutters 60 in Brazil | Target ‘Patience’ Post Goes Viral | Lowe’s Hires HR Head | Wmart DJ Competition

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Wal-Mart closed over 10 percent of Brazil stores in restructuring by Nathan Layne & Brad Haynes at Reuters. “The people familiar with Wal-Mart’s Brazil operations told Reuters that Wal-Mart had shuttered roughly 60 stores in the past few weeks. The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a significant number of the closures were of smaller-format stores.” Read more

 

…Walmex gets new CEO from Wal-Mart Brazil at Reuters. (Guilherme) Loureiro was previously CEO of Wal-Mart in Brazil…He will take over from Enrique Ostale as CEO for Mexico and Central America.” Read more

 

Facebook post about Indy Target employee’s patience goes viral at CBS 4 Indianapolis. “The woman wanted to purchase each item she had separately with change…“I watched him help her count her change, ever so tenderly taking it from her shaking hands…“I realized I hadn’t been inconvenienced at all,” she said. “That my daughter was instead witnessing kindness and patience and being taught this valuable lesson by a complete stranger.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Collaborates with Google to Build Project Tango App by Rachael King at WSJ. “Lowe’s has already been working for months on its app with Google and it should be ready this summer, Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, told CIO Journal. Mr. Nel sees it as an extension of the retailer’s earlier efforts with virtual and augmented reality at its innovation labs.” Read more (subscription)

 

…Lowe’s Hiring 46,000 Seasonal Employees Read the release

 

WALMART DJ COMPETITION – by Russell Bloodworth, Marketing Manager Walmart Radio. “A few months ago, the company made the decision to re-launch Walmart Radio after a six-year hiatus…Through Jan. 16, we’re offering store associates the opportunity to send us a 4-minute video audition to become our next DJ. The winner will receive a full-time job as DJ, benefits and relocation package to Bentonville, Ark.” Read more

 

Bezos’ Blue Origin seeks tax incentives to build rocket engines in Washington state by Dominic Gates at Seattle Times. “At its Kent headquarters, Blue Origin employs more than 400 engineers who design and build development models of both its space rockets and the engines that power them.” Read more

 

**A message from Orchard Road Canning – Decorative Series lids spice up the home canning category. Orchard Road’s Decorative Series delivers three distinct designs: Wild Daisy, Fruit and Gingham. See the designs here. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net for program information.

 

Costco Switches On 4K TV Walls at All U.S. Costco Locations “According to a recent BI Intelligence forecast, by 2024 4K TVs will be in roughly half of all North American households and by 2030 in nearly all North American households.” Read the release

 

Walmart eyes tie-ups with Flipkart, Snapdeal, others by Nivedita Mookerji & Dilasha Seth at Business Standard. “Rajneesh Kumar, vice-president and head, corporate affairs, Walmart India, said, “Several businesses in the e-commerce space have approached us to become our members and we are processing those requests.” Read more

 

Amazon Is Dropping Prime Subscriptions to Just $73 This Weekend by Chris Welch at The Verge via Recode. “In celebration of its pair of “Mozart in the Jungle” Golden Globes victories last Sunday…Subscribing will cost $73 — down from the regular $99 — from 9 pm PT Friday until 11:59 pm local time Sunday night.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Appoints Jennifer L. Weber As Chief Human Resources Officer via Yahoo. “She joins the company most recently from Duke Energy, where she served for the past seven years on the company’s senior leadership team as executive vice president & chief human resources officer.” Read the release

 

Meet the 20 Female CEO’s Running Fashion’s Biggest Brands by Lauren Indvik at Fashionista. See the top 20 list

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

A year after Target bolted Canada, creditors still face uncertainty

Report: Nike, Ohio State sign $252M, 15-year extension

Amazon Can Now Ship Packages From China to the U.S. by Sea

BCG Study: New World of IT in Consumer Packaged Goods

Most People See Connected Devices As a Privacy Problem

Wayfair.com Launches One-Stop Flooring Shop

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Tipsheet: Ontario Rejects Target Plan | B.Buy -1.4% | Tiffany Aims at Costco | Kohl’s Replaces JCP

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Holiday sales fell at Best Buy, shaped by slower demand for smartphones by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Best Buy’s holiday sales fell 1.4 percent compared to a year earlier…”There was not a newness factor in the iPhone,” Joly told reporters on a conference call this morning. “The iPhone 6s was merely an incremental change from the iPhone 6.” Read more  Read the company release

 

Ontario Superior Court rejects Target Canada’s recovery plan by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “Now, Target Canada, which filed for court protection from its creditors almost exactly a year ago – on Jan. 15, 2015 – will almost certainly have to draw up a new plan in the case, which has squeezed a wide swath of suppliers, landlords and other businesses.” Read more

 

New Tiffany Ad Campaign Takes Indirect Aim at Costco by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to start seeing around Valentine’s Day, when bridal season starts to ramp up. But in this case, the messaging has a backstory. The rings are at the heart of a long and nasty court battle between Tiffany and Costco Wholesale.” Read more

 

Target Partners With NY Museum In Design Competition For Students at CBS Minnesota. “The national competition is being launched in partnership with Target. The retailer will manufacture seven limited-edition chairs. Five will be installed in the recently redesigned Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden of the New York City museum. The winner will be awarded two chairs.” Read more

 

Sports Direct boosts stake in Dick’s Sporting Goods by Ashley Armstrong at The Telegraph. “The Mike Ashley-owned retailer has boosted its stake to…2.34pc of Dick’s Sporting Goods…Commenting on this latest activity, the retailer said: “The main rationale for these stakes is to allow Sports Direct to hopefully build a relationship and develop commercial partnerships with the relevant parties. Read more

 

Menards extends its sponsorship agreement with Richard Childress Racing Nascar team by James Emmett at SportsPro. Read more

 

Kohl’s Replaces JC Penney as Oscars Sponsor by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “After 14 years of sponsoring the event, JC Penney will be bowing out this year, a spokeswoman confirmed.” Read more

 

**A message from ASD Market Week – 45,000+ people don’t want you to read this. Who are they? Retail buyers that have discovered ASD Market Week — the largest wholesale trade show in the United States. Shop in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See the product & buyer categories. See the show layout video. Read ASD’s Insider blog. February 28 – March 2, 2016 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

Money 20/20 Creators Launching Shoptalk to Convene Retail Community by Arthur Zaczkiewicz at WWD. “The confirmed speakers include…Jet.com ceo Marc Lore; Kohl’s executive vice president of digital technology and innovation Ratnakar Lavu; Macy’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation Michael Tobin, and John Koryl, Neiman Marcus group president of stores and online…Target Corp.’s chief strategy officer Casey Carl…among many others.” Read more  Download the Shoptalk brochure

 

The true cost to Amazon of the ‘Amazon Tax’ by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “When the so-called Amazon Tax was put in place, shoppers spent 8.3 percent less on products on Amazon after the tax went into effect….In other words, shoppers were shelling out the same amount overall on purchases on Amazon, but because a share of that tab was now going to taxes, the shopper was getting less product for their spending and Amazon was pulling in less revenue from that transaction.” Read more

 

Las Vegas Strip Gets Another CVS at CBS Las Vegas. “CVS now has four locations in the area and Walgreens has five stores, with a new location opening just last year.” Read more

 

Boston Globe expose on elite 15-member business group in Boston with a $100,000 annual membership fee, BJ’s Laura Sen was member until she left in mid-2015 by Jon Chesto at Boston Globe. Read more

 

Publix CEO Announces Retirement Plans “Upon (Ed) Crenshaw’s retirement, President Todd Jones will become President and CEO.” Read the release

 

Holiday Report: Nearly one-third of shoppers purchased products online and then picked up at the store by Courtney Reagan at CNBC. “69 percent of shoppers who used click and collect this holiday season purchased additional items while picking up in store. Its survey, which polled 1,014 consumers from Dec. 28 to Dec. 30, also found 36 percent of shoppers using those types of services made another purchase in an adjacent store at the time of pick up.” Read more

 

Infamous site of 19 Salem Witch Trial hangings is now a Walgreens by Kelly McLaughlin at Daily Mail. “‘I found it odd, since the town embraces their history, that there were no markers there. None … just a Walgreens on the corner,’ she added.” Read more

 

Some Sears, Kmart stores to close in cost cutting via CNBC. Read more

 

J.C. Penney closing 7 stores by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. Read more

 

Amazon Opens Pickup Location at UC Berkeley “This 3,500 square foot space is the first Amazon pickup location on a university campus to feature an interactive Amazon device experience where students can watch movies, play games, read books, listen to music, and more on Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, and Fire TV devices.” Read the release

 

As diseases proliferate, mosquitoes becoming Public Enemy No. 1 by Liz Szabo at USA Today. “Diseases spread by insects “are the next big threat to the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S.,” said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Use These Coupons to Get Free Food at Kroger Supermarkets Right Now

Chicago Tops Bedbug List for Fourth Straight Year (Top 50 Cities List)

How To Become A Billionaire In Russia? Marry Into President Putin’s Family

Frozen mailboxes vex Ottawa residents

Shopping Site Bezar is Reportedly Running out of Funding

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Tipsheet: Target’s Healthier Checkout | 3 Injured in Shelving Collapse | Fred Meyer Pres. Steps Down

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Checking out Target’s healthier checkout lanes by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Katie Boylan, a Target spokeswoman, said last week that consumers have been “responding well” to the new options. The beef jerky and natural fruit snacks have been selling particularly well, she said….“The frame of mind is really not about new products,” said Boylan. “Check lanes are places where they gravitate toward brands they know well.” Read more

 

Three Injured in Shelving Collapse at Party City by Charles Keegan at WPTV. “He says the first shelf to fall hit him on his back, but broke apart, so he wasn’t trapped. “I just popped out like a cork, and everything else started coming down.” He started screaming to warn the few other people inside the store what was happening.” See the video / Read more

 

DICK’S Sporting Goods Announces Launch Of Team Sports HQ “The premium league management software will both facilitate and simplify the registration, scheduling and communication processes for league organizers and coaches. League administrators will also be able to use the online tools through DICK’S Team Sports HQ to design gear specific to their league.” Read the release

 

Fred Meyer President Steps Down by Erin Caproni at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Lynn Gust, the current president of Fred Meyer, will retire on Jan. 31 after 45 years at Kroger.” Read more

 

**More Candy & Snacks Than Any Other Event – 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo: Discover what products are trending and guaranteed to fly off your shelves! Items selected during the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Most Innovative New Product Awards go on to enjoy sweet success – see the 2015 winners here. By attending the Expo, you get the first glimpse on the newest items and receive a sneak peek at those products predicted by industry experts to become best-sellers. Register now to join us at Chicago’s McCormick Place from May 24-26, be a part of the event with more candy, gum, snack and specialty product companies! Learn More on Our Website

 

Brazil November Retail Sales Unexpectedly Surge Most in One Year by David Biller at Bloomberg. “Sales of furniture and appliances increased 6.9 percent in November, offsetting a 1.5 percent decline in food, beverages and tobacco products at hypermarkets and supermarkets.” Read more

 

Michelle Obama’s “Marigold” State of the Union Dress Sells Out at Neiman Marcus by  Hilary Weaver at at NY Mag. “At first sight of the First Lady’s bright frock, Twitter freaked out…And in the perfect online shopping move, MObama’s dress was on sale at Neiman Marcus but is now totally sold out. Way to multitask live-streaming and online purchasing, America.” Read more

 

Save-A-Lot Sales Dip “Save-A-Lot network identical store sales were negative 3.4 percent. Identical store sales for corporate stores within the Save-A-Lot network were negative 0.4 percent.” Read more

 

Seattle requires Amazon to allow free speech in future courtyard by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “The Seattle City Council imposed those additional conditions on Monday as part of its 8-1 approval of Amazon’s request to take over an existing alley when it builds two office towers.” Read more

 

PENN – Amazon to Open Pickup Location at First Ivy-League University “It will be the first Amazon pickup location to feature communal work spaces with interactive media pods where students can connect their laptops and mobile devices to TV monitors for presentations, brainstorming, studying, and collaborating.” Read the release

 

Big Beer’s Plan to Sell to Consumers Who Hate Them by Jennifer Kaplan at Bloomberg. “I know that they’re panicking about that loss of market share,” said John Verive, founder of the Beer of Tomorrow blog in Los Angeles. “So they’re going after whatever fragment of a market they can. They’re just going in every different direction.” Read more

 

UK: Aldi tops YouGov BrandIndex for second consecutive year by Natalie Mortimer at The Drum. “The top five brands are: Aldi, Lidl, BBC iPlayer, John Lewis and Dyson.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Forbes: These Five Store Chains Face An Uphill Battle In 2016

Horrifying moment restaurant workers thought they had won the $949million Powerball… only to realize they bought their tickets with the right numbers for the WRONG day

Inc.: Top 15 Companies to Watch in 2016

Visa Checkout Announces Walmart As Merchant Partner

Atlanta: Kroger’s planned $29 million Cumberland Mall store cancelled\

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Today’s Tipsheet: GameStop +4.4% | Sundance Wants 150 Stores | Kroger Sues Big Tuna | Starbucks +500 in China

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GameStop Holiday Comp Sales +4.4% “…growing 4.9% in the U.S. and 3.2% internationally….Sales of new hardware increased 4.5%, as consumers were motivated by manufacturer promotions for Sony’sPlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.” Read the release

 

Walgreens to sell 56 Chicago-area clinics to Advocate by Lisa Beilfus via MarketWatch. “Privately held Advocate, the largest health system in Illinois, operates about 250 care sites and 12 hospitals. “ Read more

 

Kroger sues big tuna brands by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “The suit in a federal court alleges that Tri-Union Seafoods, a unit of Thai Union Group that makes Chicken of the Sea tuna; StarKist, owned by a South Korean firm; and Bumble Bee Foods teamed up to fix canned tuna prices from 2008 until July 2015.” Read more

 

CNBC: What’s behind Wal-Mart’s lonely rally? by Alex Rosenberg. “Of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average, only Wal-Mart is higher on the year. It’s also the seventh-best-performing stock in theS&P 500 index…Calling Wal-Mart “our best $35 oil idea” in a mid-December note, Nomura analyst Robert Drbul wrote that low oil and gas prices help Wal-Mart…” Read more

 

CANADA – Cross-border shopping expected to ‘all but die’ via Financial Post. “Overall, the low loonie is a positive for Canadian retailers,” said Arlin Markowitz, who analyses urban retail investment properties for CBRE. “It’s not only keeping Canadians’ purchasing power at home, but it’s also attracting tourists.” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® Brand: When the flag flies, pests die. The Black Flag® indoor/outdoor pest arsenal arms homeowners in the battle against invading bugs. Offering quick, decisive formulas that act fast and never back down, Black Flag insect and rodent controls get the job done, and take no prisoners. It’s time to Let It Fly. Check out our videos | Visit us on Facebook

 

Jeff Bezos on Fortune cover as Lord Vishnu irks Hindus at Hindustan Times. “Can’t tell what’s worse: the text, the visual, or the fact that it must have passed multiple layers of approval,” a Twitter user named Manu tweeted in response to Dash’s post.” See the cover / Read more

 

Ex-Walmart Exec Named Lowe’s Canada Divisional VP Of Merchandising via The Street. “Alan Blundell will report to Igor Halencak, Head of Merchandising and Marketing for Lowe’s Canada.” Read the release

 

Amazon’s India Rival, Flipkart, Changes CEOs by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Sachin Bansal will become executive chairman…Binny Bansal, formerly chief operating officer, will now run the business day to day.” Read more

 

eBay Enterprise buys affiliate technology vendor AffiliateTraction by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. “EBay Enterprise says the move will give far more tools to the retailers who work with its affiliate marketing program, which has 59 retailer clients in the Internet Retailer Top 1000.” Read more

 

Robert Redford’s Sundance Ramps up – May Open as Many as 150 Stores by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Robert Redford’s Sundance Holdings is going bricks and mortar in a big way after more than 25 years as mostly a catalog and e-commerce site. The $165 million company has just five stores, but is ramping up to open as many as 150.” Read more

 

General Mills sues yogurt rival Chobani over ad campaign by Mike Hughlett at Star Tribune. “In fact, the television commercial that leads the Chobani Attack Campaign goes so far to convey that, because Yoplait Greek 100 is laced with a pesticide, it is so dangerous and unfit to eat that consumers should discard it as garbage.” Read more

 

STANDING JOB OFFER FROM JEFF BEZOS – This Millennial Might Be the New Einstein by Farah Halime via Yahoo. “Asked by e-mail recently whether his offer still stands, Bezos told OZY: “God, yes!” Read more

 

Texas board approves retailing degree at University of North Texas by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “UNT said its degree is the first in the U.S. to include the three main components of retailing: merchandising, digital and operations.” Read more

 

Starbucks Plans 500 More Cafes in China by Rachel Chang at Bloomberg. “We have no intention of slowing down and we remain very optimistic and bullish on the opportunities that Starbucks has in China…”John Culver, Starbucks President of the China and Asia-Pacific region, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Read more

 

Charging a Smartphone While Driving Isn’t as Free as You Think by Jeff Green at Bloomberg. “By far, the cheapest way to charge a smartphone is at home, Bereisa said. With gasoline at $2 a gallon, it costs about 2 cents an hour to charge a phone in a car compared with about 0.06 cent at home, or 33 times less. “ Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra 

This Harvard grad wants to bring a huge, exotic fruit to your dinner table

Nine Retailers Recall Store-Branded Children’s Cold Medicine Over Overdose Risks

Inside the town that Domino’s built: How the pizza chain’s founder established Ave Maria, a Florida community called a ‘Catholic’s paradise’

Retailer to test invisible barcodes for faster check-out

Is Under Armour Losing Favor With Women?

Why MasterCard’s CMO Predicts a Merger Between VR and the Internet of Things (video)

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

Tipsheet: F.Dollar CEO Out | Target CEO Touts Samsung | Nest Outage | Kohl’s Weighs Next Steps

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Activist investor Starboard urges Macy’s to strike real-estate deals via Reuters. “The letter suggested two separate joint ventures, one for Macy’s landmark properties like Herald Square (NY) and a second for its hundreds of mall locations…By Starboard’s estimate, the Herald Square store alone was worth $4 billion, while properties in San Francisco and Chicago were worth more than $1 billion.” Read more

 

Target Leaders Reflect on This Year’s Consumer Electronics Show at A Bullseye View. “Brian Cornell: “As I walked the CES floor, I was really impressed by what I saw from Samsung. They are driving incredible innovation across multiple categories – appliances, refrigerators, watches, speakers, phones, TVs and even air vents. They will be introducing some really terrific products in the near future and I look forward to seeing consumer response to these new technologies.” Read more

 

Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine to Leave Company via Fox Business. “Dollar Tree said Gary Philbin, who was named Family Dollar’s president and chief operating officer in July, will lead Family Dollar.” Read more

 

Kohl’s Weighs Next Steps As Woes Mount at Fox Business. “Kohl’s, a national department-store chain with roughly 1,200 stores, is debating whether to pursue more drastic action, such as taking itself private or breaking up the company, according to a person familiar with the situation.” Read more

 

Target teams with D’Amico & Sons, Freshii to bring fresh appeal to its in-store cafes by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The changes being tested at Target’s cafes haven’t sat well with everyone. Some people miss the popcorn and other cheap snacks. “Don’t take away the Pizza Hut!” exclaimed Erica Wilson as she snacked on some breadsticks in the cafe inside the Target store on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. “We still need pizza and breadsticks.” Read more

 

Investor group offers to buy American Apparel for $300 million at Reuters. “The offer has the support of American Apparel’s founder and former chief executive, Dov Charney, Hagan Capital and Silver Creek said in a statement on Monday.” Read more

 

**A message from ASD Market Week. The largest, wholesale tradeshow in the US is just around the corner! Are you ready? What sets us apart from other shows is the variety of impulse buys we offer in hundreds of product categories. These point of purchase displays are your biggest and best margin builders. No other show offers this advantage. ASD is nine shows in one location, conveniently located under one roof at the Las Vegas Convention Center, February 28 – March 2, 2016. Get ready to find the latest trends at ASD. Want to learn more? Check out the ASD Insider blog – a retailer’s guide to success!

 

Is package delivery coming to the trunk of your car? Volkswagen thinks so by Kevin Lisota at GeekWire. “At the Volkswagen keynote address at CES 2016, CEO Dr. Herbert Diess showed off BUDD-e, the company’s long-range electric concept vehicle. BUDD-e has a special drop box in the trunk of the car that can be digitally opened by a delivery service so that your packages can be delivered to you in a more convenient location.” See the pics / Read more

 

INTERNET OF THINGS HICCUP – Nest’s Smart Home Apps Are Back Online Following Outages by Lucas Matney at TechCrunch. “In the absence of any initial details from Nest, many users flocked to Twitter to vent their frustrations with the company’s products, and also reflect on the risks inherent to trusting connected devices with sensitive tasks like monitoring children.” Read more

 

…Tweetable: “Sick on my couch and the house is 60° because @nest decided not to work today. Anyone else having problems? #nest”

 

Amazon will stream President Obama’s final State of the Union speech, make it available on demand by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “Amazon Video won’t carry the address live, but will make Tuesdays speech available on demand via its platform one day later until the end of the week. You can also watch all seven of President Obama’s past State of the Union addresses on Amazon Video.” Read more

 

Harvard Business Review: How Subscriptions Are Creating Winners and Losers in Retail by Chris Randall, Alan Lewis & Amanda Davis. “While some “traditional retailers” offer subscription services today, the number is relatively low. Yet in many categories, the model makes eminent sense for these established retailers and brands – in fact, they may even be competitively advantaged versus start-ups given their higher brand awareness, economies of scale, built-in customer base and ability to offer consumers the convenience of omnichannel shopping options.” Read more

 

Amazon’s ‘Mozart in the Jungle’ wins Golden Globe as Jeff Bezos gets another shoutout by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Target’s Jeff Jones Talks Mobile & Social Marketing at CES

The Atlantic: Can Hobby Lobby Buy the Bible?

Golden Globes: The Complete List of Winners

The Insanely Addictive Viral Game That People Are Begging to Play

Finish Line to close 150 stores amid falling sales, names new CEO

A man ordered a Kindle but received part of a human tumor

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Today’s Tipsheet: Target Teams w/SoulCycle | Bed/Bath -0.4% | Wmart Sued Over Bullets | JCP +3.9%

/in

 

Holiday e-commerce increases 13% to $69 billion by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. “The numbers fell a bit short of comScore’s prediction of $70 billion sales and 14% growth. Sales from personal computers only grew 6%, less than the 9% growth comScore anticipated, but mobile growth of 60% over the holiday season partly made up for the shortfall.” Read more

 

Bed, Bath & Beyond Q3 Comp -0.4% “Net sales were approximately $2.952 billion, an increase of approximately 0.3% from net sales of approximately $2.943 billion reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.” Read more

 

Target’s Collaboration With Soulcycle Is Its Most Unexpected Partnership Yet by Jamie Feldman at Huffington Post. “The two mega-brands have paired up to offer shoppers free pop-up fitness cycling classes (usually $34) in ten cities — Houston, Seattle, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, Miami, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles –between Jan. 22 and Feb. 14, as well as a pop-up shop dedicated to wellness products in the participating stores.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart sued over sale of bullets used in Pennsylvania murders via CNBC. “Until recently, sellers of guns and ammunition assumed they were protected from liability by the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. But last year, in a Wisconsin case, a jury found a Milwaukee gun store liable for selling a gun to a 21-year-old customer even though clerks had serious misgivings that the buyer was illegally buying the gun for someone else.” Read more

 

Supervalu files plan to spin off Save-A-Lot by Sam Black & Jim Hammerand at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “The spinoff’s headquarters will be at Save-a-Lot’s current offices in Earth City, Mo. Supervalu…said the move does not need stockholder approval but did not say when the separation would be final.” Read more

 

Container Store, Macy’s, HSN cashing in on movie “Joy” based on inventor Joy Mangano by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “The Container Store is hosting Mangano at one of its Manhattan stores (58th & Lexington) on Sunday. The Container Store has sold a zillion of Mangano’s non-slip, space saving Huggable Hangers. Macy’s starts selling her products on Saturday. Mangano is making an appearance at its Herald Square store in Manhattan.” Read more

 

** Trade Show Spotlight – Retail Buyers Love ASD Market Week!

“I go to five different markets – if I had to give up a market this is the last one I’d give up” Retail chain owner
“It’s a very profitable show for us.” Buyer, Hallmark 

See retail buyer testimonial video On February 28 – March 2, 2016, discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See show category list | Register Now

 

REI launches app-based guide to U.S. national parks by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “The app, dubbed the REI Co-op Guide to the National Parks, will contain trail maps and descriptions for many national parks and their surroundings.” Read more

 

J.C.Penney comp sales +3.9% in November and December by Matthew Townsend at Bloomberg. “Despite unprecedented warm weather that significantly affected apparel sales across the company, our focus on private brands, enhanced omnichannel execution and compelling gift giving selection resulted in strong holiday sales,” (Marvin) Ellison said in the statement.” Read more

 

Container Store Q3 Comp +0.5% Read the release

 

…The Container Store stock nosedives nearly 17 percent after Q3 loss by Korri Kezar at Dallas Business Journal. “The company’s full-year guidance also held bad news. TCS now expects consolidated net sales to range between $785 million and $795 million, down from previous predictions of $800 million to $815 million.” Read more

 

Walgreens Q1 Results: “…net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance determined in accordance with GAAP increased 30.6 percent to $1.1 billion compared with the same quarter a year ago.” Read the release

 

Walgreens Defends its Deal with Valeant by Laura Lorenzetti at Fortune. “Of course, when you introduce something new to the market and some new thoughts there’s always people who may think differently,” said Walgreens President Alex Gourlay. “We’re trying to take costs out of the system.” Read more

 

DECEMBER COMPS:  Gap -5%  | Fred’s +2.4% 

 

ORCHARD SUPPLY PLANS GROWTH – Two years after bankruptcy, Lowe’s-owned hardware chain looks to expand by Annie Sciacca at San Francisco Business Times. “The 84-year-old retailer is slated to open nine stores in 2016, bringing its store count up from 76 to 85. That includes one or more in the San Francisco area, where it has already rolled out several new outlets.” Read more

 

Take a peek inside Cincy’s first Amazon store by Erin Caproni at Cincinnati Business Journal. See the 11 pics

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Chief Executive Magazine Lists Top 40 Companies for Leaders (P&G #9, Coca-Cola #27)

Apple just bought a startup that reads people’s emotions

Barneys New York to open at Chelsea location where it all started

Former Pier 1 exec to lead Sally Beauty Supply’s U.S., Canadian business

Costco senior vice-president retiring

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