Archive for month: May, 2016

 

Costco Q3 Comp Sales +3.0% (ex. gas & f/x) “Net sales for the quarter increased two percent, to $26.15 billion from $25.52 billion last year. Net sales for the first thirty-six weeks increased two percent, to $80.34 billion from $78.67 billion last year.” Read the release

 

MarketWatch: Costco sales stall in third quarter “Over all for the quarter, Costco reported a profit of $545 million, or $1.24 a share, up from $516 million, or $1.17 a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected $1.22.” Read more

 

Dollar General Q1 Comp +2.2% “Net sales increased 7.0 percent to $5.27 billion in the 2016 first quarter compared to $4.92 billion in the 2015 first quarter…” Read the release

 

Dollar Tree Q1 Comp +2.3% “Gross profit increased 107.6%, to $1.55 billion in the first quarter compared to $748.9 million in the prior year’s first quarter.” Read the release

 

Sears Q1 Domestic Comp -7.1% Read the release

 

WALMART’S FOOD STAMP MOAT – Walmart’s Fleeting Advantage Over Amazon by Shelly Banjo at Bloomberg. “Nearly all of those funds are spent offline, as the government puts limits on people’s ability to redeem food stamps without being physically present…But Walmart’s food-stamp advantage over Amazon could be fleeting. There is a growing movement of people pushing for food stamps to be redeemable online.” Read more

 

Burlington Q1 Comp +4.3% Read the release

 

Hy-Vee’s scouting Twin Cities sites for convenience stores ‘on steroids’ by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “It’s unclear how many of the small stores the company may open. Hy-Vee’s broker, Tom Palmquist of Colliers International Minneapolis-St. Paul, put out a flier seeking 25 sites that are two or three acres for a “mini grocery with gas.” Read more

 

Williams-Sonoma tops Street 1Q forecasts via CNBC. “…posted revenue of $1.1 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.08 billion.” Read more | Release

 

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Walmart is axing a popular ad-matching tool at 500 stores by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. “The Savings Catcher app will continue to work at stores where the in-store ad-matching program has been axed.” Read more

 

Large power outage in downtown Seattle causes ‘Internet snow day’ by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “Seattle City Light said that an equipment failure was to blame for the outage, which hit just after 11:30 a.m. in neighborhoods ranging from Belltown to Pioneer Square. SCL said an estimated time of restoration was 12:40 p.m. but others noted longer delays.” Read more

 

Craving Growth, Walgreens Dismissed Its Doubts About Theranos by Christopher Weaver & John Carreyrou at WSJ. “A Hopkins scientist told her that his researchers needed to put the device in their Baltimore laboratory to verify the technology on Walgreens’ behalf, and Ms. Holmes agreed to provide one, say people familiar with the meeting. It never happened. Walgreens wound up making a deal that included plans to put Theranos blood-testing centers in thousands of its drugstores across the U.S. despite never fully validating the startup’s technology or thoroughly evaluating its capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter.” Read more (subscription)

 

SpartanNash Q1 Sales: Retail comp -3.4% / Distribution Sales Up / Military Sales Down Read the release

 

CHICAGO – CVS, pharmacists to resume bargaining by Alexia-Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “Teamster Local 727, which represents 150 Chicago-area pharmacists, said it has received an outpouring of support from pharmacists and CVS customers nationwide since it made public what it calls mistreatment of workers without enough support to complete the tasks required of them. It “is about ensuring the ongoing safety and sanctity of the pharmacy profession,” John Coli Jr., president of Local 727, said in a Wednesday news release.” Read more

 

Smart Tampon? The Internet of Every Single Thing Must Be Stopped by Joanna Stern at WSJ. “Blame the falling price of parts, the popularity of crowdfunding sites or the flood of cash into the tech industry. But if an object has room for a chip and a battery, some entrepreneur is trying to shove them in—and replace common sense with an app alert. The high water mark was reached last week, when startup MyFlow announced the smart tampon.” Read more (subscription)

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Meet The Richest Person In Every State

Bathroom brawl in Walmart puts father in tough spot

Walmart Exec Cameron Geiger Joins GS1 US Board of Governors

This Is How Much It Costs To Shop Organic

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Eye on Retail will return after Memorial Day – Have a great Holiday!

 

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Best Buy Q1 Comp Sales -0.1% “Although we are reporting better-than-expected results today, we are not raising our full year outlook as the first quarter represents less than 15% of full year earnings and at this stage we have no new material information as it relates to product launches throughout the year.” Read the release

 

Fox Business: Best Buy Forecasts Profit Miss, CFO to Step Down “Best Buy forecast an adjusted profit of 38-42 cents per share for the second quarter. Analysts on average were expecting 50 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.” Read more | CFO step down release

 

How Roz Brewer Plans To Beat Amazon and Costco by Beth Kowitt at Fortune. “It’s difficult when you are in the baby business in the big mothership,” Brewer said at the Fortune Most Powerful Women “Evening With…” dinner in New York City.” Read more / See the video

 

…Explains How She Overcame Death Threats “The lesson for me is to continue to use my voice.” See the 3:51 video

 

…says ‘Good Luck’ to Amazon on Private Label “That might be one of the hardest tasks they’ve ever done.” See the 1:55 video

 

Tweet from J.C.Penney CEO Marvin Ellison: Proud to speak at BEST Academy HS. JCP gifted each graduate with new suit, shirt & tie. All 45 accepted to college!

 

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THIRD LARGEST CROWD FOR WEGMANS STORE OPENING – 24,000 turn out for Richmond store debut by Tammie Smith at Richmond Times-Dispatch. “The Chesterfield location is the 89th for the chain…That compares to the estimated 26,000 people who came on opening day at the Alexandria store in June 2015, and 25,500 who came out for the opening of the Wegmans in Northborough, Mass., in October 2011.” Read more

 

Amazon stops giving refunds when an item’s price drops after you purchase it by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The move may have something to do with the rise of startups that track prices for Amazon customers and automatically request refunds when appropriate…Earny scours a customer’s email inbox for digital receipts, and then continuously checks the price on a retailer’s website to see if it drops.” Read more

 

DOLLAR GENERAL SAYS GOODBYE TO NASCAR – Matt Kenseth losing Dollar General as main sponsor by Bob Pockrass at ESPN. “Dollar General had steadily increased its sponsorship of the No. 20 car as previous sponsor Home Depot gradually reduced its spending before ultimately leaving the sport after the 2014 season.” Read more

 

Abercrombie Taps Target, Victoria’s Secret Veterans as Brand Chiefs via Dow Jones. “(Stacia) Andersen will head up the company’s namesake and abercrombie kids brands. During her 20 years at Target, Ms. Andersen most recently had served as the discount retailer’s vice president of merchandising.” Read more

 

Supervalu makes $1.5B move toward Save-A-Lot spinoff by Diana Barr at St. Louis Business Journal. Read more

 

RADIO KING – Home Depot #1 in Radio Ads (again) at Radio Ink. “Home Depot held on to its number one position with 64,344 ads. GEICO was a distant second airing 38,904. Walgreens re-entered the top five, at number four with 26,307.” Read more

 

Walmart Faces a German Invasion by Shelly Banjo & Andrea Felsted via Bloomberg. “It’s quite a change from just a few years ago, when Asda — Walmart’s last remaining European outpost after its disastrous foray into Germany — was the jewel in its international crown.” Read more

 

Costco Founder Jim Sinegal Invests Millions in Bay Area Organic Fast Food Chain by Stefanie Tuder at San Francisco Eater. “Sinegal has signed on as the primary investor in The Organic Coup’s first round of funding, which raised $7 million…Costco CFO Richard Galanti has also invested in the restaurant.” Read more

 

**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – It all starts today! Do more business in three days than you could all year. Find your next best-seller at the New Product Showcase with more new candy and snacks than ever before. Register now | Exhibitors | May 24-26, 2016 McCormick Place – Chicago.

 

Lands’ End chief marketing officer resigns by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. Read more

 

CVS PRESIDENT HELENA FOULKES APPEARS ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE – “Customers will have the opportunity to opt-out of receiving paper receipts for all in-store purchases when completing their transactions in the front of the store. Once the one-time process is completed, customers will receive receipts digitally, along with their coupons and rewards, each time they shop at CVS Pharmacy.” Read the release

 

Cramer: Walgreens should walk away from Rite Aid deal via CNBC. “The government doesn’t seem to like this deal or it would have closed.” Read more

 

Ikea sees upside from cocooning Canadians as sales growth surges past rivals by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Canadians are not travelling like they have done in the past,” Stefan Sjöstrand, president of Ikea Canada, said in an interview…“When the dollar is weak, they stay home.” Read more

 

Amazon Announces the Most Well-Read Cities in America (Seattle #1) See the top 20 list

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Thieves tunnel into Best Buy – at least $100K worth of merchandise stolen

D.C. Mayor won’t get a chance to confront Walmart at retail conference

Costco files paperwork asking city to annex land for proposed chicken plant

A clever tweak to how apples are sold is making everyone eat more of them

Neiman Marcus Announces Phone Charging Stations Nationwide

Shoppers Voice Their Opinions About The Amazon ‘Experience’

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Home Depot welcomed Arthur Blank at its 2016 annual meeting by Maria Saporta at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “It was only the second annual meeting Blank attended since he left the company in 2002…After the meeting, Blank was asked how the meeting compared to when he and Marcus were leading the company. “This is different,” Blank said. “We were kind of loud and ruckus.” Read more

 

Target tests in-store Which Wich shops by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “(Target) has installed Which Wich in nine California stores as part of its LA25 program. Target is using 25 Los Angeles stores to test concepts ranging from online order pickup counters to new grocery displays.” Read more

 

…Target Using California Stores As Retail Labs To Test “Enhancements” by Ashlee Kieler at Consumerist. “Each location features 35 enhancements that include, among other things, stylish apparel fixtures, better-lit fresh produce sections, an emphasis on organic products, service stations expedited online order pick ups, and department specialists.” See the pics / Read more

 

Gap closes 75 stores outside North America via USA Today. “The closures include 53 Old Navy stores in Japan, Gap said.” Read more

 

…Gap Q1 Comp Sales -5.0% Read the release

 

Nordstrom has cut about 200 jobs and there’s another 200 cuts coming by Coral Garnick at Puget Sound Business Journal. “During Nordstrom’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday the company said it has cut “just about half” of the roughly 400 positions it plans to cut in Seattle by the end of July.” Read more

 

Nordstrom Expands Loyalty Program Read the release

 

Inside the New Apple Retail Store Design by Alex Webb at Bloomberg. “The flagship location, opening Saturday on San Francisco’s Union Square, boasts 40-foot-tall doors opening onto the square and comprises five departments, or what Apple prefers to call “features.”.” See the pics / Read more

 

**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – Last Chance to Register! The Expo has shown over 20% exhibitor growth this year. More exhibitors mean more new products for you! Do more business in three days at the Expo than you could all year. Find your next best-seller at the New Product Showcase with more new candy and snacks than ever before. Don’t miss out… register now to save over $200 on registration! May 24-26, 2016 McCormick Place – Chicago.

 

Macy’s workers prepare to strike over pay, health benefits by Kerry Burke & Reuven Blau at NY Daily News. “Midtown, Queens, Bronx and White Plains store employees authorized a strike if a contract is not negotiated by June 15. Their contract expired May 1.” Read more

 

Shoe Carnival Q1 Comp Sales +2.7% Read the release

 

HOW DID THE BIKES GET INTO COSTCO MYSTERY – ASI investigating how Costco got some SE Bikes via Bicycle Retailer. “Unfortunately this is a pretty common occurrence with this particular retailer and many brands have shown up there,” said Simone. ” This type of sale violates the SE dealer/distributor agreement and will lead to the termination of this dealer or distributor.” Read more

 

Former Saks CEO on CNBC: Big retailers must ‘fundamentally transform’ by Emily Balan at CNBC. “I think the big stores — like the Macy’s 34th Street, the Saks on Fifth Ave — they will be fine. They’re going to be fundamental to the idea of providing the experience, but they’ve got to change.” See the video / Read more

 

Sleep Number Opens 500th U.S. Store Read the release

 

Wal-Mart’s CEO calls e-commerce growth too slow by Sandra Guy at Internet Retailer. “The retailer’s global e-commerce sales grew 7% in fiscal Q1 2017.” Read more

 

Ross Stores Q1 Comp Sales +2.0% Read the release

 

The average age for a child getting their first smartphone is now 10.3 years by Jay Donovan at TechCrunch. “Tablets have surged from 26% to 55% usage as kids’ device of choice during car rides. Smartphones trail at 45%…64% of kids have access to the Internet via their own laptop or tablet, compared to just 42% in 2012.” Read more

 

Hibbett Sports Q1 Comp Sales +1.1% Read the release

 

Just when you thought the ‘Frozen’ craze was over… by Michael Riedel at NY Post. “Break out your tap shoes, Elsa, you’re coming to Broadway!…The Walt Disney Co. held a top-secret reading of the stage version of “Frozen” last week — and word around the Magic Kingdom is that the show has the potential to be a “Lion King”-size blockbuster.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

P&G employee was on missing EgyptAir flight

This Wal-Mart tactic should send shivers across retail

Kroger employees at 41 stores vote to go on strike

Retailers Win Big in Idaho Potato Commission Contest

‘Today’ staff at war over Natalie Morales’ dressing room

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Target Q1 Comp Sales +1.2% “Comparable digital channel sales increased 23 percent…First quarter comparable sales in signature categories (Style, Baby, Kids and Wellness) grew more than three times as fast as the company average. The first quarter marked Target’s sixth consecutive quarter of traffic growth, reflecting increases in both stores and digital channels.” Read the release

 

Fox Business: Target Delivers Mixed 1Q Results “Earnings stood at $1.29 per share in the first quarter ended on April 30. Analysts on average were expecting $1.20 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 1.2 percent, less than the market consensus of 1.6 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Q1 Comp Sales +7.3% / US +7.5% “Lowe’s reported net earnings of $884 million for the quarter ended April 29, 2016, a 31.4 percent increase over the same period a year ago.” Read the release

 

CNBC: Lowe’s Earnings & Revenue Beat Analysts’ Expectations “Lowe’s posted first-quarter earnings per share of 98 cents…Analysts had expected Lowe’s to report earnings of about 85 cents a share on $14.87 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. Sales at stores open more than 13 months rose 7.3 percent, well above the 4.3 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more

 

Target names Nordstrom executive Mark Tritton as chief merchandising officer by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “He starts June 5…Target also said Tuesday that Jason Goldberger, president of Target.com, will join the retailer’s C-Suite in the newly created position of chief digital officer.” Read more

 

… Q&A with Mark Tritton via A Bullseye View. “My family and I (Mark and his wife have three kids) have always loved adventures. We’ve lived in different cities, in different states, in different countries. We like to consider ourselves journey takers. For us, the Midwest was a bit unknown, and there’s an excitement to that – a curiosity that we get to explore.” Read more

 

…Kathee Tesija Departs by Evan Ramstad at Star Tribune. Read more

 

Bay Area: Amazon planning drive-up grocery store (Next to a new Orchard Supply Hardware) by Nathan Donato-Weinstein at Silicon Valley Business Journal. “…architects are working on an identical concept in San Carlos, at a site at 380 Industrial Road. Notably, public records also directly connect Amazon to the site where the project is planned, providing the first direct proof that it is, in fact, Amazon that is behind the effort.” Read more

 

**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – The Expo is Sold Out and Debuts Next Week! 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. Don’t miss the one place where more confectionery and snack retailers and manufacturers come together every year. May 24-26, McCormick Place – Chicago. Exhibitor List | 2016 New Exhibitors | Retail execs on the taste panel | Website

 

Alibaba’s Jack Ma drops out of IACC conference in spat over anti-counterfeiting efforts by Haze Fan at CNBC. “The Chinese e-commerce giant also embarked on a media campaign in China, in which it trumpeted its fakes-busting success and accused the IACC of being “kidnapped by the personal interests” of some of its members.” Read more

 

Liquidators win at Sports Authority bankruptcy auction by Mark Harden at Denver Business Journal. “The Wall Street Journal reports that the winning liquidation team includes Tiger Capital Group, Hilco Global and Gordon Brothers.” Read more | WSJ article (subs.)

 

Retailers swap ideas on coping with behemoth Amazon by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “You’re crazy if you compete against Amazon and you don’t recognize they are bigger, stronger, faster,” said Scott Thompson, the CEO at online shopping service ShopRunner and former head of Yahoo. “They’re playing their sport on their field with their referees and their fans.” Read more

 

Krebs: Target “Didn’t Have the Butts in the Seats” to Stop Cyberthieves by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Brian Krebs, the cybercrime journalist who first broke the story of Target Corp.’s 2013 data breach, stressed the importance of security professionals when he delivered the keynote lecture Tuesday at the Secure360 Twin Cities Conference. “There’s no substitute for the human,” he said.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Shareholder Meeting…

Jeff Bezos: Amazon’s goal is to make it ‘irresponsible’ to not be a Prime member by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “You still need a beginner’s mind,” Bezos said. “So, you need all of that domain knowledge and expertise, but you still need to be able to step back and look at something as if it’s your first day on the job. That is so hard and some people are good at it, so you can select for that.” Read more

 

Home Depot’s Q1 Earnings Call Transcript via Seeking Alpha

 

Millions more Americans to be eligible for overtime pay by Paul Davidson at USA Today. “Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the salary threshold was originally intended to exempt high-paid executives but instead has denied overtime to low-level retail supervisors and entry-level office workers who often toil 50 to 70 hours a week.” Read more

 

San Francisco: First U.S. city to require health warnings on advertisements for soda and other sugar-added drinks by Mike Esterl at WSJ. Read more (subscription)

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

How Target’s digital chief plans to partner with startups and bring Target into the internet age

‘Make a grocery list’: Feds teach people how to shop for food

Gap’s CEO says Amazon could be a channel to reach customers

Office Depot CEO: ‘It’s been a long and difficult 15 months’

Burberry Wants to Cut Its Operating Costs by 10%

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