Nordstrom to lay off about 350 to 400 people – majority of the cuts coming from HQ by Janet I Tu at Seattle Times. “The 400 positions represent nearly 6 percent of the company’s 7,000 employees who work for corporate divisions…The cuts should be completed by July and are expected to save the company about $60 million.” Read more

 

How Sam’s Club Is Widening its E-Commerce Lead Over Costco by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “(Sam’s Club’s) web site now gets 16 million unique visits a month and sells 51,000 different kinds of items…All that has given Sam’s Club a head start over Costco in the e-commerce battle. (Costco) still doesn’t offer customers the option of placing orders online that they can fetch from a store.” Read more

 

CVS invests in Curbside, a startup that lets you buy online, pick up at store by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Drugstore chain CVS has invested in Curbside, a Silicon Valley startup that allows shoppers to order products online and pick up their orders from a local store without leaving their car. The drugstore chain and the startup have been working together since last year, when they launched a pilot test in three cities that now encompasses 350 CVS locations.” Read more

 

Sources: Target increases minimum wage to $10 an hour by Nandita Bose at Reuters. “Target management has informed store managers, who in turn have started informing employees about the wage hike and most employees who earn less than $10 per hour should see their base pay go up in May, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.” Read more

 

Las Vegas woman awarded about $13 million in lawsuit against Lowe’s by Kimber Laux at Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Sean Claggett, one of Hendrickson’s attorneys, asked the jury to imagine what the next 41 years for his client will be like, “being a burden on her kids, not being the wife she should be to her husband,” and not being able to pursue her passion of driving a school bus because of her injuries.” Read more

 

**A message from PaintPincher – Never Waste Paint Again! The PaintPincher is an ingenious 8-in-1 paint can spatula that recovers paint, stain, adhesives and more from gallon and quart cans, leaving them 99.9% clean. The PaintPincher is great for Pro and DIY painters and can save up to a cup of paint per gallon! See the video | See the sell sheet | Packaging pic | paintpincher.com Retailers request a sample at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Lowe’s Iris focuses on the future, loses sight of the present by Andrew Gebhart at CNET. “Lowe’s Iris generation two doesn’t hold up on its own merits as a good smart-home system. It is more responsive, but using the app is tedious and counterintuitive. Some pieces of hardware don’t work consistently…Wink, SmartThings and Insteon all have similar features for free, and all are a better buy than the second generation Lowe’s Iris system right now.” Read more

 

Bass Pro Founder Presents President George H.W. Bush with Giant Fishing Lure by Jake Walker at The Eagle. “(Johnny) Morris’s voice began to shake when he started to talk about the president. He said you can learn a lot about a person when you’re sharing a fishing boat with each other on the water, and Bush’s love for fishing was no secret to anyone. “There’s never been a more steadfast friend to all fishermen,” Morris said.” Read more

 

Q&A with Walmart Labs CTO by Joab Jackson at The New Stack. “When you come up with folks and say, “Hey, we’re going to be re-platform the world’s largest retailer.” People are just, “Yeah. That’s something interesting you got.” So, I was able to attract some really great talent to do that.” Read the interview

 

Costco exec Jeff Lyons delivers message to Nebraska farmers on chicken plant via AJC. “Supporters say the plant would create 1,100 new jobs and provide other financial benefits to the community…The meeting, however, was an invite-only affair on private property. Costco representatives said that there weren’t going to be any public meetings for residents to voice concerns while the company’s leaders were in town.” Read more

 

Tulsa: Costco readies first Oklahoma store for Thursday open by Samuel Hardiman at Tulsa World. “Anita Fulsom, assistant general manager, said customers tell them that they have traveled to Wichita or Texas to get to the closest warehouse. “Now that we’re finally going to be here, they don’t have to take a three-hour drive,” she said.” Read more

 

Supervalu Adds James Weidenheimer as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Innovation Officer Read the release

 

NY Times: General Mills and 7-Eleven Join the Venture Capital Crowd by Randall Smith. “The traditional consumer packaged goods model of big advertising budgets, trade leverage and scale — a lot of those factors have been neutralized by these small brands,” said John Haugen, who heads the General Mills venture fund.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

eBay’s Hal Lawton Reveals Three Areas of Focus

Gay pastor ‘horrified’ to find ugly slur on Whole Foods cake

Minnesota company buys Staples Print Solutions

The 10 Best Workplaces in Texas (Container Store #2, Whole Foods #10)

Canada: Le Chateau to close another 40 stores in next three years

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Nearly half of U.S. households belong to Amazon Prime by Rachel Lerman at Seattle Times. “Piper Jaffray says households that make more than $112,000 annually are the most likely to subscribe to Prime…Nearly three-fourths of high-income households subscribe to the service, according to the report, an increase from about 55 percent in 2014.” Read more | PiperJaffray report

 

This Is Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s Advice to Target by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Schultz told the Target audience that focusing on the basics was the key to the Starbucks’ renaissance. “For the Starbucks team, it all comes back to one person, one cup, one community, and getting the details right,” he said. “We needed to get back to basics, the values that our customers fell in love with in the first place.” Read more

 

How Nordstrom targeted colleges and boosted its Snapchat follower count by 60 percent by Clare McGrane at GeekWire. “University of South Carolina rose to the occasion, winning the challenge with just under 2,000 screenshots, said Nordstrom spokesperson Dan Evans. The prize was an on-campus shoe party on April 12. The event featured a guest appearance by supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss and a giveaway of $200,000 worth of Nordstrom shoe vouchers.” Read more

 

Walmart Execs Relieved Sanders Pulled His Punches At Sharpton Convention by Darren Sands at BuzzFeed. “Executives from Walmart, a big time sponsor of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention, were nervous Bernie Sanders might go on the attack about Walmart in his pitch, as he is wont to do. Bernie camp says they just got a free pass.” Read more

 

Americans prefer to save money rather than spend more on U.S.-made products via Daily News. “Asked about a real world example of choosing between $50 pants made in another country or an $85 pair made in the United States — one retailer sells two such pairs made with the same fabric and design — 67% say they’d buy the cheaper pair. Only 30% would pony up for the more expensive American-made one…People in higher earning households earning more than $100,000 a year are no less likely than lower-income Americans to say they’d go for the lower price.” Read more

 

Amazon eyed up Everlane, Le Tote and more for acquisition in a wider fashion push by Ingrid Lunden at TechCrunch. “TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources that the e-commerce giant has eyed up several startups in the fashion sphere as potential acquisitions to update and expand its presence in the category. Everlane, Le Tote, Rent The Runway, Third Love and PreeLine are among the names we’ve heard in connection with the effort. “They are losing big time in apparel and are anxious to acquire brands,” one founder approached by the company told TechCrunch.” Read more

 

**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – the Show Floor is Sold Out! The 2016 Expo will set an all-time record in volume of confectionery and snack products with more than 720 companies showcasing nearly four acres of product innovation. The Sweets & Snacks Expo is the one place more confectionery and snack retailers and manufacturers come together to get inspired, make connections and find new best sellers. See all of this year’s exhibitors | 2016’s New Exhibitors | These retail execs will be taste testers

 

California fast-food workers shift focus from minimum wage to unionizing by Samantha Masunaga at LA Times. “The demand from the original strikes in 2012 was $15 and a union,” said Mary Kay Henry, international president of the SEIU. “Underpaid workers in California are now on a path to $15, but we think the way we can make these jobs good jobs … is through a union.” Read more

 

Pier 1 Imports’ Q4 2016 Results – Earnings Call Transcript Read the transcript

 

Home Depot employee tips off police about alleged pipe bomb maker at KMOV 4 St.Louis. “Herr allegedly asked the staff at Home Depot to cut it into 7.5 inch sections with each end threaded for a cap. Home Depot employees became suspicious and called police. Officers said they eventually executed a warrant at Herr’s hotel room at a Super 8 and found materials for making a pipe bomb.” Read more / See the video

 

Amazon creates homeless refuge on company site near HQ by Monica Nickelsburg at GeekWire. “Amazon now appears to be taking a more active role in addressing homelessness. The company is partnering with the non-profit Mary’s Place to create a temporary shelter for 60 to 70 homeless families…” Read more

 

China Halts Export-Subsidy Program After U.S. Challenge by William Mauldin at WSJ. “The subsidy program benefited seven industries, including textiles and seafood, by giving companies a small but crucial advantage in exports, contrary to the rules of the WTO, U.S. officials said.” Read more (subscription)

 

Consumer Reports in the Age of the Amazon Review by Paul Hiebert at The Atlantic. “…the researchers found that consumers tend to accept as true the collective wisdom that Amazon conveys about a particular item’s durability, safety, and performance. “We don’t want to say that online reviews are completely untrustworthy and have no value whatsoever,” Bart de Langhe, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Colorado Boulder and the co-author of the study, told me. “But we do want to point out there are strong issues with them…” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Why Target’s iPad App Has Vanished From Apple’s App Store

Georgia firm would process chickens for Costco at Fremont plant – company faced past immigration raid

Walmart taps Univ. of Arkansas fashion design program

Canadian Tire’s augmented reality catalogue doesn’t cut out the paper

Fisher-Price recalls over 30,000 cradle swings due to fall hazard

The same guy who built the Amazon Echo just built the $700 magic juicer

Amazon renews vows with its online wedding registry

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Wal-Mart expands online grocery pickup to eight more cities by Nathan Layne at Reuters. “The expansion…will increase the number of stores with the service by a third to about 200 and widen its footprint to 30 cities…In addition to Kansas City, Missouri and Austin, Texas, Wal-Mart will roll out the service later this month to select stores in Boise, Idaho; Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia; Provo, Utah; Daphne, Alabama and Charleston, South Carolina.” Read more

 

Target CEO Brian Cornell buys $1.9M Kenwood home by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell bought a $1.9 million home near Lake of Isles in the Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis, according to a real estate filing. Cornell, who took over as CEO of the Minneapolis retailer in August 2014, paid cash for the six-bedroom, six-bathroom home.” Read more

 

NO PITCH REQUIRED – Publicis Groupe Wins Walmart-Owned Asda’s $145M U.K. Business by Emma Hall at Ad Age. “Saatchi & Saatchi London — whose New York office has handled Walmart’s creative in the U.S. for two years — will take the Asda creative account from VCCP after three years on the business.” Read more

 

Multiple Retailers to Attend GS1 Connect Conference “Companies participating in “How to do Business With” sessions and Trading Partner Roundtables include Belk, Dillard’s, Kroger, Macy’s, Nordstrom, SUPERVALU, Target, Walgreens, Walmart/Sam’s Club and Wegmans Food Markets.” Read the release | Full agenda

 

J.C. Penney creates its own plus-size women’s fashion brand by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “Penney is positioning the brand for the younger millennial shopper…The merchandise will be in about 500 Penney stores and online May 1…about 200 stores are getting branded “The Boutique” departments.” Read more

 

Actor Hugh Jackman pitches new venture to Kroger at Cincinnati Business Journal. “Wolverine” and “Les Miserables” star Hugh Jackman was in Cincinnati this weekend to talk to Kroger executives, WCPO reports. Jackman was pitching his Laughing Man Coffee & Tea to the Cincinnati-based grocer.” Read more

 

Target Testing Connected Health Sections by Alan Wolf at Twice. “The pilot program is rolling out to 550 Target stores across the country and is expected to be in place by May. The Connected Care sections are approximately 6 feet wide and hold about 14 different medical-grade products, including blood pressure monitors and pain management. All can connect to smartphones to make it easy for customers “to keep track of important wellness information and data,” a Target spokeswoman told TWICE in an email.” Read more

 

“Home Depot and Lowe’s are just completely sold out of any kind of materials” –  Softball size hail pierces ceilings in Wylie, TX at CBS DFW. “When Yvonne Mora’s ceiling finally caved in from hail damage, insulation rained down onto her kitchen. “It looks like cotton candy,” she said staring the pile of pink covering her countertop. But the real damage is visible overhead. Monday’s softball size hail pierced Mora’s roof.” See the video / 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

 

Longtime Macy’s exec resigns by Andy Brownfield at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Macy’s Chief Marketing Officer Martine Reardon will leave the company effective May 13.” Read more

 

Walmart To Provide $150,000 for Univ. of Arkansas School of Law Diversity Program Read more

 

Market Force: America’s Favorite Grocery Chain (Wegmans #1, #2 Publix, #3 Trader Joe’s) via Business Insider. Read more

 

Job count at Walmart’s new C. Fla. distribution center soars to 1,000 by Rachel Williams at Orlando Business Journal. “When the project was confirmed last summer, it was announced that the new center would create 625 new jobs, but that number has risen to 1,000, Stan Conway, executive vice president of Majestic Realty, told Orlando Business Journal.” Read more

 

Strawberries are Now the Most Contaminated Produce by Jade Scipioni at Fox Business. “Strawberries have officially replaced apples as the most pesticide-ridden produce. According to the 2016 Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide, nearly all “conventional” strawberry samples—about 98%—tested by federal officials had detectable pesticide residues. In addition to that, 40% of all strawberries had residues of 10 or more pesticides detected.” Read more

 

Canada: Loblaw says its plan to build 50 new stores, renovate 150 more will create 20,000 jobs this year via Financial Post. Read more

 

You Can’t Buy ‘Hamilton’ Tickets, But You Can Buy Its Bloomingdale’s Merchandise by Laura Gurfein at Racked. “Bloomingdale’s is set to open pop-up shops at the 59th Street and Soho stores filled with show-related merchandise later this week…” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos: What the commercial space industry can learn from the Internet revolution by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. Read more

 

Wal-Mart ties with ChannelAdvisor to boost online assortment by Nathan Layne at Reuters. “The deal should make it easier for the thousands of retailers and vendors that are working with ChannelAdvisor to get their products on Wal-Mart’s website. Wal-Mart has made expanding its online assortment, currently at about 9 million items, a priority for its online business this year.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Former Mrs America charged with making more than $5,000 in fraudulent returns to Macy’s

Washington Post: Why companies like Walmart are buying so much wind power

First city outside of Nashville for Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James boutique

How Amanda Haas Rose from Sales Associate to Culinary Director of Williams-Sonoma

Zika Survivor Says ‘I Could Feel My Skin Shrinking’

The world’s top 20 most authentic brands (Amazon #4)

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Best Buy retools stores in New York by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The Richfield-based electronics retailer in the last year has poured $5 million to $10 million into upgrades in the New York region, which is one of its largest markets with about 45 stores…“It’s not just new paint and new floors,” said Carly Charlson, a Best Buy spokeswoman.” Read more

 

Traffic jam as Taipei region welcomes 4th Costco outlet at Focus Taiwan. “W. Craig Jelinek, chief executive officer of Costco, attended the opening ceremony where a lion dance troupe performed…customers began to gather before 7 a.m., waiting in a line which was estimated to be 300-meter to 400-meter long.” Read more

 

Apparel Merchandising Students Create Doll Clothing for Walmart Dolls via University of Arkansas. “The clothes are featured on the My Life As doll, an 18-inch doll that wears various styles of active wear, and was created for young girls ages 8 to 12.” Read more

 

**Trade Show Spotlight – 2016 National Stationery Show. There’s Only One Stationery Market in North America and the NSS is it! Experience all that is new at this year’s show with 800 exhibitors (over 60% come to launch new products!). Don’t be the last to know – see the new products everyone will be talking about first-hand! See the show categories | Last year’s photo gallery | 2016 exhibitor list | Register | Celebrating 70 Years – Javits Center, NYC May 15-18.

 

Walmart merchandising boss speaks at charity gala by Nancy Peevy at The City Wire. “Walmart, a major sponsor of the gala, was joined by 81 other businesses and individuals who also sponsored the event and gave to help support the Children’s Shelter financially. General Mills was the presenting sponsor, along with others, such as Pepsico, Kimberly Clark, Hershey’s, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Mattel, Tyson, 3M and Anheuser Busch.” Read more

 

CLAIM: 70% OF SHOPPING CARTS IN CHICAGO HAVE TRACES OF E.COLI by Becky Yerak at Chicago Tribune. “A microbiology professor who has tested shopping carts in major markets, including Chicago, says they’re dirtier than public restrooms, diaper-changing tables, chair armrests and playground equipment, among other things.” Read more

 

Hundreds turned out for the “Hugs For Frank” rally by Frances Watson at KSPR 33 ABC. “He’s the West Plains man, famous for giving hugs, who was fired from his job at Walmart after 20 years. Hundreds turned out for the “Hugs For Frank” rally. The group gathered near the Walmart store he used to work at for a peaceful demonstration showing their support.” See the video | Read more via Springfield News-Leader

 

The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies In America (Kohl’s, Hibbett Sports) See the list

 

Home Depot suffers disruption to payment card network by J.Scott Trubey at AJC. “Home Depot reported some disruption nationwide to its ability to process credit and debit card purchases on Saturday. But the company said the issue is not a threat to customers’ personal information.” Read more

 

CVS faces lawsuit for claims about a store-brand eye product by Colman M. Herman at Boston Globe. “Clearly it was very misleading,” said Dr. Jorge Arroyo, an ophthalmologist who treats macular degeneration at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.” Read more

 

SHAQ THUMBS NOSE AT CRITICS OF HIS WALMART FOOTWEAR LINE via Footwear News. “Laugh all you want, the Shaq brand has sold over 120 millions pairs of affordable shoes for kids @Walmart,” the baller captioned a photo shared on (Facebook).” Read more

 

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LA Times: How retail stores are using virtual reality to make shopping more fun by Shan Li. “On a recent weekday, Tyler Costin, 32, slipped on a Samsung Gear VR headset while shopping at the Toms store on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. “That’s amazing,” he said, swiveling in his chair to take in the 360-degree views. At one point, Costin lifted his hand to greet the students before quickly putting it back down. “You want to wave back,” he said sheepishly.” Read more

 

McMillon Studio Showcases Retail Innovation by Marty Cook at Arkansas Business. “The first exhibit will be the “kitchen of the future,” made possible by donations from companies such as Lowe’s and Samsung. The pieces were scheduled to begin arriving last week, and Sedberry hopes to have the kitchen ready for business by mid-April. Everything in the kitchen is open to visitors to inspect, use and, most valuably, review.” Read more

 

Charlotte Grocery wars: Harris Teeter takes top spot from Walmart by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “Harris Teeter reclaimed the No. 1 spot and Food Lion edged past Wal-Mart Supercenters in the latest market share rankings for Charlotte’s highly competitive grocery scene.” Read more

 

Wall Street Journal: Tom Coughlin Obituary “High-school buddies and former colleagues proved a refuge in his final decade. He and 15 of his high-school friends met at least once a year, usually for a weekend involving football, beer and recycled jokes. While Mr. Coughlin was confined at home, he participated via speaker phone. Friends laughed about the time he flopped on the floor to do a gator dance…” Read the full obituary (subscription)

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Best Buy’s Geek Squad to swap Beetles for Priuses

Boy’s foot gets stuck in escalator at Macy’s store in San Diego

You could catch on fire in this $1,000 shirt

CNBC: This is why Ohio is becoming the e-commerce capital

Could P&G acquire Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. brand?

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