Archive for month: January, 2017

 

Target Holiday (Nov/Dec) Comp Sales -1.3% – Lowers Q4 Guidance “While we were pleased with Black Friday sales, December digital sales growth of more than 40 percent and continued strength in our Signature Categories, these results were offset by early season sales softness and disappointing traffic and sales trends in our stores,” said Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target.” Press release

 

Whole Foods closing 3 regional kitchens, trimming 500 jobs by Gary Dinges at Austin American-Statesman. “Combined, the facilities in Everett, Mass.; Landover, Md.; and metro Atlanta employ about 500 people…The regional kitchens set to close are the last three operated by the company.” Read more

 

Amazon wins patent for Treasure Truck as it makes plans to expand beyond Seattle by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. “Amazon hasn’t said anything officially yet, but it’s looking for a product manager to identify which cities are ripe for the picking and oversee the expansion plan. There’s also an opening for a senior business development manager to deal with Treasure Truck real estate issues.” Read more

 

84 Lumber Explores Other Options After Fox Reportedly Rejects ‘Political’ Super Bowl Ad by Patrick Coffee at Adweek. “…according to a report published by Campaign today, Fox Sports declined to run the first version of the ad submitted by 84 Lumber and its agency partner Brunner. Sources claimed the initial creative summary included a wall preventing would-be employees from crossing an unspecified border, thereby mirroring President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to build a physical barrier between the U.S. and Mexico.” Read more

 

Thor Construction headquarters project gets Target backing by Neal St. Anthony at Star Tribune. “We couldn’t be more proud to partner with Thor on this important project,” said (Brian) Cornell. “Through this unique relationship with Thor, we’re helping to fuel opportunities in north Minneapolis.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney plans 600 Nike shops inside department stores by Matthew Kish at Portland Business Journal. Read more

 

Toys “R” Us Holiday Comp Sales -2.5% Press release

 

Tuesday Morning president resigns – announces layoffs by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “With Phillips departure, CEO Steven Becker is assuming the title of president and the role of chief operating officer is going away.” Read more

 

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Tiffany Holiday Comp Sales -1.0% Press release

 

…Tiffany blames Trump Tower security for poor holiday sales by Mark Moore by NY Post. “November and December sales at its flagship location dropped 14 percent from a year earlier — a drop “which we attribute at least partly to post-election traffic disruptions,” the company said in a statement.” Read more

 

Amazon patented a highway network that controls self-driving cars and trucks by Johana Bhuiyan at Recode. “Amazon is rumored to be working on creating self-driving delivery vehicles out of its drone division, Prime Air. In fact, one of the listed inventors of the network, Jim Curlander, is the technical adviser at Prime Air.” Read more

 

Kroger hires government relations chief by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “(Matt) Perin…previously worked as deputy director of government relations for Bayer Corp. Before that, he was staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Nutrition & Horticulture.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney Sets Trend in Reviving Suburban Corporate Campuses by Peter Grant at Wall Street Journal. “The worst thing that happened to J.C. Penney was the best thing that happened to the city of Plano,” (Sam Ware) said.” Read more (subscription)

 

HSNi CEO Mindy Grossman elected chairman of the NRF Board of Directors Press release

 

Lowe’s names company veteran as CFO by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Business Journal. “(Bob) Hull, who has spent 17 years at Lowe’s, including 14 years as chief financial officer, will be replaced by Marshall Croom, who himself has been at (Lowe’s) for 20 years.” Read more

 

Twitter is phasing out the “Buy” button by Ingrid Lunden at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Amazon is crushing Walmart, eBay, and Target in the growing mobile shopping space by Eugene Kim at Business Insider. “At the end of 2014, Amazon had roughly the same number of mobile unique visitors as Walmart and eBay, in the US. As of December 2016, Amazon has more unique visitors than the apps of those two companies’ combined,” Oppenheimer wrote in the note.” Read more

 

Chewy.com, an online pet supplies retailer, is setting up an outpost in Boston that it expects will soon employ 200 people by Scott Kirsner at Boston Globe. Read more

 

Law firm considers class-action suit against Walmart for allegedly selling wildfire-contaminated food by David Thurton at CBC News. “Walmart Canada and four of its senior managers face 174 charges under the Alberta Public Health Act related to the sale of food contaminated during the wildfire, which engulfed the city last May. A 31-page charge sheet alleges the store sold various contaminated food items, ranging from chocolate bars to bacon and chicken.” Read more

 

Christopher & Banks CEO fired after poor holiday showing; stock plummets by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. Read more | Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Intel to invest $100M in retail tech

Has Costco stopped selling the Kirkland Signature golf balls?

Amazon opens Pittsburgh office to tap local talent

Global shipping prices are staging a major comeback and here’s why

Leslie’s Pool Supplies acquired by private equity firm

OrderGroove nabs $20M to help brands raise their Amazon game

Online marketplace Letgo raises $175 million

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Former Canadian Tire CEO to take helm at troubled Sobeys after ‘extensive’ search by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Michael Medline, who was abruptly replaced as chief executive of Canadian Tire last July, has been tapped to head troubled grocery chain Sobeys and its owner Empire Co…While Medline worked in a variety of executive roles at Canadian Tire and its sporting goods division for more than 15 years, he does not have direct experience in grocery retail.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos is the anonymous buyer of the biggest house in Washington by Emily Heil & Kathy Orton at Washington Post. “Jeff Bezos has bought the former Textile Museum, a 27,000 square-foot property, intending to convert it into a single-family home, according to a person with knowledge of the sale. Bezos’s neighbors will include President Obama and his family, who are renting a property nearby for their post-White House home as well as future first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband.” Read more

 

Amazon just poached one of Target’s rising stars to run Prime in important new markets by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Amazon has hired Jamil Ghani, Target’s SVP of strategy and innovation, to run the Amazon Prime membership business in international markets, according to a person briefed on the move…At Target, Ghani was an up-and-coming executive tasked with figuring out how the traditional retailer would find new avenues for growth in a world increasingly dominated by Amazon.” Read more

 

Lowe’s preps for layoffs as it shifts to new store staffing model by Katie Little at CNBC. “…will be laying off “less than 1 percent” of its employees in the near future, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The source did not share the exact number of layoffs. Lowe’s workforce totals more than 285,000.” Read more

 

Target Earns Highest Paid-Search Traffic Share For Product Keywords by Laurie Sullivan at Media Post. “Target received nearly 30% of all paid-search traffic for the top 10 product-related keywords during the 2016 holiday season — more than 2.5 times the traffic of retail site like Walmart, which took 11% share…toysrus.com, 10%; eBay.com 9.8%; amazon.com, 7.1%; madeby.google.com, 5.9%; macys.com, 5.3%; fitbit.com, 4.1%; bestbuy.com, 3.4%; apple.com, 2.5%.” Read more

 

GameStop says holiday same-store sales slumped 18.7% by Ciara Linnane at MarketWatch. Read more

 

Trump Endorses L.L. Bean After Board Member Supports Him by Nick Turner & Molly Smith at Bloomberg. “Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L. Bean for your great support and courage,” Trump said on Twitter Thursday. “People will support you even more now. Buy L.L. Bean.” Read more

 

eBay takes on fashion resale startups with launch of authentication program by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “…called simply eBay Authenticate, which will allow sellers to opt in to have their goods verified. Buyers will be able to see that the items will be authenticated when viewing listings – a move aimed at boosting consumer trust, as well as increasing the prices sellers can charge.” Read more

 

American Apparel is moving to Canada by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Forever 21 held a recruitment event at American Apparel’s headquarters on Thursday, looking for job applicants to fill positions in accounting, design, IT and other professional positions, according to employees.” Read more

 

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U.S. News & World Report: Top 100 Jobs See the list

 

Amazon’s career guru shares playbook for tuition program by Casey Coombs at Puget Sound Business Journal. “We’re taking it to businesses across America and saying, ‘there’s no catch, no twist, no charge,’” said Juan Garcia, Amazon’s global leader for career advancement. “We will show you our playbook and help set up Career Choice.” Read more

 

Saks Fifth Avenue teams with a Milanese company on a collection of machine-washable suiting that respects traditional Italian design by Michael B. Dougherty at Wall Street Journal. “Eric Jennings, vice president and menswear fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue, discovered Traiano last June, while attending menswear trade show Pitti Uomo, in Florence. “From a distance, [the company’s wares] looked like traditional Italian tailored clothing but as soon as we got up close and were touching the fabrics, we were like, ‘What?!’” Read more (subscription)

 

Sephora innovates business practices with mobile buying platform by Brielle Jaekel at Luxury Daily. “The beauty retailer, an innovator in modern business operations, has partnered with retail-buying platform RangeMe for a contemporary practice in product buying. Sephora will now be able to find new products from suppliers in a streamlined manner through a mobile application.” Read more

 

Sound Transit in talks with Amazon to place package delivery hubs at Seattle-area rail stations by Nat Levy at GeekWire. Read more

 

Panera Bread hits its goal of ditching all food additives by Sarah Whitten at CNBC. “Over the last few years, the company reviewed more than 450 ingredients that it sells in stores and reformulated 122 of them, including a large majority of Panera’s bakery-cafe recipes.” Read more

 

Top 10 Women in Retail Tech (PetSmart, Walgreens, Walmart, B.Buy, T.Supply, Jet) at Chain Store Age. List

 

Amazon Launches Anime Channel for $5 Per Month by Todd Spangler at Variety. Read more

 

Boy battling cancer gets his wish fulfilled – at Amazon fulfillment center by Kaila White at Arizona Republic via USA Today.”As he walked around the center, which is more than 1 million square feet and has more than 2,000 employees, he smiled, laughed, made faces and craned his neck to see the labyrinthine 8 miles of conveyor belts. To explain his excitement he used a metaphor. “This is the earth,” he said, mimicking its explosion with his hands. “Mind blown. It turned my life — I was upside down — back up.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Johnsonville Just Made an Amazing Sausage-Themed Reality Show You Need to Watch

Callaway buys backpack/golf bag maker Ogio for $75.5M

Fake news? P&G responds to viral web story that linked VapoRub to baby’s death

Expert discusses Wal-Mart’s recent shopping spree, says they may be building a ‘Frankenstein’

Ziploc freezer bags help premature babies thrive

Man claims shoe deodoriser he bought from Aldi is actually ‘Coles women’s antiperspirant with a plastic label’

Reclusive In-N-Out heiress, 34, reveals shocking details of her struggles with drugs

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Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for 20,000+ retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

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Walmart Cutting Hundreds of Jobs In Latest Round of Layoffs by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Walmart is about to eliminate hundreds more jobs at headquarters and in regional offices…will cut most of those of jobs before January 31.” Read more

 

…Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart is preparing to cut nearly 1,000 corporate jobs before the end of the month, according to an executive familiar with the situation by Sarah Nassauer. “The cuts will fall broadly but are expected to focus on Wal-Mart’s U.S. operations, including the human resources department, as well as the technology and e-commerce divisions.” Read more (subscription)

 

…City Wire: Job placement firm Cameron Smith & Associates has been getting phone calls from within Wal-Mart for a few weeks regarding upcoming layoffs by Kim Souza. “Another sign that a layoff is coming is when our Linkedin requests jump substantially from professionals inside Wal-Mart corporate ranks and that is also been happening again,” Smith told Talk Business & Politics.” Read more

 

…Karenann Terrell To Leave as CIO of Wal-Mart by Kim S. Nash at Wall Street Journal. “The company did not say where Ms. Terrell is headed but she plans to stay with Wal-Mart until Feb. 24, said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive, in an internal memo. The company expects to announce new leadership in technology “shortly,” a spokesman said.” Read more (subscription)

 

Supervalu Q3 retail identical store sales -5.7% Press release

 

Walgreens-Rite Aid merger expected any day now by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “Federal regulators are scrambling to complete their review of the $9.4 billion Walgreens-Rite Aid mergerbefore President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, The Post has learned…“It’s very clear to everyone that [soon-to-be interim FTC Commissioner] Maureen Ohlhausen is not going to block a deal” the source noted.” Read more

 

Target turns to Gen Z kids to create new fashion line by Charisse Jones at USA Today. “Target worked with kids between the ages of 7 and 14 to help shape the first Art Class collection, getting their input on details ranging from fabrics to buttons. The young design partners include a 12-year-old chef who owns his own cookie business, an 8-year old surfing prodigy, and an 11-year-old dance star whose videos have gone viral.” Read more

 

Walgreens To Offer FedEx Dropoff And Pickup At Walgreens Locations Nationwide by Ciara Linnane at Fox Business. “The companies will begin with a small-scale rollout this spring, and aim to have the service available at nearly 8,000 Walgreens outlets by the fall of 2018.” Read more

 

Greenpeace USA slams Amazon for their renewable-energy use by Dan Richman at GeekWire. “Amazon continues to talk a good game on renewables but is keeping its customers in the dark on its energy decisions,” said Greenpeace USA senior IT analyst Gary Cook in a release.” Read more

 

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84 Lumber Is Buying a Pricey 90-Second Spot for Its Super Bowl Debut by Patrick Coffee at Adweek. “…the building materials company will almost certainly pay more than $10 million for the national placement even after any discounts it may receive from Fox. This news marks a major pivot for 84 Lumber, which spent only $736,000 on domestic marketing in all of 2015 according to Kantar Media.” Read more

 

Amazon to Launch Credit Card for Prime Members Press release

 

Wal-Mart owes pharmacist $16.08 million for gender bias, sum may drop by Jonathan Stempel at Reuters. “She said Wal-Mart actually fired her in retaliation for her raising concerns about whether prescriptions were being filled properly. McPadden also said her gender played a role, saying a male pharmacist who later lost his key was not fired.” Read more

 

Retail CEO’s from Walmart, Macy’s and more to speak at NRF’s Big Show Press release 

 

Wayfair shares rise after CEO affirms strong holiday season by Kelly J. O’Brien at Boston Business Journal. “The overall holiday season was quite strong,” (CEO) Shah said at an annual conference put on by strategic communications firm ICR.” Read more

 

Alibaba is buying Chinese mall operator Intime for $2.6B to modernize offline retail by Jon Russell at TechCrunch. “Intime operates 29 department stores and 17 shopping malls across urban China which could give Alibaba a strong foothold.” Read more

 

Facebook targets Google’s key strength: shopper intent by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. “Facebook today expanded the scope of its dynamic ads to shift them from a remarketing tool to one that retailers can use to find new customers.” Read more

 

Residents put up a fight, but Fremont OKs incentives for Costco plant by Barbara Soderlin at Omaha World-Herald. “Opponents of a $275 million chicken processing plant in Fremont made another unsuccessful effort to derail the project Tuesday night…The 7-0 vote followed another contentious public discussion of the plant, with more than an hour of comments from people mostly opposed to the project and the incentives.” Read more

 

7th Circ. Skeptical Of Home Depot Over Employee’s Murder by Jessica Corso at Law 360. “An attorney for Home Depot was hit Tuesday with a flurry of disbelief by Seventh Circuit judges skeptical of the retailer’s position that it shouldn’t be dragged back into a lawsuit accusing it of failing to prevent the murder of a pregnant employee at the hands of her supervisor.” Read more (subscription)

 

Smucker hikes prices of Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts packaged coffee via CNBC. Read more

 

Costco Dodges Pay-Stub Class Action At 9th Circ. by Melissa Daniels at Law 360. “Plaintiff Loretta Apodaca alleged Costco failed to provide statements that listed her total hours worked and hourly pay rates. After a lower court tossed the claims, Apodaca appealed, but a Ninth Circuit panel said Monday that the lower court had made the right call.” Read more (subscription)

 

Bringing Online-Style Shopper Tracking to Stores? It May Be Closer Than You Think by Jack Neff at Ad Age. “So far two major mass retailers the company declined to name have been testing the technology, and Zebra hopes to enlist more interest as it unveils its system at the National Retail Federation “Big” show next week in New York.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

J.C. Penney employees win $4.5 mil settlement for 401K losses in the Ron Johnson era

Tom Clancy’s possessions, including crocodile skin coffee table, head to auction

What it’s like to use Amazon’s Alexa in a Ford hybrid car

George Lucas Selects Los Angeles for $1 Billion Museum

After 14 years, Sonos CEO steps down from the company he helped found

Wilmington: Massive Harris Teeter Expected To Open In 2019

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Bezos attends Golden Globes – Fallon gives nod with joke by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. “He actually arrived yesterday, but there was no one around to sign for him,” said Fallon…Bezos, who was sitting at one of the head tables in the Beverly Hilton ballroom, laughed as loud as anyone.” Read more

 

Brewer to retire as Sam’s Club CEO, John Furner picked to lead the club division at The City Wire. “The retirement agreement shows that Brewer will remain a Wal-Mart employee through January 2019…She is also prevented from participating in a business that competes with the Company that exceeds certain revenue thresholds…Given that Brewer is not circulating back through Wal-Mart’s executive ranks likely indicates the retirement was not solely her idea, (Ellstrand) added.” Read more

 

Neiman Marcus withdraws IPO amid declining sales by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. Read more

 

Is There Time for QVC in the Age of Amazon? by Paul Ziobro at Wall Street Journal. “Anything and everything is already available online and there are all kinds of niche sites out there to help people discover new items,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, chief retail strategist for conference producer Shoptalk. “That’s something available in spades anywhere you turn online.” Read more (subscription)

 

Nordstrom brings visibility to South Korean products in temporary KPop-In shops at Luxury Daily. “KPop-In@Nordstrom will be found online at www.Nordstrom.com/POP and at Nordstrom’s Seattle, Bellevue, WA, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver and Toronto.” Read more

 

Walgreens quietly tests in-store eye exams in Chicago by Lisa Schencker at Chicago Tribune. “Walgreens is testing the idea with a clinic on the second floor of a flagship store in the Wrigley Building on Michigan Avenue. The clinic, which opened last month, offers eye exams by licensed optometrists and opticians as well as contact lenses and glasses for purchase.” Read more

 

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank stresses innovation during CES keynote by Jeff Berman at Baltimore Business Journal. “Under Armour celebrated its 20th year in 2016 and “there’s no better place to turn 21 than Las Vegas,” he joked, drawing laughs from the audience.” Read more

 

Amazon to open second brick-and-mortar bookstore in Mass. by Janelle Nanos at Boston Globe. “We are excited for Amazon Books to come to MarketStreet Lynnfield in 2017. Stay tuned for additional details down the road,” said Nanci Horn, the shopping center’s general manager.” Read more

 

Tourneau store near Trump Tower loses $2 million in sales by Josh Kosman at NY Post. Read more

 

The USDA picks 7 retailers to test food stamp use online by James Melton at Internet Retailer. “Companies selected, and the states where they will accept SNAP payment are: Amazon.com in Maryland, New Jersey and New York. FreshDirect in New York. Safeway in Maryland, Oregon and Washington. ShopRite in  Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Hy-Vee in Iowa. Hart’s Local Grocers in New York. Dash’s Market in New York.” Read more

 

‘OZ’ – THE ONLY WAY YOU SEE EDDIE IS THROUGH A SCREEN – Inside Sears’ death spiral by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. “One morning in late 2015, on Sears’ vast Illinois campus, more than a dozen employees huddled in a videoconference room on a floor dubbed “B6.” There two mid-level employees were preparing a presentation for the CEO, Eddie Lampert, when their boss rushed in with some last-minute advice. On a chart pad he wrote three words. “He looks at the presenters and says, ‘Do not say these words to that guy,'” according to a former Sears executive who described the meeting to Business Insider…One of the words on it was “consumer.” Read more

 

The Limited Is Closing All 250 of Its Stores by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “A message on The Limited’s web site said the retailer would continue to sell items online. But it’s not clear how much longer that will last.” Read more

 

As Sephora Adds Products, Rivalry Heats Up at Its Stores by Khadeeja Safdar & Sharon Terlep at Wall Street Journal. “To sell at Sephora, which has more than 2,300 stores around the world, brands can pay more than 60% from each sale, a higher rate than at most department stores and specialty retailers, according to people familiar with the matter.” Read more (subscription)

 

Walmart-Visa truce could mean higher fees: CFIB via Toronto Star. “Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the CFIB, says he suspects Walmart was able to negotiate a reduction in merchant fees — a move that could impact smaller merchants. “Typically whenever there is a special deal created for one large merchant, it happens at the expense of smaller merchants,” he said.” Read more

 

Davidoff Hutcher Sued For $1M By Sports Authority Creditor by Kali Hayes at Law 360. “…claims the firm improperly advised it as a creditor in the bankruptcy of Sports Authority, leading it to lose ownership of certain consigned inventory.” Read more (subscription)

 

Amazon’s store of the future has no cashiers, but humans are watching from behind the scenes by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Recode has learned that Amazon has staff on call behind the scenes to assist the computer vision system that is supposed to detect which items a shopper pulls off a shelf and carries out of the store.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Former Target executive grows his own digital-analytics firm

Apple is opening its first retail store in South Korea

The Inside Story of how Panda Express launched its General Tso’s chicken dish

Mars to buy pet health care provider VCA for $7.7 billion

Amazon exec warns that state laws could bog down drone deliveries

Personal luxury goods spending slows

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