Tipsheet: Obama Scares ‘Dickens’ Out of Menards | Sam’s Eyes In-Store Dietitians | R.Aid -0.6% | Costco +1%

/in

 

Costco March Comp Sales +1.0% / +4.0% Excluding Gas, F/X “Costco reported net sales of $10.71 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 3, 2016, an increase of three percent from $10.40 billion during the similar period last year.” Read the release

 

Best Buy rolls out same-day delivery in 13 markets by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “It added New York City to the program earlier this year. Then, late last month, it quietly rolled out same-day delivery to the other 11 markets where Deliv operates.” Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond Q4 Comp Sales +1.7% Read the release

 

Claim: Alibaba Surpasses Walmart As Largest Retail Company In The World by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge. “In a filing with the SEC on Tuesday, China’s online retail behemoth Alibaba Group announced that it had “become the largest retail economy in the world” at the end of its fiscal year on March 31, “as measured by gross merchandise volume on its China retail marketplaces.” Read more

 

Rite Aid Q4 Comp Sales -0.6% “…consisting of a 0.8 percent decrease in pharmacy sales and a 0.4 percent decrease in front-end sales.” Read the release

 

Menards still too scared by Obama (and apparently his possible replacements) to build store in Ohio by Alex Knisely at Times-Reporter. “We are a family owned business and with the Obama Administration scaring the dickens out of all family businesses in the U.S.A at present and with no certainty if the next administration will be any better, we have decided not to risk expansion until things are more settled,” (spokesperson) O’Mara wrote.” Read more

 

SAM’S CLUB SVP HEALTH AND WELLNESS SPEAKS TO GROUP – Sam’s Club testing ways to deliver health care, exploring dietitians to all stores by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Jill Turner-Mitchael, senior vice president overseeing health and wellness for Sam’s Club…“We are also looking at adding dietitians to our clubs this year. We know it will drive loyalty to our company and will drive grocery sales. But we have no idea exactly how to quantify that. We will figure it out over the next few months,” Mitchael said.” 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

 

Amazon Struts Its Fashion Sense, Challenging Traditional Stores by Suzanne Kapner at WSJ. “Amazon.com Inc. has crushed rivals by offering cut-rate prices on everything from books and electronics to diapers. But to attract fashion brands, it has employed a new strategy: promising full price…” Read more (subscription)

 

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Quits Spiritual Guru’s Think Tank by John A. Oswald at Forward. “Mackey so far has issued no statement on his reason for stepping down from the Center for Integral Wisdom, but his departure comes as Gafni continues to be dogged by allegations of sexual improprieties stretching back years.” Read more

 

HAPPENING TODAY – Sarah Jessica Parker Heads To Bloomingdale’s In L.A. by Rachael Allen at Footwear News. “Sarah Jessica Parker is once again giving some lucky shoe shoppers the experience of a lifetime. Parker announced she’ll be working the shoe floor at the Bloomingdale’s in Century City, Calif. on Thursday at 12 p.m.” Read more

 

Amazon Echo sales reach 3M units as consumer awareness grows, research firm says by James Risley at GeekWire. “According to CIRP’s research, customer awareness of the product reached almost 50 percent by the end of last year, up from about 20 percent in March 2015. About a third of Echo smart speakers were sold during the holiday season.” Read more

 

Kroger Names President of Smith’s “Kroger announced the promotion of Kenny Kimball, currently vice president of operations in the company’s Smith’s division, to serve as president of Smith’s, effective April 30.” Read the release

 

Saks Contest Showcases Newbie Designer Labels – Competition Drew 300+ Submissions by Ray A. Smith at WSJ. “The Saks group took turns visiting each designer’s displayed collection for a few minutes, poring over clothes and peppering the designer with questions about fabrics, inspirations, and retail sales. When a visit ended, a designer typically packed the collection in a suitcase and left. The Saks group then deliberated privately to decide the winners.” Read more (subscription)

 

Home Depot Kicks Off Spring Black Friday Event Read the release

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Walmart Roiling Its Vendor World with New Carton Marking Requirements

PR Week: Alibaba’s new comms head Jennifer Kuperman on guiding the company’s future

Sam’s CEO details Spelman presidential-search process

Saks’s Parent Company Will Open Up to 40 Off 5th Stores in Europe Next Year

CNBC: Masters champ Spieth steps up with Under Armour line

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

Tipsheet: Target Moves Media $ | Wmart Fires ‘Hugging’ Cashier | Kohl’s Kills Coffee

/in

 

Target to move media business from Haworth to GroupM by Nicole Norfleet at Star Tribune. “There have been rumblings that Haworth is in discussions to take over Wal-Mart’s media account. A Wal-Mart spokesman confirmed Tuesday in an e-mail: “We have had conversations with Haworth Marketing and Media. They are a great agency with unique capabilities that could be an interesting partner in the future.” Read more

 

…Longtime Target chief marketer Michael Francis came on board as a marketing consultant at Walmart Jan. 1. …Mr. Francis had worked with Haworth for many years at Target by Alexandra Bruell & Jack Neff at Ad Age. Read more

 

Walmart Is the Latest Retailer to Make a Cage-Free Egg Vow by John Kell at Fortune. “Walmart, which has sold cage free eggs at the company’s U.S. stores since 2001, said it would meet the 2025 goal based on “available supply, affordability and customer demand.” Read more

 

Kohl’s nixes in-store coffee shop concept, Kohl’s Café by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. “…over the next few weeks it will be removing its Kohl’s Café experimental coffee shops installed in its Menomonee Falls and Delafield locations. The trial coffee shops, which opened in September 2015, were ideas that sprouted from customer input but were not as successful as necessary, the company said.” Read more

 

NY Magazine: Etsy Wants to Crochet Its Cake, and Eat It Too by Amy Larocca. “Etsy’s 819 employees — not the sellers but the people keeping the Etsy servers up and running and everything else — work in something like an extremely cozy private welfare state. There is free lunch, there is on-site continuing education, there is someone with pink hair to reinflate the tires of the bike you were sweetly encouraged to ride to work…” Read more

 

Target to open two small-format stores on Long Island by David Winzelberg at Long Island Business News. “Target is also planning to open a 46,000-square-foot store in the Meadowbrook Commons shopping center at the intersection of Sunrise Highway and Meadowbrook Parkway in Freeport. That store in the Kimco Realty-owned center, formerly occupied by Stop and Shop, is also slated for an October opening.” Read more

 

**New Product Spotlight. A message from SpinChill – Get warm beer cold in 60 seconds! Don’t wait half an hour to get the party started – get the party started fast: Just clip it on, stick your drink in the ice, and Spin it for a Minute! See how it works | YouTube channel Request sample at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. www.spinchill.com

 

WSJ: Pompoms Come Bouncing Back by Alexandra Wolfe. “…Since her nuptials, pompoms have spun from kiddie playrooms and fashion runways to wedding aisles and just about everywhere else…The look, says Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing, is “kind of groovy granny.” The pompom, he declares, “has become a folkloric flourish.” Read more (subscription)

 

Jeff Bezos Calls Amazon ‘Best Place In The World To Fail’ In Shareholder Letter by Ryan Mac at Forbes. “Someone energized by competitive zeal may select and be happy in one culture, while someone who loves to pioneer and invent may choose another,” said Bezos. “The world, thankfully, is full of many high-performing, highly distinctive corporate cultures. We never claim that our approach is the right one – just that it’s ours – and over the last two decades, we’ve collected a large group of like-minded people.” Read the letter / Read more

 

Walgreens vet Bryan Pugh joins Fred’s by Michael Johnsen at Drug Store News. “Bryan Pugh has been named chief merchandising and marketing officer; Craig Barnes has been promoted to EVP supply chain, global and domestic logistics; and Mike Holligan has been promoted to EVP store operations.” Read more

 

Luke Bryan Expands Cabela’s Clothing Line by Annie Reuter at Taste of Country. “Luke Bryan is expanding his apparel brand to another clothing line named for his latest single. The line, called HFE, includes a new collection of apparel inspired by “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin Every Day.” Read more

 

Target.com President Jason Goldberger Is Coming to Code/Commerce on May 17th by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read more

 

Staples doesn’t call a single witness in Office Depot trial by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “A federal judge on Tuesday pressured the FTC to accept a settlement offer from Staples that would clear the way for the office supply chain to merge with rival Office Depot.” Read more

 

Washington Post: There really are too many stores. Just ask the retailers by Sarah Halzack. “…He points to Williams-Sonoma as a blueprint of where more legacy brick-and-mortar retailers might be headed. Williams-Sonoma has 239 stores that are largely only located in high-performing malls, and it is already drawing more than 50 percent of its sales from e-commerce.” Read more

 

Walmart fires cashier in Missouri who wouldn’t stop hugging customers by Doug Moore at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “A Facebook page, Hugs for Frank, was set up, inviting people to a protest outside the store this Saturday. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,000 people had indicated they planned to attend.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Washington Post: The surprising thing that got the biggest share of online shopping dollars in 2015

Without a lot of fanfare, Wal-Mart has begun selling a refurbished iPhone 6 at a $150 discount

NYC: Union fails after two-year battle to organize green grocer

Family shocked after ALDI employee ‘insults disabled son’

The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media

Lowe’s releases 2015 social responsibility report

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

Tipsheet: Wgreen +2.2% | SCOTUS Rejects $187M Wmart Appeal | Menear +13.7% | Nordstrom Vets Startup

/in

 

Walgreens Q2 same store sales rose 2.2 percent via Reuters. Read more | See the press release

 

Supreme Court rejects Wal-Mart appeal in employee wage case by Lydia Wheeler at The Hill. “The Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal from Wal-Mart on Monday challenging a $187.6 million judgment in a class action lawsuit. In the case, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v Michelle Braun, hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club had brought a class action lawsuit against the companies, claiming they failed to compensate them for rest breaks and off-the-clock work as mandated in their policies.” Read more

 

Target’s savings app Cartwheel now lets you clip real coupons by Sarah Perez at Techcrunch. “…it’s now testing this new service, which is made possible through a partnership with a third-party provider of digital coupons, Quotient (formerly Coupons.com)…At launch, there around 40-some digital coupons of this nature available in the app, but that number will change and vary, we’re told.” Read more

 

For Wal-Mart, food stamp cutback adds new challenge by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “…in some states, those consumers who no longer qualify for SNAP lost their benefits April 1…The center estimates the change will impact between 500,000 and 1 million people, as different states and counties roll out their take on the new requirements…(could) weigh some 0.4 to 0.6 percent on Wal-Mart’s comparable sales.” Read more

 

NORDSTROM VETS – This startup wants to convince online shops that more returns can equal bigger business by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “David Sobie and Mark Geller have raised $1.9 million in seed funding for their startup, Happy Returns, which is pitching e-commerce sites on allowing customers to return purchases to Happy Returns kiosks in brick-and-mortar stores or malls. The goal is to let online shoppers get free, instant refunds by returning orders to a physical store — an option that the founders believe will lead to increased sales.” Read more

 

Amazon expands payment platform with partner program for merchants by James Risley at GeekWire. 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

 

Sam’s Club CEO to Install New Spelman College President Read the release

 

Tesco sales decline slows at Reuters. “The sales decline at Tesco has slowed for the fourth month in a row, industry data showed on Tuesday, adding to evidence that Britain’s biggest supermarket group is gradually recovering.” Read more

 

Reno: Q+A: CEO of drone startup reflects on making first urban delivery by Daniel Rothberg at Vegas Inc. “You can either try to build your own delivery service or partner with someone who has it. And there are a lot of companies out there … who are not going to want Amazon to control (their deliveries).” Read more

 

Hudson’s Bay Co reports three-fold rise in profit following Kaufhof takeover at The Canadian Press via Financial Post. “The diversity of our banners in terms of geography and consumer segment helped us navigate a challenging retail environment and resulted in 2015 comparable store sales growth of 2.5 per cent on a constant currency basis,” Richard Baker, HBC’s governor and executive chairman, said in a statement accompanying the results.” Read more

 

How much did Home Depot bump up CEO Craig Menear’s total comp in 2015? at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Home Depot boosted Chairman, CEO and President Craig Menear’s total compensation by 13.7 percent in 2015. According to a proxy statement filed Monday, the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer gave Menear about $11.6 million in total comp last year.” Read more

 

Sears Canada Names Becky Penrice as Chief Operating Officer Read the release

 

Wal-Mart Apologizes for Selling Univ. of Maryland Shirts With Massachusetts Design by Victoria Jones at NBC 4 Washington. “Wal-Mart said Monday it’s embarrassed to “stick our head out of our shell” after the mega-store sold University of Maryland Terrapins T-shirts that showed the state of Massachusetts instead of the state of Maryland.” Read more

 

Time: The Case Against Low-Fat Milk Is Stronger Than Ever by Alice Park. “Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian and his colleagues analyzed the blood of 3,333 adults enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study of Health Professionals Follow-up Study taken over about 15 years. They found that people who had higher levels of three different byproducts of full-fat dairy had, on average, a 46% lower risk of getting diabetes…” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Gap promises to change ad for kids clothing line after it sparked a backlash for showing ‘token’ black girl as an arm rest for a white child

The inside story of how Amazon created Echo, the next billion-dollar business no one saw coming

Krebs: Trump Hotels Breached Again

From snacks to jacks: Former Frito-Lay chief to head auto parts retailer

Macy’s hires real estate exec

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

Tipsheet: Ex-Wmart Exec Coughlin Dies | Costco ‘Nurse-In’ | Bass Pro CEO Speech

/in

 

Former Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club exec Tom Coughlin has died at The City Wire. “Tom Coughlin, an early executive hire by Sam Walton who rose to the No. 2 spot at Wal-Mart Stores before forced to resign in 2005, has died. He was 67.  Kelly Coughlin, his daughter, said he became ill in the last month and spent the past few weeks at Northwest Health System hospital in Bentonville.“ Read more

 

…Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon sent an email to company executives Friday announcing Mr. Coughlin’s death. “Like me, many of you worked with Tom over his more than 26 years with the company. I know firsthand how much he loved our associates and this company,” Mr. McMillon wrote. via WSJ (subscription)

 

Costco gets creative to meet shoppers’ huge appetite for organics by Janet I. Tu at Seattle Times. “The effort is still in its infancy. So far, Costco is working with just one partner, loaning money to help San Diego-based Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce buy equipment and 1,200 acres of land in the Mexican state of Baja California. But Costco is looking at expanding the initiative.” Read more

 

Amazon Plans Big Push to Expand Prime Now Fast Delivery by Spencer Soper at GeekWire. “The service – now only available through the Prime Now app on smartphones — will be run on Amazon’s website starting in May, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg…Amazon is trying to sell advertising space to major brands for the Web launch…The premium “Launch Hero Package” would cost $500,000 for about two weeks of placement on Amazon’s website associated with the rollout.” Read more

 

Ulta Beauty opening downtown Chicago office by Lauren Zumbach at Chicago Tribune. “The Bolingbrook-based retailer’s new 23,000-square-foot satellite office, with 100 workstations, will be at 120 S. Riverside Plaza, according to a statement from Ulta CEO Mary Dillon and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.” Read more

 

Group holds ‘nurse-in’ to support breastfeeding at North Carolina Costco by Mark Schultz at Charlotte Observer. “She didn’t say the words, ‘You have to,’” Symes said. “But she said, ‘Follow me to the lactation room. I’ll get the key.’” Symes, a UNC doctoral student in public health, was flustered. “It made me feel really unwelcome,” she said, and the family left.” 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 | Meet our retail taste testers

 

MCMILLON INNOVATION LAB – Starship land drone being tested at University of Arkansas for ‘final mile delivery’ by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Doug McMillon…told us when he contributed the $1 million to fund it, that he wanted this lab to explore future technologies that help to bridge the physical and digital retail worlds,” said Matt Waller, interim dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the UA.” Read more

 

Clothing became the No. 1 online sales category for the first time in 2015 by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The clothing and accessories category was the top-selling e-commerce category in three of the four quarters of 2015.” See the comScore chart

 

WSJ: Online Groceries Becomes Next E-Commerce Battleground by Kim S. Nash. “The pending merger of Peapod parent Ahold with Delhaize Group may allow the online grocer to expand to new markets in the southern U.S., where Delhaize operates chains such as Food Lion, Ms. Carr-Smith said. But for now, Peapod sees New York as its next big target.” Read more (subscription)

 

Even in a Mobile World, Retailers Aren’t Convinced Social Media Can Sell by Lauren Johnson at AdWeek. “Between January and March, e-commerce vendor Custora crunched data about $100 billion in sales among 500 million shoppers and found that only 1.5 percent of retailers’ last-click e-commerce transactions came via social media. Within that sliver of activity, Facebook dominated 81 percent of sales.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos shares drones-eye view of Blue Origin’s third smooth landing See the video

 

When Bass Pro’s Johnny Morris speaks, people listen by James White at Harrison Daily. “Morris spoke of a time in 1974, after he’d started Bass Pro Shops, when he was fishing with a friend on Beaver Lake….The boat capsized and he and his friend were left in the frigid water. He found the gas can from the boat and used it as a floatation device…Believing they could die, they said their prayers and Morris tried to use a coin to scratch a message into the paint on the can thinking his parents would find it…” Read more

 

New drone footage shows progress of the $5B Apple Campus 2 being built in Cupertino, California See the pics / Read more

 

Bloomingdale’s adds pop-ups for festival fashion as category explodes by Teresa Novellion at New York Business Journal. “…it is opening pop-up shops in all of its U.S. stores devoted to the clothing and accessories that people wear to those experiences, specifically music festivals like Coachella and SXSW.” Read more

 

This Costco essay got a high-school senior into 5 Ivy League schools and Stanford by Abby Jackson at Business Insider. “Costco fuels my insatiability and cultivates curiosity within me at a cellular level. Encoded to immerse myself in the unknown, I find it difficult to complacently accept the “what”; I want to hunt for the “whys” and dissect the “hows”. In essence, I subsist on discovery.” Read more

 

Staples finds a new use for its stores – office space by Janelle Nanos at Boston Globe. “The relationship will establish co-working spaces inside three Staples Inc. stores, in Norwood, Brighton, and Danvers, where members can rent desks on a daily or monthly basis.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Carrie Underwood Promotes her Dick’s Sporting Goods Swimwear Line with Bikini Selfie

Walmart U.S. CEO talks hope and opportunity at Benton County Boys and Girls Club event

Flying Mattress Knocks Woman Unconscious Outside Costco

Brooklyn: Food summit (April 8-9) aims to connect local farmers, entrepreneurs with capital

Starbucks Canada to start selling wine and craft beer in Toronto as it hones in on customer base

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

Tipsheet: McMillon Lunch Speech | Rona Approves Lowe’s | Target Needs Reality Check?

/in

 

Walmart’s Doug McMillon Speaks at Luncheon by Nancy Peevy at The City Wire. “In a speech Wednesday (March 30) at the 11th annual Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Benton County Corporate Luncheon, Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon told 325 Walmart suppliers and community leaders that the retailer is at a critical point. “Wal-Mart is over 50 years old now and retailers don’t typically make it through generational changes because leadership changes endanger the company,” he said.” Read more

 

Rona shareholders overwhelmingly approve $3.2 billion Lowe’s takeover by Ross Marowits at Canadian Press via Financial Post. “The transaction is expected to close by the end of May following approval by Investment Canada and the Competition Bureau…Outgoing Rona CEO Robert Sawyer believes Lowe’s will preserve the Rona and Reno-Depot brands in Quebec. “Outside of Quebec it’s another ball game, probably the big box stores will be eventually merged (into the Lowe’s brand)” Read more

 

Analyst: Target needs a reality check by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “We forecast that the general merchandise category as a whole will only grow by an aggregate $25 billion in the next five years,” McClintock told investors. “Given Target’s merchandise mix that is less food dependent than other general merchandise retailers [such as Wal-Mart or Costco], we believe the company could face the most pressure from this macro shift in consumer shopping channels.” Read more

 

Amazon Prime now available month-to-month — if you’re a Sprint customer by James Risley at GeekWire. “The partnership…gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Amazon Prime for $10.99 per month.” Read more

 

Detroit: Lowe’s/Ellen DeGeneres 500K School Donation Still On Despite Criminal Charges Against Principal by Tresa Baldas at Detroit Free Press. “Ronald Alexander, 60, principal at Charles L. Spain Elementary, was charged Tuesday with pocketing $23,000 in kickbacks from businessman Norman Shy in exchange for using him as a school supply vendor. He is one of 12 current and former principals implicated in a nearly $1-million bribery and kickback scheme involving school supplies that were rarely ever delivered.”  Read more

 

Delivery App Postmates Rolls Out Amazon Prime-Style Service for $9.99 a Month by Whitney Filloon at Eater. Read more

 

Walmart’s First-Ever Sales Drop Marks the End of an Era by Shelly Banjo at Bloomberg. “For the first time ever — or at least since the company went public some 45 years ago — Walmart’s revenues shrank from the year before, according to its annual financial filing.” Read more

 

**New Product Spotlight. A message from SpinChill – Get warm beer cold in 60 seconds! Don’t wait half an hour to get the party started – get the party started fast: Just clip it on, stick your drink in the ice, and Spin it for a Minute! See how it works | YouTube video channel Request sample at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. www.spinchill.com

 

NOT OVER YET? – Puerto Rico Appeals Decision Striking Alternate Biz Tax by Hannah Sheehan at Law 360. “The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico told the island’s federal court Thursday that it will appeal a March 28 decision barring the commonwealth from collecting an alternative corporate income tax from a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. subsidiary because it violates the U.S. Constitution.” Read more (subscription)

 

WSJ: E-Commerce Boom Roils Trucking Industry by Betsy Morris. “On a typical recent day, he throttled his semi-truck through the narrow streets of Gwinnett County, Ga., subdivisions, avoiding yard crews and children on bikes, until he reached the delivery he dreaded most: a 238-pound gun cabinet ordered online from Gander Mountain…Home deliveries are “the biggest thing this industry is dealing with right now.” Read more (subscription)

 

Teeniors teams with Walgreens on tech event by Kevin Robinson-Avila at Albuquerque Journal. “Seniors having difficulty navigating or operating their smart phones, tablets or laptops can get free, one-on-one coaching from tech-savvy teenagers at a special event Tuesday at the West Side Walgreens at Coors Boulevard and Sequoia Road.” Read more

 

Walmart is firing back at Costco with new cash rewards by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider via Yahoo. “The retailer’s cards — the Walmart MasterCard, Walmart credit card, and prepaid MoneyCards — will now offer 3% back on purchases made on Walmart.com, 2% back on fuel purchases at Walmart or Murphy USA gas stations, and 1% back on purchases at Walmart stores and everywhere else.” Read more | Read the release

 

LILLY PULITZER PRESIDENT PENS HBR STORY – What Lilly Pulitzer Learned About Marketing to Millennials by Michelle Kelly & Omar Artun at Harvard Business Review. “Although the company had historically seen mothers and grandmothers passing their love for Lilly on to their daughters, a closer look uncovered that influence also flowed in the opposite direction. This revealed another important role of millennial shoppers…they held enormous power to encourage other demographics to join the party.” Read more

 

EYE ROLLS AREN’T HARASSMENT 8th Circ. Says In Wal-Mart Win at Law 360. “The Eighth Circuit on Thursday shot down a Wal-Mart employee’s suit alleging she was discriminated against after she requested accommodations for her disability, finding that a new position assignment and eye rolls from management weren’t enough to support her claims.” Read more (subscription)

 

Coke Slaps More Than 70 Song Lyrics on Cans and Bottles by E.J. Schultz at Ad Age. “Lyrics cover a range of music, from rock ‘n’ roll classics like Queen’s “We are the Champions” to patriotic songs such as “Proud to Be An American” by Lee Greenwood.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Where you can find Beyonce’s new athleisure clothing line

Google ‘Mic Drop’ April Fool’s Gag Goes Horribly Wrong (People Claim it Lost Them Jobs)

Aldi biscuits made in ‘dirty’ factory recalled by manufacturers over pest contamination fears

New mall will boast Abu Dhabi’s first Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s

Aldi fighter – Woolworths is renaming its Homebrand products ‘Essentials’ to fight the perception they are poor quality

German discounter Lidl adds double threat to Walmart’s model

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories