Amazon takes on Wish with an “Under $10” selection of products that ship for free by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. "In the Amazon iOS app and on the web, Amazon recently added a new section offering products under $10 that ship for free. Some of the products are also available on Prime, but the feature doesn’t appear to be limited to Prime subscribers." Read more   Kroger Edge Rolls at CNBC. "Kroger is in the midst of rolling out Kroger Edge, a new shelving system for its grocery stores. The company is planning to outfit hundreds of stores with digital screens that [...]

  Wal-Mart Makes Judith McKenna Its International Chief by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "McKenna, currently chief operating officer of the retailer’s domestic operations, will succeed David Cheesewright on Feb. 1, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced...McKenna’s promotion puts her among the possible contenders to eventually succeed McMillon..." Read more   Tiffany's holiday sales jump 8 percent, boosted by growth in China and Europe at CNBC. "Total same-store sales were up 5 percent during the November and December months, the company said. In the U.S. alone, same-store sales rose 6 percent." Read [...]

    Costco pharmacy directors fined $20,000 after admitting to $1.2 million drug kickback scheme by Jesse McLean at Toronto Star. "As part of the settlement, charges that the pharmacists allegedly accepted illegal payments from four other generic drug companies were withdrawn. The backbone of the case was a secretly recorded 2014 phone conversation in which Hanna explains to a Ranbaxy drug sales representative how much the company would have to pay to “greatly reduce the likelihood of somebody eating your business.” Read more   Boxed CEO @ NRF: Huang would not directly comment on a report that Kroger might acquire Boxed. However, he did say [...]

  Walmart to cut 1,000 corporate jobs - will eliminate its jewelry business and decrease the number of co-managers per store by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "Talk Business & Politics learned a meeting was held Friday with store management and that’s when some of the news leaked to the media. Again, Wal-Mart didn’t confirm nor deny jobs were being eliminated." Read more | WSJ article (subs.)   Kroger may acquire digital bulk retailer Boxed by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. "Aldi, Costco, Target are others mentioned as possible buyers, according to Forbes and Reuters, citing unnamed sources." Read [...]

  Walmart’s Bumpy Day: From Wage Increase to Store Closings at CNBC. "They should have been taking a victory lap tonight," said Mr. Galloway, the New York University professor, "and instead they are back on their heels." Read more   CAN'T WIN - Wal-Mart's Wage Hike Would Represent Just Five Hours of Sales by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "At about $57 million in sales per hour, that’s how long it would take to ring up $300 million -- the amount Wal-Mart expects to spend on the wage increases, excluding the costs of separate one-time cash bonuses. The company is on track for [...]

  Kohl's ready to partner with grocer or c-store to fill vacant store space at CNBC. "(Kohl's) has created operationally smaller, more profitable stores...That downsizing leaves unused footage, which Mansell said would benefit from traffic-generating retailers like those that sell food. "If we had our preference, we are going first after well-capitalized companies, and preferably ones that have high traffic in grocery and convenience" Mansell said." Read more   Immigration agents raid dozens of 7-Eleven stores at CNBC. "Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide...Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that Wednesday's operation was [...]

  Supervalu Q3 Comp Store Sales -3.5% Press release   Kohl's CEO: Physical stores are 'critical' no matter where consumers choose to shop at CNBC. "While the CEO wouldn't comment on whether Kohl's unique partnership with Amazon will eventually result in the e-commerce giant acquiring Kohl's, he did speak to its benefits. "We're focused on any ideas, however far-out they may seem to somebody outside our business, that would essentially drive more people into our stores," Mansell said." Video Iview/Read more   Target will open its 'student union' to public for Super Bowl week by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. "Target Plaza Commons, which [...]

  Target's comp sales +3.4 percent during the holiday season, topping an expected range of 0 to 2 percent at CNBC. "Target said fourth-quarter comparable sales should climb closer to 3.4 percent, compared with a prior estimate of 2 percent growth." Read more   Walmart's Marc Lore talks to Fast Company "Voice will be the next big way to leverage data. It will enable people to communicate either in their car or home or on their device and shop in a conversational way with a robot in the way that they would with a specialist on the showroom floor of [...]