Walmart launches free, 2-day shipping without a membership on purchases of $35 or more by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. "As a result of the move, Walmart says that ShippingPass customers will receive a refund on their membership, since the program is no longer required in order to take advantage of free shipping." Read more   GNC Super Bowl Commercial Rejected by NFL by Judann Pollack & Nathan Skid at Ad Age. "Jeff Hennion, exec VP-chief marketing and e-commerce officer at GNC, said the NFL objected to its commercial because fewer than 3% of its products include two of the [...]

  Sam’s Club restructures its e-commerce team, moves unit under Sam’s Club management by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "Furner announced that Jamie Iannone, CEO of SamsClub.com, will also be the executive vice president of membership and technology for Sam’s Club and will begin reporting to him Feb. 1. Furner also created a new chief technology officer role for Sam’s Club which will be led by Hsiao Wang who will report to Iannone." Read more   Why is Walgreens still selling cigarettes? Shareholders want to know by Lisa Schencker at Chicago Tribune. "Questions about why Deerfield-based Walgreens continues to [...]

  Amazon expands into ocean freight by Jillian Stampher at GeekWire. "Amazon has successfully begun shipping goods from Chinese merchants to U.S. warehouses by ocean, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday...Since October, Amazon has coordinated the shipment of at least 150 containers of goods from China, the Journal reports." Read more | WSJ article (subs.)   Albertsons hires Disney exec as new e-commerce chief by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. "Albertsons hired Narayan Iyengar as its new senior vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce, replacing Tamara Pattison, who left the grocery chain owner in June." Read more   Costco [...]

  Banana Republic's president is out as the Gap brand struggles to find footing by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. "Andi Owen, global brand president of the wear-to-work brand, will exit the company in late February, after 25 years at Gap. CEO Art Peck will oversee the Banana Republic brand until a successor is named." Read more | Press release   Target plans to introduce its own smartphone payment service in stores later this year by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "Target plans to introduce mobile payment features to one or more of its own apps, the retailer’s Chief Information and [...]

  Target testing 'Foot Pong' game in select stores by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. "The game, made possible by a ceiling projector, is found near the children's shoes and clothing sections. Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker said the game debuted at the Quarry Target last year after a store remodel. "The reason behind it was to bring a little fun to the kids area," she said." Video/Pics/Read more   Wal-Mart’s recent corporate downsizing raises questions among suppliers by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "Insiders said about 200 replenishment-related positions were eliminated last week around replenishment and Order Management [...]

  Amazon’s next frontier to conquer? Auto parts by Josh Kosman & James Covert at NY Post. "In recent months, Amazon has struck contracts with the largest parts makers in the country — including Robert Bosch, Federal-Mogul, Dorman Products and Cardone Industries, sources told The Post...it’s possible that Amazon may even snatch up some of the regional parts distributors..." Read more   Lowe's Appoints Jocelyn Wong As Chief Marketing Officer "Wong joined Lowe's in September 2015 and has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, merchandising, brand management and product innovation with well-known brands such as Family Dollar, Safeway [...]

  Carrefour weighs Best Buy executive to replace CEO at Reuters. "Carrefour SA shareholders could appoint a new chief executive this year and have identified Best Buy SA CEO Hubert Joly as one of their favorites for the post, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Friday." Read more   Rick Gomez will become Target's new chief marketer by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "Gomez — who previously worked at MillerCoors, Quaker Oats and PepsiCo — will become part of the senior executive leadership team that reports directly to Cornell." Read more   Procter & Gamble's 2Q Results Top Expectations at [...]

  Target makes big push into soccer marketing by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "(Target) is embarking on its biggest push ever into team sports...it has signed a three-year deal to be an official partner of Major League Soccer; will be a major sponsor of the local team, whose players will soon sport the company’s trademark bullseye on its jerseys, and will be the official retailer for U.S. Youth Soccer...“Soccer merchandise — think soccer balls and shin guards — were up 10 percent [in sales] in 2016 versus the previous year,” he said. “That is growing faster than any other sports [...]