RETAIL EARNINGS PARADE THIS WEEK: Tuesday: Home Depot, TJX Wednesday: Target, Lowe's Thursday: Walmart, Dick's   Amazon is going to sell its own lines of food, detergent and diapers by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "The e-commerce powerhouse will soon begin selling its own packaged goods, exclusively to Amazon Prime members under brands like Happy Belly and Mama Bear, the Wall Street Journal reports." Read more   Wall Street Journal: Amazon to Expand Private-Label Offerings by Greg Bensinger. "While the full lineup couldn’t be ascertained, Amazon previously applied for trademark protection for foods including pasta, granola, potato chips and [...]

  J.C.Penney Q1 Comp Sales -0.4% / EBITDA +63% "Marvin R. Ellison, chief executive officer, said, "The first quarter was clearly challenging from a sales perspective...while our first quarter sales were below our expectations, we are maintaining our annual comp guidance of 3 % to 4 % as a result of the positive nature of our recent sales trends." Read the release   Nordstrom Q1 Comp Sales -1.7% / Retail EBIT Down $107 Million "Full-price net sales, which consist of U.S. full-line stores and Nordstrom.com, combined with Canada and Trunk Club, decreased 2.2 percent and comparable sales decreased 4.3 percent." Read [...]

  TARGET CEO APPEARS ON CNBC - What you're missing about our inclusive bathroom policy by Matthew J. Belvedere. "Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said Wednesday its bathroom policy fits the retailer's long history of "embracing diversity and inclusion." Cornell told CNBC's "Squawk Box" he wants everyone to feel welcome at his stores but stressed that safety is also very important." See the video / Read more   COMPARISONS AND OLIVE BRANCHES - Target CEO says Target stands by transgender policy just as it did for blacks in '60s by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "At the same time, he offered [...]

  CUTTING GUIDANCE - Macy's Q1 Comp Sales -5.6% "Terry J. Lundgren: “...we have an opportunity to make up some ground in the months ahead, and particularly in the fourth quarter. But as a result of these factors, we believe it is prudent to reduce our sales and earnings guidance for the 2016 fiscal year." Read the release   Target to Add a Chobani Cafe at Its Newest Small Format Store by Brian Sozzi at The Street. "Target tells TheStreet it will open a Chobani cafe at its new two-level, 45,000 square foot Tribeca store set to debut in New York [...]

  Marimekko for Target was no Lilly Pulitzer, but still signs it was a success by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "Ecommerce analytics firm Slice Intelligence says the merchandise helped bring new customers to Target.com and increase spending on the site. About 38 percent of those who shopped the collection online had not shopped Target.com in the previous six months." Read more   J.C. Penney flips home sales focus from furniture to appliances by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. "(J.C. Penney) is moving forward into the major home appliance business and will be adding kitchen and laundry showrooms to 500 [...]

  Target's Perception Ticks Up with Democrats by Laura Heller at Forbes. "Target has enjoyed a slight uptick among Democrats by roughly 5-6 points. Target’s Buzz Score among independent voters dropped 10 percent to zero (meaning the positive and negative sentiments cancel each other out), but among Republicans the score is approximately -15." Read more   Walmart confirms police report, says card readers compromised in Virginia by Steve Ragan at CSO. "The Fredericksburg Police Department has issued a warning to Central Park shoppers after at least 37 people had their payment cards compromised, and bank accounts drained. In each reported [...]

  Macy's Woos Millennials With Ramped-Up Wedding Business by Phil Wahba at Fortune. "We have an opportunity to service the couple throughout the entire wedding journey, not just at the point of registry,” Shawn Outler, the Macy’s senior vice president overseeing the wedding strategy, told Fortune on a tour of the retailer’s Manhattan flagship. “We weren’t quite messaging to those opportunities but we knew we were selling the product.” Read more   Canada: Loblaw aims to add medical marijuana by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. "Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, which acquired Shoppers Drug Mart two years [...]

  Costco April Comp Flat / +3.0% ex-gas & F/X "Costco reported net sales of $8.98 billion for the month of April, the four weeks ended May 1, 2016, an increase of three percent from $8.74 billion during the similar period last year." Read the release   Whole Foods Q2 Comp Sales -3.0% via CNBC. "Whole Foods Market reported an earnings beat and a slight miss on revenue after the closing bell Wednesday...Analysts had expected same-store sales to fall 2 percent, according to a consensus estimate from FactSet." Read more | Read the company press release   WALMART'S NEW RECEIPT [...]