Tipsheet: Secret Amazon Drone Filmed in UK | Costco Investigated (Again) | McMillon to Advise Trump | CES Room = $1,191/nt

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Top-secret Amazon drone filmed zooming through the air above Cambridgeshire testing facility by Jasper Hamill & Brittany Vonow at The Sun.”Amazon’s top secret experimental delivery drone has been filmed in action for the first time. The Sun Online’s exclusive footage shows the flying machine zooming through the skies over Amazon’s testing facility in rural Cambridgeshire.” Video/Pics/Read more

 

Bruised sporting goods industry could make a comeback by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “KKR & Co., Bain Capital, and TPG Capital are among those doing homework on bankrupt Performance Sports Group, owner of Bauer hockey sticks and Easton bats, sources said. PSG will take offers Jan. 25, two sources close to the situation said. Former PSG Chair Graeme Roustan is bending the ears of PE execs — discussing the possibility of teaming with one firm and, perhaps, consolidating the sporting goods space, sources said.” Read more

 

SECOND ONTARIO REGULATOR LOOKS AT COSTCO – Costco investigated over allegations pharmacy directors accepted kickbacks for certain brands at The Canadian Press. “If the ministry were to conclude that a company paid or received rebates contrary to the legislation, the Executive Officer could issue a ‘rebate penalty order’ that requires the company to pay the amount of the illegal rebate to the government as a form of monetary penalty,” Jensen said.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart CEO picked to advise Trump administration by Matthew Nussbaum at Politico. List of 16 / Read more

 

Amazon won’t resume work with one of its airlines until it’s sure the pilots won’t strike again by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The cargo airline in question, ABX Air, is one of several Amazon has contracted in the last year to operate a total of 40 planes on Amazon’s behalf.” Read more

 

Incoming Treasury Sec. Mnuchin steps down from Sears Board – was the Yale roommate of Sears Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert at ABC News. Read more

 

Wal-Mart asking customers for product reviews as part of effort to boost online sales by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Wal-Mart is actively emailing customers who use its Savings Catcher application asking them to review certain items from their recent grocery receipt as part of an effort to boost its e-commerce business…” Read more

 

Ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch teams up with Amazon to drive the Treasure Truck, autograph ‘Beast Mode’ Echo devices by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “Lynch was in a jovial mood, dancing and bobbing to his beats, signing Skittles packages for little kids and even getting in the face of one adult fan who tried to swipe some Skittles.” Pics/ Video/Read more

 

**A message from the 2017 Philadelphia Gift Show – See emerging artists and gift, home décor, and color trends! Get a sneak peak in our Product Spotlight, and see our list of unique exhibitors. Sweetening the pot, this all-category gift show runs concurrently with the Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet Show. See it all January 6-9, 2017, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, in Oaks, PA. Register now | Website

 

ThinkGeek opens new location at Seattle – met by a long line of dedicated “dweebs” by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. Pics / Read more

 

Want Groceries in Venezuela? First Stop at Six ATMs at Bloomberg.”Banks have set it up so people have to retrieve their money in as many as seven transactions — maybe the hope is they’ll get tired and give up — and everyone who can see what’s going on at the window counts. At seven, there’s a sigh of relief that deliverance is a step closer.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart Joining Corporate Surge to Protect LGBT Employees by Shannon Pettypiece & Jeff Green at Bloomberg. Read more

 

…Walmart, CVS, Walgreens & more score 100% on LGBT Equality rankings Corporate Equality Index 2017 Report

 

Consumer Electronics Show attendees gripe about hiked hotel rates by Claire Atkinson at NY Post. “We tried The Venetian Hotel to check rates and were quoted $1,191.68 (that’s per night) — and only if you check in on Wednesday, Jan. 4.” Read more

 

Is this the final burn for Florida’s ‘Cigar City’? by Abha Bhattarai at Washington Post. “What we’re dealing with right now is the worst it’s ever been,” said Newman…“On the one hand, the government is saying, ‘smoking is bad’ and making us jump through all these new hoops. On the other, they’re welcoming Cuban cigars — which haven’t been tested, which aren’t taxed — into the country. They’ve got this backwards.” Read more

 

Millennials Hit the Road in a Sleek New Generation of RVs by Kyle Stock at Bloomberg. “The aerodynamic, riveted pod comes with one massive panoramic window, solar power, Italian cabinetry, and a Bose Bluetooth speaker system. It’s an RV made for Instagram, not cousin Eddie, and it’s been in high demand since hitting dealerships in September. “It’s really kind of an online phenomenon,” said Bob Martin, chief executive of Airstream parent Thor Industries.” Read more

 

Domino’s Rewards Loyal Patrons With Shares, Profits by Jessica Wohl at Ad Age. “Domino’s Pizza has come up with two ways to reward its Piece of the Pie Rewards members with a literal and figurative piece of the pie. Starting Monday, the millions of patrons signed up for the program are eligible for a chance to win Domino’s stock. The company said it would pick 25 members at random monthly through November 2017, and give each of them 10 shares.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

‘Tree Lady’ charges $1K for her finest fir

Hell of South Korean dog meat farms exposed

Arianna Huffington goes retail

Cam Newton explains dress code violation that led to benching

Bryant Park Holiday Market spices up shopping to lure customers offline

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Tipsheet: Least Empathetic Co’s (CVS #19) | Visa Delays Pump Upgrade | Wmart #1 in Holiday TV Ads | Beaver Trashes Dollar Store

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Kroger CEO on food price deflation: ‘It’s not fun’ by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “We’re in the middle of the cycle right now and it’s not fun,” McMullen said…Kroger executives also talked about ClickList: The company has now expanded the online order and customer pickup service to 550 stores. That’s 50 more than it had just four weeks ago, McMullen said.” Read more | Earnings call transcript

 

Jewel-Osco hopes to burnish image in Chicago with contemporary store at Clark and Division by Greg Trotter at Chicago Tribune. “For those who may not associate their neighborhood Jewel with words like “swanky” and “contemporary,” well, that’s what Jewel-Osco is hoping to change. “We really wanted to make a statement for the Jewel-Osco brand…We really want to put forth a new image,” said Dave Hene, senior real estate manager for Jewel-Osco.” Video/Pics/Read more

 

Visa, Mastercard delay deadline for upgrade of gasoline pumps by Jenny Surane at Bloomberg via Boston Globe. “The world’s largest payments networks will give merchants until October 2020 to adopt the technology, three years later than previously planned, the companies said Thursday in separate statements.” Read more

 

Target to bring smaller store near University of Texas by Will Anderson at Austin Business Journal. “…the 22,000-square-foot location will be in Dobie Twenty21, a student-apartment and retail development at 21st and Guadalupe streets. The location, expected to open in July 2017, would be the company’s first in Texas in the smaller format.” Read more

 

Ulta Q3 Retail Comp Sales +14.3% “E-commerce sales grew 59.1% to $73.6 million from $46.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, representing 240 basis points of the total company comparable sales increase of 16.7%” Press release

 

Gap November Comp Sales -1.0% (vs. -8.0% LY) “Gap estimated that the fire, which occurred in a building on its Fishkill, New York distribution center campus, negatively impacted Gap Inc.’s November 2016 comparable sales by approximately 3 percentage points.” Press release

 

Five Below Q3 Comp Sales -0.2% Press release

 

Big Lots Q3 Comp Sales Flat Press release

 

The 20 Most (and Least) Empathetic Companies, 2016 (Whole Foods, CVS…) by Belinda Parmar at Harvard Business Review. “ Top/Bottom 20 Lists

 

**A message from Hot Shot – There’s no place like home. And when you rule the roost, you do it all… keep the peace, dry the tears, mop up the messes – even squash the spiders. When bugs cross your threshold, count on Hot Shot® brand for practical, easy-to-use, effective home insect solutions that take care of the creepy-crawlies for you – without breaking the bank. Save the Day. Facebook page

 

Millennial shoppers are heading to JC Penney by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “We want to be able to deliver her needs both as a woman and as a mother,” Sheeba Philip, J.C. Penney’s vice president of marketing strategy and communications, told CNBC. “That’s a huge unmet need.” Read more

 

Designed to save shoppers time, new system lights up Hy-Vee lines by Barbara Soderlin at Omaha World-Herald. “A green light indicates an open lane or a short line, and yellow or orange lights indicate a longer line. The Papillion store used data generated by the system to cut average wait times from more than four minutes — with some waits of as long as six or seven minutes — to less than three minutes, store director Dan Fuller said.” Read more

 

Google shops are popping up in Canada Best Buys by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “While the concept is growing across Canada, Cortellucci says there are no plans to expand Google shops into U.S. Best Buy locations.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Alexa on journey to fully grasping natural speech by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Rohit Prasad, the Amazon scientist in charge of developing the artificial-intelligence software’s abilities to grasp human language, says Alexa is still in the early stage of its journey…” Read more

 

With $720 Self-Tying Sneaker, Nike Loosens Ties to Retailers by Sara Germano at Wall Street Journal. “(Nike) wants to double its direct sales to consumers to $16 billion by 2020…”They have to be worried about it,” said John Kernan, senior retail analyst for brokerage Cowen & Co. He pointed to recent efforts by Dick’s to create some of its own products and provide more shelf space to Under Armour and Adidas.” Read more (subscription)

 

Howard Schultz On Why He’s Stepping Down As Starbucks CEO at Fortune. “I am personally as passionate about developing the Reserve brand, and opening more Roasteries, as I was about opening our first espresso bar more than 30 years ago in Seattle…” Read more

 

…Meet Starbucks’ next CEO: Here’s what former colleagues say about tech vet Kevin Johnson by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

Mall of America’s first-ever black Santa makes history via AJC. “Luther went to a Santa convention in Branson, Missouri, and found Jefferson. Out of about 1,000 Santas, Jefferson was the only Santa of color there. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Luther told the Star Tribune.” Read more

 

Target CEO: Partnership with St. Jude ‘a natural fit’ by Michael Sheffield at Memphis Business Journal. “It’s a great partnership,” Cornell said. “Target House opened in 1999, and we’ve had more than 4,500 families who can stay there and can live a normal life while they’re there.” Read more

 

Beaver trashes dollar store by Justin Wm. Moyer at Washington Post. “The beaver was apprehended at a dollar store in Charlotte Hall, Md., the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, apparently after browsing the selection of artificial Christmas trees and trashing the place.” Pics

 

Walmart, Target and Verizon Have Spent the Most on Holiday TV Ads So Far This Year by Jason Lynch at Adweek. “Walmart led the pack again with an estimated $66.4 million in holiday ad spending, though that number was down slightly from $67.6 million last year. Target, which almost doubled its holiday ad spending from last year, came in second with $49.7 million.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Nike on Thursday filed 64 patent applications, including 24 for new technology

Macy’s closing flagship Minneapolis store on Nicollet Mall

Three killed as pickup truck crashes into Walmart store

Bloomberg: Dollar General, Don’t Repeat Walmart’s Mistakes

Walmart launches 2nd grocery pick-up and gas station concept in Denver area

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Tipsheet: Kroger +0.1% | Costco +1.0% | D.Gen -0.1% | Wmart Exec @ Chamber | Bernie @ Amazon

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Costco November Comp Sales +1.0% “Costco reported net sales of $9.95 billion for the month of November…an increase of three percent from $9.68 billion during the similar period last year.” Press release

 

Kroger Q3 Comp Sales +0.1% Press release

 

Dollar General Q3 Comp Sales -0.1% “…we saw an acceleration in headwinds from average unit retail price deflation and reductions in SNAP benefits in the 2016 third quarter as compared to the 2016 second quarter. We are focused on efforts to drive traffic in our stores…” Press release

 

Lands’ End Q3 Comp Sales -14.3% Press release

 

7-Eleven Seeks New Creative Agency by Lindsay Stein & Jessica Wohl at Ad Age. “Mzyme Marketing is supporting the review, which is expected to wrap in early December, according to the same people.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart’s Jane Ewing talks to room of suppliers by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Ewing was asked what she thinks could be the next disruption in retail. She said the work in virtual and augmented reality is interesting and how it might apply to retail is exciting. When asked how the local supplier community will need to change as technology becomes more of a retail focus, Ewing said there will always be a need for the basic retail fundamentals, but cautioned suppliers from holding on to past assumptions.” Read more

 

When it comes to shopping, Canadians just aren’t clicking as only 2% of sales are made online by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Considering that we have heard larger numbers from all sorts of sources in the past, the fact that it is actually that small comes as a surprise,” says Toronto-based retail analyst Ed Strapagiel.” Read more

 

IRI and Costco Wholesale Announce Launch of Costco CRX Australia Press release

 

Retailers Revamp Strategy to Handle Holiday-Season Demand by Paul Ziobro at Wall Street Journal. “Toys “R” Us Inc. is trying to avoid a repeat of last Christmas, when it had to deploy an unusual step: “sales prevention.”…To address the issue this year, the Wayne, N.J.-based company has prepared nearly its entire chain of 870 stores to help ship web orders during the holidays. It started cramming its stores with as many goods as possible weeks earlier than last year…” Read more (subscription)

 

**A message from the Craft & Hobby Association. Join thousands of industry professionals for the latest products, innovations, and trends in paper crafts, art materials, jewelry supplies, sewing and textile, home décor, seasonal, and every kind of craft supply. Learn what’s trending, connect with new suppliers, designers, makers, and entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries, and discover new craft products and innovations that will change your retail business in 2017. Register now to attend the ultimate creative industries event, January 19-23, 2017 in Phoenix, AZ. Learn more at creativationshow.org.

 

Q&A with Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy by Dan Richman at GeekWire. Read Q&A

 

Amazon wants to ship your data to the cloud using a literal truck by Paul Miller at The Verge. “This is a sizable upgrade over Amazon’s existing Snowball service, in which Amazon ships you a secure 80TB “Storage Appliance” to load your data onto over 10Gbps Ethernet.” Read more

 

Wayfair Reports 52% Increase in Direct Retail Sales for Holiday Shopping Weekend Press release

 

Nestle Says It Has Found A Sweet New Way To Cut Sugar From Its Chocolate by Dominique Rowe at Fortune. “…by up to 40%. Nestle told Bloomberg that the process involves altering the structure of the sugar. Exactly how this works remains strictly secret, the company is still waiting to patent the process.” Read more

 

Bernie Sanders addresses crowd at Amazon HQ by Monica Nickelsburg at GeekWire. Pics / Read more

 

Fitbit in talks to buy smartwatch pioneer Pebble by Tim Bradshaw at Financial Times via CNBC. “…people close to the deal said Fitbit was paying a low price for the Silicon Valley-based start-up, which has struggled financially despite another $12.8 million Kickstarter campaign in June.” Read more

 

Sheetz: All salaried employees will earn a minimum base salary of $47,500 per year Press release

 

Levi’s asks customers to not bring guns into stores by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “(CEO) Bergh shot off the letter, posted on his LinkedIn page, after a customer’s gun inadvertently went off in a Levi’s store, injuring the denim wrangler.” See letter / Read more

 

Fred’s Reschedules Q3 Release and Postpones Analyst Day Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

The $845 Wine Book That Dealers Can’t Keep in Stock

Can Walmart Keep Up Its Game Of Chicken With Visa?

NY Times: Though Awash in Fakes, China Rethinks Counterfeit Hunters

Here’s Why American Eagle Outfitters Shares Are Plunging

It’ll soon be illegal for businesses to punish customers for leaving negative reviews

Amazon partners with Techstars for new Alexa accelerator at University of Washington

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