Uber Poaches Target CMO Jeff Jones by Adam Lashinsky & Phil Wahba at Fortune. "Jones starts Sept. 19 at Uber, where he will head worldwide marketing and operations. He replaces board member and early employee Ryan Graves in those roles, though Graves remains in a senior capacity at Uber." Read more   ...Jones met (Founder Travis) Kalanick at the TED 2016 conference in Vancouver, where the pair started talking about how Uber could improve its reputation by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. Read more   2,000 Cram into Nebraska Furniture Mart to meet 'Fixer Upper' stars Chip and Joanna Gaines [...]

  Amazon's plan to fight counterfeiters will cost legit sellers a ton by Ari Levy at CNBC. "Online stores that want to sell brands like Nike, Adidas and Hasbro are being told they have to pay a one-time nonrefundable fee of up to $1,500 per brand, according to interviews with multiple sellers. That's after being asked to provide invoices from manufacturers or distributors that show the purchase of 30 items within the last 90 days." Read more   Wal-Mart's McMillon Tops Compensation List of 100 Arkansas Public Company Execs by Gwen Moritz at Arkansas Business. "McMillon and Foran, No. 4 [...]

  J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Pharmacy Rankings Mass Merchandiser: Sam's #1, Costco #2, Target #3 See rankings for Supermarkets and Drug stores   Costco shifts again on sourcing olive oil by Janet I. Tu at Seattle Times. "The Greek oil did OK — I myself preferred it in a blind tasting — but it was not quite as strong a seller,” Olive Oil Times quotes Chad Sokol, commodity and dry grocery buyer for Costco’s Northern California and Nevada stores, as saying. “And pulling our buy out of Italy was significant. Their pricing came down as a reaction..." Read more   [...]

  Big Lots Posts Revenue Decline But Raises Forecast via Fox Business. "Sales at stores open at least 15 months increased 0.3%, on the low end of the company's projected range of between flat and 2%. Revenue fell as the comparable store increase was offset by a smaller number of stores." Read more   Amazon plans to open a Chicago bookstore in Lakeview by Lauren Zumbach at Chicago Tribune. "(Amazon spokeswoman) Bass said the store, targeted to open next year, will be at 3443 N. Southport Ave., the former location of the now-closed Mystic Celt bar and restaurant." Read more   [...]

  Dollar General Q2 Comp Sales +0.7% "Todd Vasos, Dollar General's CEO: "Retail food deflation and a reduction in both SNAP participation rates and benefit levels, coupled with unseasonably mild spring weather, proved to be stronger than expected headwinds to our business." Press release   Dollar Tree Q2 Comp Sales +1.2% "Bob Sasser, Chief Executive Officer: "Through what continues to be a challenging retail sales environment, we delivered gross margin improvement and managed expenses effectively to deliver earnings at the top end of our guidance range." Press release   Dollar Tree & Dollar General sales miss estimates via CNBC. "Wal-Mart [...]

  Reporter hunts for Amazon’s drone testing site in Britain, but drones aren’t at home by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. "Based on clues from the BBC, plus interviews with local sources, Business Insider’s Sam Shead went out to farm fields southeast of Cambridge, near a place called Worsted Lodge. In one of the fields, he found two bases that were located at each end of the acreage, about 400 meters (a quarter-mile) apart." Read more   Carol Tome Sells 97,610 Shares of The Home Depot Stock by Doug Wharley at The Cerbat Gem. "The stock was sold at an average price of [...]

  TV STATION FINDS NATIONWIDE PRICING GLITCH AT TARGET - Baby aisle more expensive than Pharmacy by Jessica McMaster at 41 KSHB Kansas City. "The 41 Action News Investigators called Target's corporate offices to find out why the store was charging two different prices for the same item.  Kristy Welker, a spokeswoman for Target, said it was the first time she heard of the issue...After several hours, she contacted the 41 Action News Investigators, saying a glitch was found in Target's pricing system." See the video / Read more   Best Buy Q2 Comp Sales +0.8% "This is on top [...]

  Target Severs Ties With Vendor Over Egyptian-Cotton Dispute by Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg. "The retailer said it discovered last month that 750,000 sheets and pillowcases labeled as Egyptian cotton were actually made with another type of cotton. The retailer pulled the items from its stores, and on Friday it began notifying customers that it will give them a refund on the products." Read more   ...Welspun India shares fell 20 percent, the most in a decade at Bloomberg. Read more   Dick's Sporting Goods Announces Acquisition Of Affinity Sports "Affinity Sports will provide key services to various youth sports [...]