JCPenney Q3 Comp Sales +1.7% "Marvin R. Ellison: "During the third quarter, we took aggressive actions to clear slow-moving inventory, primarily allowing for an improved apparel assortment heading in to the Holiday season." Press release   ...Fox Business: J.C. Penney's same-store sales come in above its estimates "Net loss widened to $128 million, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 28, from $67 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier." Read more   Wal-Mart's Web Push Includes Turning Marc Lore Into Yoga-Mat Salesman by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "U.S. Chief Technology Officer Jeremy King, meanwhile, [...]

  Monopoly critics decry ‘Amazon amendment’ by Ali Breland at The Hill. "The amendment, Section 801 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), would help Amazon establish a tight grip on the lucrative, $53 billion government acquisitions market, experts say. The provision, dubbed the “Amazon amendment” by experts, according to an article in The Intercept, would allow for the creation of an online portal that government employees could use to purchase everyday items such as office supplies or furniture." Read more   Kohl's Q3 comp +0.1% Press release   Wal-Mart holds holiday hours steady, with heavy focus online at CNBC. [...]

  To ensure Tipsheet delivery, add info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to your Safe Sender, White List or Address Book.   Apple to Ramp Up Work on Augmented Reality Headset by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg. "Apple Inc., seeking a breakthrough product to succeed the iPhone, aims to have technology ready for an augmented-reality headset in 2019 and could ship a product as early as 2020. Unlike the current generation of virtual reality headsets that use a smartphone as the engine and screen, Apple’s device will have its own display and run on a new chip and operating system, according to people familiar with the situation." [...]

  Walmart Pay Threatens to Surpass Apple in U.S. Mobile Payments by Olga Kharif & Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "Available in 4,774 stores, Walmart Pay is enrolling tens of thousands of new users a day, up from thousands four or five months ago, said Daniel Eckert, who runs the business. Two-thirds of the customers who try it also use it a second time within 21 days, he said, giving him confidence Walmart Pay will surpass Apple Pay in the U.S. in terms of use by shoppers in stores where they’re accepted." Read more   Free Shipping From Target, Best Buy [...]

  CVS Q3 comps: pharmacy -3.4%, front end -2.8% Press release   ...CVS tops 3Q profit forecasts, shrinks 2017 expectations via Yahoo Finance. "CVS Health Corp. said Monday that it now expects annual adjusted earnings of $5.87 to $5.91 per share, a forecast that counts charges due to hurricanes. That's down from a forecast of $5.83 to $5.93 that it made in August." Read more   JC Penney ditches chief merchandising role at CNBC. "Its current CMO John Tighe, will be leaving the company and will not be replaced, the retailer said on Friday..."This simplified structure offers greater flexibility, which [...]

  Amazon is shutting down its Fresh grocery delivery service in parts of five states by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "Amazon Fresh customers in parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and California have reported receiving the notices...An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed that Fresh is ending service in parts of these states, but made clear the service would remain serving certain areas of big cities such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, as well as Philadelphia and Los Angeles, among other metropolises." Read more   Apple Store Lines Return as iPhone X Debuts by Tripp Mickle at Wall Street Journal. [...]

  Three people are 'randomly' shot dead inside a Denver Walmart at Daily Mail. "Avila said that the three victims were all in the same area near the front of the store at the time of the shooting. The gunman did not say anything during the shooting and walked back out and fled the scene in a red, four-door Mitsubishi Mirage." Pic of suspect/Read more   ...“The employees started screaming and the customers started screaming” as people began to flee the store, he recounted. “I ran out, too, because I didn’t want to get shot.” Reuters   Costco October Comp (ex. [...]

  CANADIAN BREAD CARTEL? - Canadian watchdog raids offices of grocery retailers in bread price-fixing probe by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. "The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa granted search warrants based on evidence that there are reasonable grounds to believe that certain individuals and companies have engaged in activities contrary to the Competition Act,” according to a statement issued by the bureau late in the day." Read more   Wal-Mart will hold parties in its stores this holiday season at CNBC. "Walmart plans to hold more than 20,000 parties at its stores over the next two months, [...]