Tipsheet: Zika Hits U.S. | Wmart Launches OneOps | Kohl’s Donates $2M

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A night in Chicago with Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina by Shia Kapos at Chicago Crain’s. “His private plane uses Chicago Executive Airport north of O’Hare, which is a short drive to Walgreens’ headquarters in Deerfield. Good thing. He says when he’s in town, he spends most of his time in the office. He puts his head down at night at a hotel in Wheeling. And he only visits Chicago now and again for dinner. “I don’t like to be in traffic,” Pessina acknowledged.” Read more

 

Walmart Launches OneOps, An Open-Source Cloud And Application Lifecycle Management Platform by Frederic Lardinois at TechCrunch. “So what can OneOps actually do? According to Walmart, one of the key benefits of the platform is that it works with multiple public and private cloud platforms out of the box. These include Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, AWS and CenturyLink Cloud, as well as any OpenStack cloud.” Read more

 

Amazon leases building south of downtown Seattle for mystery project by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “One public document associated with the 6th & Holgate lease was signed by Amazon’s global real estate director, John Schoettler, not a lower-level manager, an indication that the initiative has the attention of people at the highest levels of the company.” Read more

 

NATURAL CONFUSION – More shoppers buying ‘natural’ food, yet most don’t know what it means by Hadley Malcolm at USA Today. “At least 60% of people believe a natural label means packaged and processed foods have no genetically modified organisms, no artificial ingredients or colors, no chemicals and no pesticides, according to the study by Consumer Reports. And 45% think that natural is a verified claim. It’s not.” Read more

 

How Walmart and P&G Are Trying to Reach Female Fans With Super Bowl Social Effort by Robert Klara at Adweek. “The centerpiece of the Walmart/P&G effort is a video produced by SheSpeaks, a media platform for female influencers that reaches 100 million consumers. The three-and-a-half-minute effort stars Mama McCourty, who knows a thing or two about Sunday football gatherings. McCourty’s twin sons, Devin and Jason, both play in the NFL.” Read more

 

**A message from ASD Market Week – ASD is the trade show with the highest ROI! On February 28 – March 2, 2016, we open the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center to 45,000+ attendees looking to shop the world’s widest variety of wholesale lifestyle accessories and general merchandise at the lowest price points available. Discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. Learn more about ASD / See category list | See the show floor video | Register now

 

ZIKA HITS U.S. – Residents of Virginia, Arkansas test positive for Zika virus via Fox News. “In addition, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that a young girl who traveled to El Salvador in late November had been infected with the illness, but had since recovered.” Read more

 

…Obama briefed on rapidly spreading Zika disease by Sarah Ferris at The Hill. “President Obama on Tuesday directed his top health officials to step up public outreach on the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne infection that is now expected to spread across the U.S.” Read more

 

WSJ: As Wal-Mart Closes, Town Looks to the Future by Sarah Nassauer. “Some locals say they hope Wal-Mart’s exit will leave room for smaller businesses to thrive again…“Winnsboro survived before the big box came,” she said, “and Winnsboro will survive without the big box.” Read more (subscription)

 

Warby Parker to open first Brooklyn store by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “This will be Warby Parker’s first brick-and-mortar store in New York City that is outside of Manhattan, where it operates four locations. Nationwide, the the onetime e-commerce-only company has about 20 stores.” Read more

 

Under Armour inks long-term deal with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson by Ryan Sharrow at Baltimore Business Journal. “Under Armour will also develop product capsules inspired by the films Johnson is working on. The first product capsule will feature a Rock-inspired backpack and duffle bag in the next few weeks.” Read more

 

Belleville schools will miss Target’s money by Mary Cooley at Belleville News-Democrat. “This has been a stable funding source for that (fund), so I’d be remiss if I didn’t say it’s money we certainly appreciate” he said.” Read more

 

New Look GE Has Little Room for Consumers by Rick Clough at Bloomberg. “After agreeing to jettison its century-old home-appliances division this month, General Electric Co. may now shed its legacy business that sells lighting to retail customers.” Read more

 

Woolworths, Lowe’s fail to agree on a valuation for failed hardware JV by Eli Greenblat at The Australian. “Under the terms of the joint venture, both Woolworths and Lowe’s will now seek their own independent valuation for the Masters business over the next 15 days.” Read more

 

Walmart, Beverage-Makers Announce Water Donations for Flint via ABC News. “The retail giant, along with Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle, announced Tuesday the collective donation will include up to 6.5 million bottles of water through December for at least 10,000 schoolchildren. Walmart says that since July, it has donated 14 truckloads of water and nearly 1,800 water filters.” Read more

 

Kohl’s Donates $2 Million to Discovery World “…for continued support of Kohl’s Design It!, an educational program that encourages kids to use technology to turn imagination into reality.” Read the release

 

Staples reportedly laying off hundreds, but stays mum by Megan Woolhouse at Boston Globe. “The job cuts were confirmed by a current employee and a former employee, both of whom asked for anonymity due to job and severance concerns.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Walmart recommends shareholders reject “mini-tender” offer

Is Costco Being Overcautious About Going Online?

How Sephora is Helping Female Founders Launch New Beauty Companies

Real Housewives actress is not apologizing for Kmart rant

Polaris lays off 100 workers, half in Twin Cities

As sales of purses plummet, lingerie on the rise

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Tipsheet: Wgreen CEO “Not a Retailer” | Amazon: Half have Prime / In-Store Test | WinCo #105

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Nearly half of U.S. households have a Prime membership by Elizabeth Weise at USA Today. “Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated that there were 54 million Prime members in the United States at the end of 2015. That’s 21% of the U.S. adult population of 246 million.” Read more

 

…BUT GROWTH SLOWS – Is Amazon Prime nearing its peak? by Greg Bensinger at MarketWatch. “…the rate of growth in signups slowed to 35% from 54% in 2014, according to CIRP’s estimates.” Read more

 

Fortune: The Billionaire Behind Walgreens’ Quest for Global Dominance by Jennifer Reingold & Marty Jones. “One bottle of San Pellegrino water. It’s the closest thing to a personal item visible in Pessina’s office…There are no photographs with luminaries, no mementos of product launches or even stacks of files. Perhaps that’s because Pessina actually lives in Monaco and spends so much time on the road. It may also be because he isn’t interested in typical CEO activities. He doesn’t visit many stores or pose for selfies with the employee of the month. He doesn’t obsess over a particular SKU. “I am not a retailer,” he readily admits. “I am not a wholesaler anymore. I am a team builder and a company builder.” Read more

 

Walmart Canada Eliminates Free Plastic Bags “Customers will be encouraged to use reusable bags, which will be sold at a discounted rate of 25 cents. Walmart will continue to offer plastic bags at a fee of five cents per bag to those customers who request them.” Read the release

 

WSJ: How Bad Is Retail? Look at the Bonds by Matt Jarzemsky. “Investors have sent the price of bonds in J. Crew Group Inc. and Nine West Holdings Inc. down to 27 cents and 23 cents on the dollar as of Friday…That’s more than 70% below where they started 2015. Bonds issued by Claire’s Stores Inc. have lost nearly 39% to about 60 cents, Gymboree Corp. bonds have plunged by 32% to 26 cents. Some Toys “R” Us Inc. bonds fell to 69 cents in mid-December before rising again to about 82 cents.” Read more (subscription)

 

Walmart and the U.S. Conference of Mayors donate $2.84 million to five schools related to textile manufacturing  Oregon State | Clemson | Cornell

 

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Office Depot earns a perfect buy online, pickup in store score by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. “Best Buy Co., The Home Depot Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. tied at 97% order fulfillment, followed by Staples Inc. at 91%. The index average was 82%.” Read more

 

Amazon’s other physical retail test: A mini bookstore for Kindle ebooks by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “It only takes up a couple square feet, a small fraction of the size of Amazon’s first real bookstore in Seattle, but the company has been quietly making another foray into physical retail — offering individual ebook gift cards for sale under a pilot program at Bartell Drugs in Washington state…” Read more

 

Murphy USA shifts away from Walmart parking lots, will seek new ‘growth opportunities’ by Wesley Brown at The City Wire. “Murphy USA Inc. announced Monday that its board of directors has authorized a strategic allocation of $500 million to pursue new “growth opportunities” not tied to the company’s relationship with the Bentonville retailer.” Read more

 

Amazon Is Taking a Different Approach With Its Next Smartphone by Jason Cipriani at Fortune. “(Amazon) is approaching Android smart phone manufacturers to put retailing apps on its smartphones at a “factory” level, the report said. Translation: Instead of simply pre-installing some of Amazon’s mobile applications on a device, Amazon wants to have its core services—such as its Firefly product scanning technology—integrated directly into the device’s operating system.” Read more

 

WinCo to Open Store #105 “The store is located at 231 NE Terry Lane in Grants Pass, Oregon. The store is somewhat smaller than most traditionally sized WinCo Foods stores, measuring approximately 72,000 square feet.” Read the release

 

P&G Tests Tide Pickup Laundry Service in Chicago by Jack Neff at Ad Age. “With the slogan “Life over laundry,” the service offers wash-and-fold service for everyday laundry at $1.59 a pound.” Read more

 

Dick’s will Donate Patriots AFC Championship apparel to ‘countries in need’ by Mina Corpuz at Boston Globe. “Dick’s Sporting Goods says it’s donating the goods to nonprofit World Vision…“We don’t sell the product if the team loses, because they’re not the champion,” he said.” Read more

 

Chase to introduce new ATM machines that only need an app to withdraw cash by Kalhan Rosenblatt at Daily Mail. “The machines have already been tested in states like Washington, but a wider roll out in the thousands is planned for later this year. The upgrade to eATMs will allow customers to ditch the magnetic strip and instead log into an account using an app.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

How Amazon’s Customer Service Could Open You Up to Identity Theft

WashPo: How “House Hunters” became the most unstoppable juggernaut on TV

Australia: Costco ham recalled over listeria concerns

Hudson’s Bay CEO to Be Honored as 2016 “Father of the Year”

German Amazon withdraws children’s refugee costumes in case they offend migrants

Aldi ham packet promises ‘110 per cent British pork’, becomes online sensation

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Tipsheet: Snow Collapses Safeway Roof | Sears Canada Races to Close More | Nob Hill No to W.Foods

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Sears Canada races to close more stores amid cost-cutting efforts by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. “The struggling Sears has instructed real estate firm CBRE to look for alternative uses for Sears’s weakest stores, such as its clearance outlets, Brandon Stranzl, executive chairman of Sears Canada, said in an interview this week…He said “everything and anything” is on the table…” Read more

 

As REI thrives, does it have members or merely shoppers? by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Now, as members number in the millions, “It’s more about getting the discount than a relationship to the co-op. What’s the difference between an REI membership and the Safeway Club card or other preferred shopper cards they’re carrying in their wallets?” Read more

 

Gap Hires ‘Innovative’ Abercrombie & Fitch Veteran as Its New CMO by David Gianatasio at Adweek. Read more

 

Bezo’s Company is First to Land a Used Rocket by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “In a video that Bezos tweeted on Friday evening, the company says that its New Shepard rocket became the first used rocket to travel past the the Karman Line — which is about 62 miles above sea level and the de facto crossing into outer space — and land vertically.” See the video / Read more

 

Neighbors rally to stop Whole Foods proposed in Nob Hill by Laura Dudnick at San Francisco Examiner. “[Nob Hill] is a classic, unique San Francisco neighborhood,” Trennert said. “We call it a village in The City … There are a few smatterings of some corporate stores, but very few. We really watch out for that.” Read more

 

Inside Macy’s efforts to better measure online branding ads by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. “Consider the “Wish Writer” branding ad campaign the retailer ran during the 2015 holiday season…On Instagram alone, Macy’s presented the 15-second version of the ad to more than 20 million shoppers—a mix of its existing customers and consumers with similar demographics to that customer base—and it received nearly 3 million views—far more than Macy’s anticipated, (Serena) Potter says.” Read more

 

** Trade Show Spotlight – ASD Market Week is 9 Shows in 1 Location. The Widest Variety of Goods Anywhere! 

“I go to five different markets – if I had to give up a market this is the last one I’d give up” Retail chain owner. See retail buyer testimonial video. On February 28 – March 2, 2016, discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See show category list | Register Now

 

Baltimore: Safeway Roof Collapses Under Weight of Snow at CBS 13 WJZ via MSN. See the video

 

Retail experts: Costco may take over Masters sites by Olivia Lambert at News.com.au. “Each store is an average of 13,000sq m in size. Its unfinished store in Nowra, NSW, for example, is worth an estimated $14 million.” Read more

 

Amazon wins bidding war, pays $10 million for Matt Damon-produced film by Tatiana Siegel at The Hollywood Reporter. “Manchester by the Sea made its world premiere at Sundance on Saturday night, drawing some of the strongest reviews yet of the festival. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy called Manchester, “a wrenching family tragedy [that] is dramatized with the depth of a high-quality American stage piece.” Read more

 

Theranos Is Facing Yet Another Problem at One of Its Labs by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “The Wall Street Journal said that the CMS inspection results could prompt Walgreens to further reexamine its Theranos partnership. Walgreens did not immediately return Fortune‘s request for comment.” Read more | Wall Street Journal article (subscription)

 

The Insanely Complicated Logistics of Cage-Free Eggs for All by Jennifer Chaussee at Wired. “For starters, birds that live in cages can’t be transferred to a cage-free environment halfway through their lives. Farmers have to start with a new generation of chickens. “The chicken itself has to learn how to be in the environment and deal with things that they may not be used to in a caged environment,” says Jonathan Spurway of Rembrandt Foods, the third-largest egg supplier in the US.” Read more

 

Harvard is trying to build an AI as fast as the human brain by Emily Reynolds at Wired. “This is a moonshot challenge,” said project leader David Cox, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and computer science. “The scientific value of recording the activity of so many neurons and mapping their connections alone is enormous, but that is only the first half of the project.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

NY Times: A Drug to Cure Fear

Jeff Bezos Brought Freed Journalist Home on Private Jet

Closing Walmart stores slash prices by 50%

Man gets year in prison for stealing $72K for Target stores

The 20 Happiest Cities To Work In Right Now

Canadian Tire announces recall of more than 87,000 booster seats

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Tipsheet: Target Canada’s ‘Untold Tale’ | Sports Auth. Close 200? | Amazon Lobbying +91% | Cabela’s Sale May Not Happen

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THE TALE OF TARGET CANADA – The Last Days of Target by Joe Castaldo at Canadian Business. “(Tony Fisher), 38 years old at the time, was regarded as a wunderkind who had quickly risen through the ranks at Target’s American command post in Minneapolis, from a lowly business analyst to leader of a team of 400 people across multiple divisions. Launching the Target brand in a new country was his biggest task to date. The news he received from his group that February afternoon should have been worrying, but if he was unnerved, Fisher didn’t let on…” Read more

 

#SNOWMAGGEDON2016 – Empty Store Shelves as Panicked Shoppers Ransack Grocery Stores See the pics

 

WASHINGTON POST TALKS RFID: The tiny chip that could power big changes in how you shop by Sarah Halzack. “Levi’s has been an early adopter of this technology in its stores…Anurag Nagpal, director of RFID solutions at software-maker Checkpoint Systems, said recent innovation has made it more feasible to use RFID on products beyond clothing. (In earlier days, Nagpal said, RFID tags did not work well on metal or packages containing liquids.)” Read more

 

comScore: Top 50 U.S. Digital Media Properties for December 2015 (Amazon #4, Walmart #16, Target #31) See the top 50 list

 

Amazon’s lobbying spending skyrockets 91% by David McCabe at The Hill. “The Internet giant’s primary corporate arm spent around $9 million on lobbying in 2015, a 91 percent increase over the $4.74 million it spent the year before. Notably, the company’s spending during the last three months of the year — $2,990,000 — was almost a million dollars higher than in the previous quarter.” Read more

 

Walmart found to have fired striking workers unlawfully by Jose Pagliery at CNN. “An administrative law judge ordered Walmart to give 16 workers their jobs back and pay them for the time they went without work. Walmart must also hold a company meeting at 29 stores to inform workers of their right to strike.” Read more

 

JCPENNEY CEO MARVIN ELLISON SPEAKS TO DALLAS GROUP – New JC Penney CEO sees company turning corner after hardship by Jason Wheeler at WFAA 8 ABC. “We don’t anticipate any significant store closures, but we will allow the business and customers dictate that,” Ellison said. “At the end of the day we want one thing, and that is to create shareholder value.” Read more

 

Cabela’s wants to sell credit card biz before it puts up entire company by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “And since Cabela’s is seeking special conditions to the sale of its credit card operation — the company wants to retain the profit stream from the business — some close to the process think an eventual sale of the brick-and-mortar chain may never occur…Meanwhile, Bass Pro Shops, a rival that in the past has expressed interest in buying Cabela’s, is stuck on the sidelines as banks kick the tires of the credit card operation, sources said.” Read more

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods potential $238M windfall by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Amid speculation that Sports Authority could be preparing to close up to 200 of its roughly 450 stores, Sterne Agee CRT analyst Sam Poser told investors that 23 percent of Dick’s 600-plus locations are located in the “immediate” vicinity of a Sports Authority shop, “which should provide for rapid same-store sales acceleration once the Sports Authority stores are closed.” Read more

 

Walgreens CEO at Davos: Consumer Drug Prices Should Be Lower “Stefano Pessina, chief executive officer at Walgreen Boots Alliance, discusses the mix of cultures behind Walgreens and the need for lower drug prices for consumers.” See the video

 

** Trade Show Spotlight – ASD Market Week is 9 Shows in 1 Location. The Widest Variety of Goods Anywhere! 

“I go to five different markets – if I had to give up a market this is the last one I’d give up” Retail chain owner. See retail buyer testimonial video. On February 28 – March 2, 2016, discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See show category list | Register Now

 

CVS reaches $450k settlement over alleged sale of expired items by Steve Mocarsky at Times Leader. “Agents allegedly reported finding expired products, including infant formula and drugs made for children, at five of the six CVS stores they visited. CVS employees in two cases also allegedly bypassed a register prompt that was designed to prohibit the sale of expired products.” Read more

 

Billionaire VC says that most companies will eventually pay an Amazon ‘tax’ by Eugene Kim at Business Insider via Yahoo. “I don’t see any cleaner monopoly available to buy in the public markets right now,” he said.” Read more

 

A first look at Nike’s $380M-plus HQ expansion by Eric Siemers at Portland Business Journal. “Nike Inc. on Wednesday said its newly expanded Washington County headquarters will feature buildings that “take inspiration from human movement.” See the two renderings / Read more

 

Dollar General Names Michael Calbert as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board  Read the release

 

Google Paid Apple $1 Billion to Keep Search Bar on IPhone by Joel Rosenblutt & Adam Satariano at Bloomberg. “Apple received $1 billion from its rival in 2014, according to a transcript of court proceedings from Oracle Corp.’s copyright lawsuit against Google. The search engine giant has an agreement with Apple that gives the iPhone maker a percentage of the revenue Google generates through the Apple device.” Read more

 

Ice.com’s New Owners Raise $2 Million To Bring Fair Pricing To The Jewelry Industry by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “The online part of jewelry is still in its infancy,” (Proctor) says…”the U.S. jewelry market today is over $80 billion (for fine jewelry and watches combined), the e-commerce portion is…between 5 and 7 percent…” Read more

 

First of its kind Publix project to open on Univ. of South Florida campus by Margie Manning at Tampa Bay Business Journal. “The 29,000-square-foot store will be at the southeast corner of Fletcher Avenue and North Palm Drive, a press release said. It will be fully integrated into a $133 million Student Housing Village.” Read more

 

AmEx’s Chenault Braces for ‘New Reality’ as Profit Declines 38% by Elizabeth Dexheimer at Bloomberg. Read more

 

Postal Service Wants to Grow Experimental Delivery Business by Kenneth Corbin at EcommerceBytes. “Postmaster General Megan Brennan and other senior government officials appeared before a Senate committee on Thursday…it is also actively courting new delivery partners and exploring an expanded menu of services. One is the grocery delivery trial that the agency began a couple years ago in San Francisco, and has since expanded. Brennan said that the agency is in active discussions with prospective new partners in the grocery arena.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Might be Planning Another Rocket Launch this Weekend by Sarah Fecht at Popular Science. “The restriction is to take place between 8 am and 4 pm Eastern on Friday and Saturday this week.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Consumers’ 20 favorite restaurant chains

Uber will pay extra to scoop up thousands of laid-off Walmart workers

Lonely Camarillo kindergartner prompts Home Depot to donate ‘friendship bench’

This Is Why Costco’s Slavery Lawsuit Was Dismissed

JCPenney security officer says he had to resign to avoid firing after stopping thief

New Delhi: Metro poaches Walmart’s Arvind Mediratta as the new India head

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Tipsheet: Target to Add 1K IT Jobs | Boxed Nabs $100M | Cornell Channels Springsteen | HD Supply Hire 800 in Cobb?

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Target to Add 1,000 IT Jobs by Jackie Crosby at Star Tribune. “It’s not just about Mom anymore,” Cornell said Wednesday, as he laid out a vision for the retailer’s future in a speech to about 300 business leaders in downtown Minneapolis…Evoking the still-strong popularity of Bruce Springsteen, who is 66, Cornell said the Boss understood that “to make great music, he had to evolve with the times.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Clothing Selection Is Now Bigger Than 250 Walmart Supercenters Combined by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The number of items listed on Amazon in apparel and accessories categories has soared 91 percent over the last year to 30 million items as of the 2015 holiday season, according to analysts at the investment bank R.W. Baird.” Read more

 

Target Commits To Cage-Free Eggs by 2025 by Beth Kowitt at Fortune. “Despite the flurry of cage-free commitments in the food sector, Target is still one of the first retailers to commit. Whole Foods was the first national chain to say it would go cage-free in 2005.” Read more | List of co’s going cage-free

 

Walmart’s E-Commerce Push: It’s Among Top Companies Posting Jobs For Software Developers by Joshua Wright at Forbes. “Oracle, Amazon, Robert Half International, and Microsoft made up four of the top five companies advertising for app developers, according to Emsi’s job posting analytics. IBM and Wal-Mart weren’t far behind in unique job postings.” See the job post rankings

 

Boxed, The E-commerce Startup For Costco-Sized Orders, Nabs $100M From Investors by Miguel Helft at Forbes. “(CEO Chieh Huang) would not discuss the company’s valuation but said Boxed was not a unicorn…“The funding environment has turned,” he said. “Luckily, we didn’t go out asking for a pie-in-the-sky valuation.”…In November, reports said Boxed was close to receiving an $80 million investment from Alibaba. Huang says that Boxed is “close” to Alibaba, but dismissed those reports.” Read more

 

Macy’s CEO Loves the Chicago State Street Store (and Frances) by Gail MarksJarvis at Chicago Tribune “(It) could be used as a testing ground for “new ideas” as the retailer struggles…”I love the State Street store,” he said in an interview. “It is one of the most beautiful stores in the world. I love the manager. I love Frances, who serves me chicken potpies in the Walnut Room.” Read more

 

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Target CEO Visits Homes of Customers by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “No one knows I am the CEO of Target when I do that,” Cornell said during a question-and-answer session with reporters. “They don’t even know we’re from Target. We will interview them. I have sat with Hispanic moms with 5-year-old little girls, talking about their needs as they think about their baby, where they shop, what they shop for.” Read more

 

Home Depot hammers away at online growth by Mark Brohan at Internet Retailer. “The percentage of e-commerce sales that involve a Home Depot store increased to about 40% by the end of September, (Kevin) Hofmann says. “We have 300,000 store associates, and that’s an incredible asset to utilize,” he says.” Read more

 

Walmart Hikes Hourly Pay To $10 Minimum For Most Workers by Clare O’Connor at Forbes. “The company is billing this wage boost as “one of the largest single-day, private-sector pay increases ever.” In addition to raising its minimum pay, Walmart is increasing the starting rate of its pay bands for experienced workers.” Read more | Read the release

 

Marsh says it will upgrade nearly half its stores in 2016 by Greg Andrews at Indianapolis Business Journal. “Marsh has retrenched repeatedly since Florida-based Sun Capital Partners acquired it in 2006, reducing its store count from 116 to 73.” Read more

 

Bloomingdale’s Store to Open in Kuwait in 2017 “This will be Bloomingdale’s second international location (the first opened in Dubai in 2010) and ahead of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi in 2018.” Read more

 

Amazon’s post-holiday party will feature Fall Out Boy by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. “This year’s event will be held at the CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle, as in the past. Blue-badgers (a.k.a. Amazon employees) can bring one guest (18 or over) and light appetizers and drinks will be provided.” Read more

 

South Carolina family takes recipe to Walmart shelves by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The face-to-face at Walmart was a direct result of her meeting a senior seafood buyer at a New York City food show last year. “I saw the Walmart senior buyer and I literally flagged him down and led him over to our booth where he tried our fresh crab dips. He was very helpful.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

HD Supply wants to expand HQ in Cobb; New tower could add 800 workers

Steve Howard, Ikea Exec, Says The World Has Hit ‘Peak Stuff’

Price Chopper goes outside the family for new CEO

What Trader Joe’s can teach us about treating workers well

How to Erase Everything You’ve Asked Amazon Echo

Forbes: Chipotle Vs. Costco: A Tale Of Two E. Coli Outbreaks

Aldi launches wine by the case home delivery service in England/Scottland/Wales

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Tipsheet: H.Depot Head of Stores Out | McMillon Talks Carbon on CNBC | Wegmans ‘Hearing Loop’

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Home Depot Replaces Leader Of US Stores by Paul Ziobro at Dow Jones Business News. “Home Depot Inc. is replacing the head of its U.S. stores, Marc Powers, with another company veteran, becoming the latest major retailer to change the leader of its store operations.” Read more

 

…Ann-Marie Campbell, one of Mr. Power’s deputies, will take over his position. Mr. Powers, 54, will leave the company effective Feb. 1 via Wall Street Journal (subscription)

 

…2015 Interview: Campbell learned much of what she knows about business from her grandmother in Jamaica, who didn’t finish high school but turned a roadside business into a multimillion-dollar company by Henry Unger at Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read the Q&A

 

Doug McMillon Talks Carbon Footprints on CNBC panel: “Making a difference in the world is actually good business” See the 3:21 video / Read more

 

…Wal-Mart CEO: Responding to Climate Issues Boosts Profitability by Saabira Chaudhuri at Dow Jones Business News. “He said Wal-Mart can make any number of decisions to reduce its environmental footprint, such as reducing the size of a Band-Aid package from Johnson & Johnson. While customers won’t notice and the move doesn’t affect sales, it is better for the environment, he said.” Read more

 

“Make things right,” local little league asks Walmart to rebuild lost field by Adam Snider at KFOR-4. “Moore couldn’t believe her ears when she learned that the Walmart was closing shop after less than a year. “It’s like adding insult to injury,” said Moore. “We lost our field, but now it feels like we lost it for no reason.” See the video / Read more

 

J.C. Penney testing the sale of major appliances in 22 stores by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “The stores are in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa, Fla…Hundreds of Penney stores could have appliance departments this fall, CEO Marvin Ellison said in an interview Tuesday. “We see the pilot being very accretive,” he said. “I’ve got a history with this, and I’m confident we can achieve profitable sales.” Read more

 

Canada: Star Wars toys help boost holiday toy sales by 22% by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Over the year, Star Wars (accounted for) about 20 per cent of the total increase in the toy industry,” Michelle Liem, director of NPD Group’s toy business, said in an interview.” Read more

 

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Gilt Groupe Is a Cautionary Tale for Startup Employees Banking on Stock Options by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Re/code spoke to a half dozen former employees of flash sale site Gilt Groupe in the two weeks since its $250 million acquisition by Hudson’s Bay Company was announced. And at least three of them lost more than $10,000 as a result of the deal.” Read more

 

Doug McMillon Funds Retail Innovation and Technology Lab on Univ. of Arkansas Campus “The lab is believed to be the first interactive, open-to-the-public university retail lab created to test technologies expected to change the future of retail. Its first series of experiments are expected to launch by March.” Read more

 

The 25 Best Jobs in America, According to Glassdoor by Julie Verhage at Bloomberg. See the list

 

Shoppers with hearing loss can choose the “hearing loop” lane at Wegmans by Lorraine Mirabella at Baltimore Sun. “The grocer now plans to install the stations in all 88 stores in six states by the end of the year. Besides checkout lanes, loops are available at the pharmacy and customer service department.” Read more

 

Ex-Walgreens Exec/RadioShack CEO Takes Reins at Massage Envy  Read the release

 

Wegmans confirms plans to expand into North Carolina by Amanda Hoyle at Triangle Business Journal. “Yes, Wegmans wants to open a store in Cary, N.C.,” Natale says in a statement…Real estate sources say that Wegmans is also negotiating to buy or lease land for new grocery store locations in south Durham and in Raleigh. Read more

 

Top 50 U.S. Patent Holders for 2015 (Amazon #26 with 1,136 grants) See the top 50 list

 

These printers will automatically order their own ink from Amazon by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Amazon says a GE washer and a Gmate SMART blood glucose monitor will be the next devices to work with the service, by the end of the month. The blood glucose monitor will automatically reorder testing strips and lancets.” Read more

 

Apple seeks nod to open India stores by Himank Sharma at Reuters. “Apple representatives held talks with Indian government officials about a relaxation of the 30 percent local-sourcing norms before filing the application, said a source familiar with the company’s plans.” Read more

 

Apple Doesn’t Let Widow Get Late Husband’s Password by Don Reisinger at Fortune. “I finally got someone who said, ‘You need a court order,’” Peggy Bush’s daughter Donna told CBC in an interview.” Read more

 

Sam’s Club to Accept Visa Credit Cards Read the release

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Mel Gibson Makes Fool of Himself at Whole Foods

Black student wins $45G settlement over alleged Barneys profiling

Tiffany to cut jobs after holiday sales fall 8%

American Express prepares for plastic’s inevitable demise

New Skincare and Beauty Lines Marlowe, Mayfair & You Are Amazing Arrive at Target

Einhorn’s Greenlight Buys Macy’s as Possible Takeover Target

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Tipsheet: Ex-H.Depot Exec to JCP | Target’s New SVP Apparel | Lowe’s Exits Aust. | BJ’s & JCP CEO’s Join Board

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Another Home Depot executive joins J.C. Penney by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “Until August, (Joe) McFarland had been with Home Depot, where (Marvin) Ellison also worked before joining Penney in 2014. Most recently, McFarland was the president of the Northern and Western Divisions for Home Depot. He left the home improvement chain and started a non-profit real estate company with his wife in Atlanta to provide affordable housing for families.” Read more

 

Target Names Michelle Wlazlo Senior Vice President of Apparel and Accessories via A Bullseye View. “(Michelle) Wlazlo brings more than 25 years of diverse retail experience, nearly 19 of which she spent in various leadership positions at Gap Inc., where most recently she served as Senior Vice President of Global Merchandising, Gap.” Read more

 

Today’s Big Show Schedule (Macy’s CEO 8:30 – 10:00, Under Armour CEO 2:45 – 4:00…) See today’s schedule

 

NRF RELEASES 2016 TOP 250 GLOBAL POWERS OF RETAILING  Read more

 

Lowe’s Exits Joint Venture in Australia “…it has provided notification to Woolworths Limited, its joint venture partner in Australia, of its intent to begin the process of exiting its investment in the joint venture, which operates Masters Home Improvement stores and Home Timber and Hardware Group’s retail stores and wholesale distribution in Australia.” Read the release

 

…Masters roll-out was ‘too aggressive’, says Woolworths’ partner Lowe’s by Patrick Hatch at Sydney Morning Herald. “Colleen Penhall​, Lowe’s vice president of corporate communications: “We were quickly opening up stores before we had determined our optimal assortment mix to best meet the needs of the Australian consumer.”…”In other markets where we have solely operated the business, we have seen a greater level of success,” she said, declining to speculate on whether Masters would have succeeded had Lowe’s controlled a bigger stake.” Read more

 

**A message from ASD Market Week – 45,000+ people don’t want you to read this. Who are they? Retail buyers that have discovered ASD Market Week — the largest wholesale trade show in the United States. Shop in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See the product & buyer categories. See the show layout video. Read ASD’s Insider blog. February 28 – March 2, 2016 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

AMAZON’S VP of PUBLIC POLICY TALKS TO CBS ABOUT DRONES – Amazon Reveals Details About Its Crazy Drone Delivery Program by David Pogue at Yahoo. “I can tell you, it is very real. We’ve beefed up a team at Amazon Prime Air that includes aeronautical engineers, roboticists, a former NASA astronaut. These folks are completely focused on making this a reality — and demonstrating that it is safe before we begin operations.” Read the full interview

 

Wal-Mart de Mexico Plans to Sell Clothing-Store Chain via Dow Jones Business News. “Walmex…said it will consider offers for Suburbia, which has 117 stores located in 44 cities spread over 29 Mexican states…The division accounted for 3.5% of Walmex’s total sales in 2014…The Suburbia process is in its early stages, and there’s no guarantee a sale will be made, Walmex added.” Read more

 

NEW NRF BOARD MEMBERS NAMED: 

B.J.’s Wholesale Club President, CEO and Director Christopher Baldwin
J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison
Disney Consumer Products Executive Vice President of Disney Retail Paul Gainer
Kentucky Retail Federation President Tod Griffin
Saks Fifth Avenue President Marc Metrick
STORY Founder Rachel Shectman

Read the release

 

Macy’s CEO Doesn’t See Recession Coming by Carleton English at The Street. “The U.S. currently has 24 square feet of retail space per person, whereas the figure is nearly half that in Europe, Lundgren said. While he didn’t say that the U.S. needed to get down to European levels, he did acknowledge that there may be room for further cuts in the broader brick-and-mortar retail industry.” Read more

 

Amazon hiring 1,200 people at new fulfillment center in Seattle region by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “It’s the third robotics fulfillment center in western Washington, joining existing facilities in Sumner and DuPont. The company says the facility will specialize in smaller customer orders, such as books, electronics and toys.” Read more

 

Toys”R”Us Opens Its 100th Store In China Read the release

 

Wayfair Launches National Ad Campaign “The campaign, titled “Explore the Great Indoors,” will air nationally on broadcast and cable channels today and includes two creative spots – You Make the Rules and A World of Options.” See the spots / Read more

 

AMAZON’S CAMPUS MODEL DELIVERS 0.5 – 2.15% OF REVENUE TO SCHOOL – Amazon campus store to provide students new, safer delivery option by Anderson Lanham at The Daily Californian. “According to Alexander, the stores are being developed largely with students in mind. Berkeley residents, however, are also able to use the campus store, provided that they have Amazon Prime.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Washington Post: At retail’s ‘Big Show,’ a look at the tech merchants hope will keep them relevant

H-E-B jumps into convenience store business with plans for first San Antonio store

Michelle Obama and the head of school lunches to call a truce on healthy eating in new bill

NRF Interview: Donna Giordano, President Ralphs Grocery Company

Lyme disease–carrying ticks are now in half of all U.S. counties

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Tipsheet: Ex-Target Exec to Lululemon | Wmart Closings ‘Impressive’ | Sports Auth. Skips $20M Payment

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Washington Post: Holiday shopping season was not as merry as the retail industry expected by Sarah Halzack. “The National Retail Federation said sales were up 3 percent to $626.14 billion this holiday season, sharply lower than the 3.7 percent sales increase the trade group had forecast. That figure excludes sales at gas stations and restaurants…“Make no mistake about it, this was a tough holiday season for the industry,” said Matthew Shay, the NRF’s president, in a press release.” Read more

 

…Online holiday sales increase more than predicted by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. “The 9% increase beat the NRF’s October projection of 6-8% non-store sales growth.” Read more

 

US recession probability at highest levels since fall 2011: Survey by Fred Imbert & Steve Liesman at CNBC. “The survey also showed recession fears rising for the sixth straight time among respondents, and are now sitting at 28.8 percent.” Read more

 

Lululemon Hires Former Top Target Executive by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “(Alan) Wizemann will spend time at Lululemon’s headquarters in Vancouver, but also plans to hire a team of front-end engineers and designers in Portland, Ore., where he lives with his family.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart merges tech teams to better connect online and stores by Nathan Layne at Reuters. “The information systems division…will combine with the @WalmartLabs unit next month, creating a new group called Walmart Technology…Chief Information Officer Karenann Terrell and Chief Technical Officer Jeremy King will continue to lead ISD and @WalmartLabs, respectively, although both will report to (Neil) Ashe as head of the combined group.” Read more

 

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Sports Authority Skips $20 Million Interest Payment by Jodi Xu Klein & Lauren Coleman-Lochner at Bloomberg. “Without reaching an agreement with the bondholders for a forbearance, the company will be forced to file for bankruptcy as skipping a coupon payment is considered a default.” Read more

 

Doug McMillon Answers Questions About Store Closures “Walmart will continue to invest in its future, with plans to open more than 300 new stores worldwide over the coming year — in the U.S. Walmart intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters, 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets and seven to 10 Sam’s Clubs. We will also open 200 to 240 stores internationally.” Read more

 

Cramer: Wal-Mart’s move is ‘impressive’ by Fred Imbert at CNBC. “You have to close the stores that don’t work, and [CEO Doug] McMillon continues to take tough actions. I appreciate what he’s doing,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “This is impressive that he’s willing to bite the bullet on stores that should be closed.” Read more

 

Today’s Schedule at Retail’s Big Show: Presentations from Lowe’s/Walgreens/JCP Execs See today’s schedule

 

Target to open Uptown Minneapolis store by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Target Corp. is finally going to open a store in Uptown, a part of Minneapolis where many of its young headquarters employees live. The Minneapolis-based retailer said it’s planning a 21,400-square-foot store on the ground floor of the redevelopment planned for the site of the former Cheapo Discs store.” Read more

 

Tweet from Home Depot’s Mark White: Congrats Anne-Marie Campbell (@AMCTHD )..MET Founder and 30 yr THD vet..promoted to EVP of US Stores! #orangeblooded  See the feed

 

China’s JD.com Invested Around $50 Million in Shopping Startup Wish by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Wish’s Szulczewski told Re/code recently that he believes his startup will be the second or third marketplace to reach $1 trillion in sales, after Alibaba and maybe Amazon.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Court rules Target Canada tried to use insolvency laws to avoid landlord losses

Adidas names Henkel’s Rorsted to replace Hainer as CEO

Time: Why Walmart’s Small ‘Express’ Store Format Was Such a Big Failure

As Used-Car Startups Take Off, eBay Motors Faces Uncertain Future

USPS will hike some postal rates as much as 14% starting Jan. 17

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