Archive for year: 2016

 

CVS Reports Q3 Results – Trims Outlook “Pharmacy same store sales rose 3.4% and pharmacy same store prescription volumes rose 3.0% on a 30-day equivalent basis…Front store same store sales decreased 1.0%, which
were negatively affected by softer customer traffic.” Press release

 

…Fox Business: CVS Cuts Profit Forecast, Shares Fall “CVS cut its 2016 adjusted earnings forecast to $5.77-$5.83 per share from its prior forecast of $5.81-$5.89 per share.” Read more

 

YESTERDAY – Sam’s Club CEO Brewer discusses holiday deals in exclusive Facebook Live event See the video

 

Target hires supply chain exec from Walmart by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “(Target) named Shekar Natarajan for the newly created role of senior vice president, network planning and operational design. Natarajan will oversee design of the company’s direct-to-store and direct-to-customer supply chain systems…Natarajan most recently was vice president of last mile operations, emerging sciences and operational excellence at Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart.” Read more

 

PetSmart Adds Same-Day Delivery in Battle With Amazon by Leena Rao at Fortune. “PetSmart says that its new delivery service is available now in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, San Jose, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, and Chicago. By mid-November, the new delivery service will be available in eight additional metro area.” Read more

 

Lumber Liquidators Promotes Dennis Knowles to CEO “Mr. Knowles joined the Company in March 2016 as Chief Operating Officer…Mr. Knowles previously served in store operations leadership roles at Lowe’s Companies, Inc. since 2001, most recently as Chief Store Operations Officer.” Press release

 

Amazon opens second huge office building at new Seattle campus by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “The 36-story tower, which is flanked by a trifecta of glass and steel orbs still under construction, officially opened (yesterday).” Read more

 

Seasonal retail jobs taking a hit this holiday season by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Retail employment in October fell 21 percent, to 154,600, from a year ago, or the steepest such decline in five years, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.” Read more

 

Marks & Spencer will close 60 stores in Britain and retreat from 10 countries at Bloomberg. “Reallocating floor space from food to clothing should boost sales in the short-term, but won’t address M&S’s inexorable slide towards fashion irrelevance,” said John Ibbotson, an analyst at consultant Retail Vision.” Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® – We take no prisoners. In the battle against indoor and outdoor pests, it’s every man for himself. Arm yourself with Black Flag insect and rodent controls. Our tough, no-nonsense formulas are packed with a powerful punch to make short work of home insect invaders. Whether you’re battling crawling, flying or stinging insects or fending off mice, when the flag flies, pests die. Let it Fly. How to protect your home with Sarge video | Facebook page

 

Gap Q3 Comp Sales -3.0% “Comp Sales: Gap Global – negative 8%, Banana Republic Global – negative 8 percent, Old Navy Global – positive 3 percent.” Press release

 

HSN hires longtime Walmart exec Carmen Bauza as EVP and head merchant “Ms. Bauza spent the past ten years as a senior leader at Walmart, most recently serving as the senior vice president for their consumables, health and wellness merchandising division, which includes baby consumables, OTC and optical and chemical and paper goods.” Press release

 

Wal-Mart Pay in talks with several mobile wallet companies by Nandita Bose at Reuters. Read more

 

Online jeweler Blue Nile sold to private equity firms for $500M; stock soars by Greg Lamm at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Blue Nile stockholders will receive $40.75 in cash per share, which is 34 percent more Blue Nile’s closing stock price on Nov. 4.” Read more

 

Wayfair Q3 Direct Retail Revenue Growth of $287.4 million, up 52.7% Press release

 

Mall Landlords Dive Deeper Into Retail Assets by Esther Fung at Wall Street Journal. “Investors are trying to figure out how much of this is reactionary or defensive and how much of it is to push the quality of the portfolio. We’re in the middle of the transition,” said D.J. Busch, an analyst at Green Street Advisors, a real-estate research firm.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon to Pay De Niro $850k Per/Episode for New TV Series by Elizabeth Wagmeister at Variety. Read more

 

600 line up at Macy’s to see Chicago Cubs infielder by Ally Marotti at Chicago Tribune. “Die-hard Chicago Cubs fans waited in line — some of them since Sunday — outside Macy’s on State Street Monday morning, hoping to get the chance to meet Javier Baez and get his autograph.” In-store video / Read more

 

Amazon might be starting a service to clean the homes of Amazon Prime members by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “Two Seattle job postings for concierge-like “home assistants” on Amazon’s website suggest so. They call for potential recruits to join “Amazon Assistants,” which the company describes as “experts in helping Amazon customers keep up their home.” Read more

 

Saks Fifth Avenue Transforms into a Land of 1000 Delights Press release

 

Google Shopping prices often beat Amazon’s by James Melton at Internet Retailer. “An analysis of 750 products by price monitoring firm 360pi finds Amazon’s price is lower than those advertised by merchants on Google Shopping only 25% of the time.” Read more

 

CST Brands Reports Q3 2016 Net Income of $260 million Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Ikea Built a Room in One of Its Stores to Look Like a Damaged Home in Syria

Why Rachael Ray Cooked Up a Batch of Home Furnishings She Actually Designed Herself

Toblerone changes triangles on its chocolate bars upsetting consumers

Victoria’s Secret’s ‘bombshell’: Cleavage is passe

PetSmart Launches New and Improved PetSmart.com

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CVS Health to cut about 600 jobs over next two months at Fox Business. “…mostly at its corporate offices in Rhode Island, Illinois and Arizona over the next two months, citing an increasingly competitive environment.” Read more

 

Visa ups ante in battle with Walmart, offers Manitobans $10 to shop elsewhere by Barbara Shecter at Financial Post. “We hope this eases the inconvenience for Visa cardholders in Manitoba who cannot use their card everywhere they may want to,” Visa Canada spokesperson Carla Hindman said in an interview. Alex Roberton, a spokesman for Walmart Canada, told CBC News: “We don’t comment on how other organizations want to promote their brand.” Read more

 

At Trader Joe’s, Good Cheer May Hide Complaints by Noam Scheiber at NY Times via Boston Globe. “According to an unfair labor practices charge filed Thursday with a National Labor Relations Board regional office, Thomas Nagle, a longtime employee of the Trader Joe’s store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was repeatedly reprimanded because managers judged his smile and demeanor to be insufficiently “genuine.” Read more

 

Sam’s Club Goes High-End in China at Bloomberg. “Over the past two years, the retailer has repositioned the 14 Sam’s Clubs in the country to offer more expensive products…Walmart sees big potential in China: Its Sam’s Club in Shenzhen, a fast-growing urban center in the southeast, is the chain’s best-performing outlet globally…“Sam’s Club’s potential in China is greater than anywhere,” says Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon.” Read more

 

Amazon Prods Its Sellers to Free Up Warehouse Space by Laura Stevens at Wall Street Journal. “Amazon.com Inc. has a holiday message for the millions of merchants who rely on it to fill their online orders: Don’t clutter its warehouses with stuffed Easter bunnies, Fourth of July banners or other out-of-season goods…“We’re trying to incentivize sellers to wait to send us the Easter-themed cookie cutter sets,” said Cynthia Williams, vice president of Fulfillment by Amazon.” Read more (subscription)

 

What Putting Kids in Charge Did for Target by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “At the Ad Age Brand Summit in Los Angeles this week, Mr. White talked about how the company’s first-ever kid-created campaign strengthened the Target brand, its results and how the company plans to top the effort in 2017.” :48 video with Mr. White

 

J. Crew to Discontinue Bridal Business in Chain’s Latest Misfire by Lindsey Rupp at Bloomberg. “The retailer plans to “focus on what women like to wear to someone else’s wedding, versus what they would wear to their own”. Read more

 

**A message from the 2017 Philadelphia Gift Show – See emerging artists, regional specialties, 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

 

Lowe’s Delivers Augmented Reality: Now Available on Aisle 3 Press release

 

New French-language rules for outdoor signage coming to Quebec at CBC News. “Changes to Quebec’s sign laws that were announced in May will go into effect Nov. 24, the provincial government announced Wednesday…Existing signs and trade-marked businesses such as Costco and BestBuy will have three years to add French descriptors to their outdoor signage.” Read more

 

Fashion brand Fossil will close some stores, reorganize its business by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “The company has hired a consulting firm to help it reorganize and improve its operations, Kartsotis said. “We grew from a $1 billion [a year] business to $3 billion very quickly. We don’t have the most elegant processes.” Read more

 

Big Brands Are Already Targeting Their Competitors With Apple Search Ads by Lauren Johnson at Adweek. “Walmart’s Jet.com is zeroing in on folks looking for online grocery service Peapod, and food-delivery service Eat24 is serving its ads alongside queries for “Pizza Hut.” Amazon is homing in on searches for CVS’ pharmacy-refill app, and ads for Boxed, an app that lets consumers buy packaged goods at wholesale prices, appear when people type in “Sam’s Club.” Read more

 

Publix expands Starbucks pilot program to Charlotte stores by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. Read more

 

Online discount store Hollar raises $30 million and moves headquarters to Commerce by Paresh Dave at LA Times. “Chief Executive David Yeom said Hollar exceeded $1 million in monthly sales within its first six months, but he declined to disclose current usage or sales figures…it is moving into a 200,000-square-foot facility once used by 99 Cents Only Stores, Yeom said. 99 Cents Only Stores maintains headquarters elsewhere in Commerce.” Read more

 

Fred’s October Comp Sales -3.4% Press release

 

Kroger exec on Roundy’s: ‘We’re shining up a slightly tarnished star’ by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier.”We’re very good at managing high-quality companies and bringing together the best of both worlds,” McMullen told analysts…“One of the things we don’t know is whether we can do a fixer-upper. It is a lot of work.” Read more

 

Tractor Supply Names Pepsi SVP to Board Press release

 

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: How the ‘Amazon effect’ and the U.S. presidential campaign are impacting retail by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. “There’s no doubt over the next five years or so we are going to see a dramatic level of retailers not be able to sustain their level of core business as a traditional bricks and mortar retailer and their omni channel approach is not going to be sustainable to maintain the cost of their infrastructure and as a result of that there’s going to be a tremendous amount of changes with regard to the retail landscape.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Citi predicts possible 5% drop for S&P 500 if Trump wins, warns on recession

Sneak peek inside L.L. Bean’s first Cincinnati store

Michael Bloomberg Donates $18M for His Crusade Against Sugary Sodas

Neiman Marcus Is Selling Frozen Collard Greens For $66 Plus Shipping

Kroger Hints at More M&A in the Grocery Aisle

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Wal-Mart E-commerce Executives Depart in Wake of Jet.com Purchase by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “The departures include Fernando Madeira, head of Walmart.com, Dianne Mills, senior vice president of global e-commerce human resources and Brent Beabout, senior vice president of e-commerce supply chain, a spokesman said. Mr. Beabout left in recent weeks and will be succeeded by Jet.com co-founder Nate Faust, who will lead fulfillment operations for Jet.com and Walmart.com. Ms. Mills’ departure was announced internally Monday. Mr. Fernando will leave after helping Wal-Mart with its Brazilian website and several other projects.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon charges non-Prime members more at physical bookstores, hinting at new retail strategy by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “When the Amazon bookstore in Seattle opened almost exactly a year ago — the company’s first full-fledged retail location — book prices were identical to those on Amazon.com, whether you were a Prime member or not. But now the discounted prices are only available to Prime members. If you’re not, you’ll pay sticker price.” Read more

 

Belk lays off about 40 at Charlotte corporate office by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “News of the corporate job cuts comes almost a year after the department store chain sold itself to Sycamore Partners…Graham said the company combined together similar functions and reduced inefficiency to better support Belk stores. She declined to say from which departments the local employees were cut, though.” Read more

 

YESTERDAY ON TODAY – Ginger Reeder of Neiman Marcus shares gifts from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book with Savannah Guthrie See the 5:19 video

 

**A message from GlobalShop – as a retail expert, you impact the customer experience and GlobalShop is the driving force behind that experience. Through education, peer networking and interaction with retail suppliers, you’ll return with results to build your brand and create a more effective retail environment. From mannequins and lighting to flooring and signage, GlobalShop has it all. Register now to join us in Las Vegas March 28-30, 2017.  Check out this year’s exhibitors. Website & welcome video

 

JC Penney to Start Black Friday Sales Before Thanksgiving This Year by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “We’re going to kick it off early this year,” said Mary Beth West, exec VP-chief customer and marketing officer at Plano, Texas-based JC Penney. “We are going to give customers who want to shop early the opportunity to get some of those exciting deals.” Read more

 

American Apparel may not make it through the holidays by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The largest clothing manufacturer in North America is hanging by a thread…Working with a restructuring expert (and) has had talks with licensing firms and could agree to be sold in a deal that would precipitate another trip through bankruptcy court.” Read more

 

Publix Q3 Comp Sales +0.9% Press release

 

Wegmans ramps up North Carolina expansion, picks site for fourth store by Amanda Hoyle at Triangle Business Journal. “A new plan recently filed in the town of Cary shows that Wegmans will anchor a new retail development project called Twin Lakes Center.” Site plans / Read more

 

Instagram makes it easier to shop on its platform by Michelle Castillo at CNBC. “Tuesday, the Facebook-owned company is adding a feature for retailers that will allow them to add prices for up to five items in a single post…The additional page also includes a link directly to the retailer’s mobile site, where someone can directly purchase the product. The new features are being tested by 20 brands including Kate Spade, Jack Threads and J.Crew, and are free for Instagram’s partners.” Read more

 

‘Love, Nordstrom’ campaign debuts in the U.S. and Canada “More than 30 real Nordstrom customers were photographed in Los Angeles, Nashville and Seattle and are featured in the national campaign that was produced in partnership with creative agency Partners & Spade.” Press release / See the campaign

 

SAN JOSE INSTITUTION DIES – Mel Cotton’s to close – was like “working in the candy store” by Jody Meacham at Silicon Valley Business Journal. “The store survived Sears and REI, Any Mountain and even Bass Pro Shops. But it couldn’t outlast the land beneath its sprawling building, which has been sold to a developer with other plans.” Read more

 

Victoria’s Secret sales sink after late arrival to ‘bralette’ trend by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The lingerie giant, owned by L Brands, got slammed on Tuesday after revealing that same-store October sales will sag 2 percent.” Read more

 

Coach: Handbags priced higher than $400 accounted for more than half of its sales in that category – up from 30% just one year ago by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. Read more

 

CEOs, Designers and Influencers in Fashion and Technology to Back NRF Foundation Fundraiser Press release

 

Etsy Reports 33% Revenue Growth in the Third Quarter Press release

 

Survey: Amazon is the most relevant brand among U.S. millennials (Costco #30 overall) by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more | Top 50 list

 

Venezuela is telling hungry city dwellers to grow their own food by Sofia Barbarani at Washington Post. “How are you going to tell someone with no space for a plot to grow [their own food]?” asked De Leandro, whose family-owned farm was expropriated, like many other businesses, under former president Hugo Chávez’s nationalization program.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Amazon plans to enter Southeast Asia with Singapore launch in Q1 2017

Fast Company: Free Shipping is a Lie

Kroger’s Stock Surges After Affirming 2016 Outlook

Bezos Rocket Company Is a New Leader in the Suborbital Space Race

Teen CEO seals deal with Dick’s Sporting Goods

Eating an egg a day ‘keeps stroke at bay – slashing your risk by 12%

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Amazon can’t beat our Halloween mix-and-match creativity: Party City CEO by Elizabeth Gurdus at CNBC. “(CEO Harrison) said that where the chain goes beyond Amazon is in the opportunities consumers have at Party City to buy separate costume pieces and put them together more creatively, rather than simply ordering something preset online. “We take something thematically and really blow it out with multiple options,” Harrison said.” See the video / Read more

 

Sales at Lumber Liquidators grew for the first time in 6 quarters at Reuters. “Same-store sales rose 1 percent for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a 3.8 percent fall analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix had expected.” Read more

 

Handbag Sellers Slashing Their Lineups as Luxury Demand Wanes at Bloomberg. “In the three months through Aug. 31, the number of new handbags introduced by Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s fell 23 percent and 3 percent, respectively, compared with an increase of 5 percent and 11 percent the year before, according to Edited.” Read more

 

Final nail put in Murder Kroger’s coffin by Amy Wenk at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “…people came out for a candlelight vigil that mixed the macabre with the nostalgic. It was part parking lot party, with some sipping beers in paper bags, and part homage to what’s become a kitschy Atlanta landmark despite the site’s history with violent crime.” 7 pics / Read more

 

Amazon shelling out record sums for shipping in push for faster delivery by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Shipping revenue received from customers covered a little more than 55 percent of the company’s overall shipping costs in the quarter, in line with other recent quarters, but those overall costs soared 43 percent to nearly $3.9 billion.” Read more

 

P&G Boss Tries to Speed Up a Giant by Sharon Terlep at Wall Street Journal. “Sitting in his office at P&G’s headquarters, Mr. Taylor said he is confident that P&G’s best prospects remain rooted in fundamentals. That means selling to the masses by way of big retailers on the strength of meticulously collected consumer research, a massive research-and-development operation and the world’s biggest advertising budget. P&G, he says, needs to learn to do these things faster and more effectively…” Read more (subscription)

 

Warby Parker opening inside Grand Central Terminal by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. “…the latest shop takes architectural and design cues from “grand civic buildings,” including terrazzo floors, marble countertops and Solari-inspired train arrival and departure board for eye appointments.” 7 pics / Read more

 

**A message from Black Flag® – We take no prisoners. In the battle against indoor and outdoor pests, it’s every man for himself. Arm yourself with Black Flag insect and rodent controls. Our tough, no-nonsense formulas are packed with a powerful punch to make short work of home insect invaders. Whether you’re battling crawling, flying or stinging insects or fending off mice, when the flag flies, pests die. Let it Fly. How to protect your home with Sarge video | Facebook page

 

This is the best day of the year to do your holiday shopping via NY Post. “Indeed, jewelry (save 10% by buying on Thanksgiving), appliances (12%), computers (13%), sporting goods (14%), tablets (18%) and televisions (20%) are all a good deal on Turkey Day…” Read more

 

Brooks Brothers acquires jewelry brand Alexis Bittar by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. Read more

 

The cost of fraud: 7.6% of an online retailer’s revenue by April Berthene at Internet Retailer. “Of the merchants surveyed, the average yearly financial expense due to fraud and fraud prevention was $14.6 million and that represents 7.6% of annual revenue across all channels, including online and offline sales. Of that $14.6 million, 7% is attributable to chargebacks; 74% is for fraud management software, hardware and employees; and 19% comes from false positives.” Read more

 

41% of new fathers switch brands, study finds via PR Week. “43% of fathers surveyed said they changed brands because they wanted organic products, 39% said they did so because they didn’t want artificial additives, and 33% said they switched to brands that were allergen-free.” Read more

 

Spurs debut new round of H-E-B commercials at NBA.com. See the spots

 

Goldman Sachs pushes Apple to make rival bid for Time Warner by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “They are freaking out trying to convince Apple to come in,” the source said. Goldman has been left on the sidelines in advising on AT&T’s $85 billion agreement to acquire Time Warner.” Read more

 

San Antonio: Five shot in overnight party by man dressed as Freddy Krueger by Chris Quinn at My San Antonio. Read more

 

More of Target’s advertising reaching out to Hispanics as customer demographics change by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Although Target has been marketing to Latinos for years, the retailer began amplifying its efforts a few years ago. Research showed that its core customer had shifted from the suburban soccer mom to someone much more urban, Hispanic and millennial. “We kind of had a realization that we had lost sight of who our guest is,” (Rick) Gomez said.” Read more

 

Starbucks Struggles to Become Your Local Saloon by Brian Sozzi at The Steet. “When we asked the server how to properly drink the espresso cloud IPA, she said pour the espresso shot in and enjoy. Seeing as there was sufficient room in the beer glass and the espresso shot was small, we poured it into the glass as instructed. Then the below instantly happened…” See the pic / Read more

 

Coffee-Loving Millennials Push Demand to a Record by Marvin G Perez at Bloomberg. “Millennials account for about 44 percent of U.S. coffee demand, according to Chicago-based researcher Datassential. In the eight years through 2016, daily consumption among 18- to 24-years-olds rose to 48 percent from 34 percent, while it climbed to 60 percent from 51 percent among those aged 25 to 39.” Read more

 

Tired of Counting Piles of Cash, Venezuelans Start Weighing Them by Fabiola Zerpa & Andrew Rosati at Bloomberg. “It’s sad,” Gonzalez says. “At this point, I think the cheese is worth more.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Parents worried about creepy clowns plan to carry guns trick-or-treating

Forbes: How Walmart And Big Box Stores Make Us All Richer

Sports equipment company to file bankruptcy

A-Rod and Shaq buy an eSports team

Soda is also on the ballot this election day

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