Archive for month: May, 2018

 

 

Colorado logs $106M in recreational cannabis sales in March by Alica Wallace at Denver Post. “In total, the shops tallied up $135.2 million in sales during the month, up 3.7 percent from March 2017. The monthly haul — consisting of $29.2 million of medical marijuana sales and roughly $106 million in recreational sales…” Read more

 

Nestle falls behind as millennials warm up to frozen meals at Reuters. “Jeff Hamilton, who heads Nestle’s U.S. food business, said in an interview the company did not have the manufacturing capacity ready to meet extra demand for its Stouffer’s Fit Kitchen and Lean Cuisine meals. He described it as “sudden, significant and beyond our expectations.” Read more

 

Toys ‘R’ Us execs grabbed bonuses ahead of bankruptcy by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “It’s very unusual for the C Suite to leave before the business is entirely wound down,” said bankruptcy lawyer Richard Weltman.” Read more

 

Groupon sees comeback as push to eliminate hassles begins to pay off by Olga Kharif at Bloomberg. “Earnings amounted to 3 cents a share in the first quarter, excluding some items. Analysts had expected a break-even performance. Revenue came in at $626.5 million, beating the $603.9 million prediction.” Read more

 

Target doubles down on more plus-size offerings in stores by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Target will boost its plus-size women’s offerings in about 300 stores by the end of 2018, compared to 150 stores right now. It will also expand its existing plus-size sections at the stores, located in the women’s department.” Read more | WSJ article (subs.)

 

Cato April Same-store Sales Down 6% Press release

 

Amazon is building a ‘health & wellness’ team within Alexa as it aims to upend health care at CNBC. “…includes over a dozen people and is being led by Rachel Jiang, who has spent the last 5 years at Amazon in various roles including advertising and video.” Read more

 

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Apple and Goldman Sachs Teaming Up for New Credit Card by Sarah Gray at Fortune. “It’s unclear what any rewards would be for consumers or which card carrier Apple and Goldman would use. WSJ did report, however, that “the partnership will extend into other services including Goldman offering in-store loans to Apple customers buying iPhones and other gadgets.” Read more

 

Wayfair Announces Winners of 2018 Wayfair Professional Tastemaker Awards Press release

 

‘BONUS PREPPERS’ – The Upscale Way to Prepare for Doomsday—from $79,500 Teslas to $275 Jeans by Jeff Bercovici at Wall Street Journal. “Rather than stockpile beans, ‘bonus preppers’ ready themselves for the apocalypse with the finer things: luxury cars, chic water filters, cunning energy systems and fashion fit for Armageddon.” Read more (subs.)

 

The Buckle April Comp Sales -3.4% Press release

 

Rihanna Launches Lingerie Collection Savage X by Lindsay Weinberg at Hollywood Reporter. “Her 90 styles include bodysuits, corsets, rompers, jumpsuits, robes and accessories—we’re talking crops, handcuffs, satin restraints, eye masks and garters for “bad gal RiRi.” Read more

 

Kanye West’s 2XU activewear launch in Sydney is shut down after just 45 minutes after customers fail to turn up to buy his $500 bike shorts at Daily Mail. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Team Target Moms Share Their Favorite Parenting Hacks

‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ — First Reactions from the Premiere

Lady Antebellum Overcome National Anthem Mishap Like Pros

Can This Home Medical Kit Save You From Constant Doctor Visits?

NASA and Amazon Set Up in France to Stop Drones Hitting Planes

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Best Buy gets new logo and marketing campaign focused on blue-shirt experts by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The first refresh of the logo in nearly three decades is part of a new marketing strategy…The new tagline, or, as Alexander calls it, a rallying cry: “Let’s talk about what’s possible.”…Being retired is the company’s previous motto, “Expert Service. Unbeatable Price”. See logo/Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

Forbes 2018 World’s Most Powerful People (Bezos #5, McMillon #23, Cook #24) Top 75 list

 

‘Oops’: Walmart’s Biggest Deal Ever, Announced by SoftBank’s CEO at Bloomberg. “After his initial comments, Son noticed a sheet of paper that had been left on the podium for his attention. He picked it up and smiled. “Oh, I see here that the Flipkart-Walmart deal isn’t fully confirmed at this point in time,” he said to the laughing audience.” Read more

 

Etsy Q1 Revenue +24.8% Press release

 

New rule would require solar to be installed on all new homes in California by Rob Nikolewski at The San Diego Tribune. “The CEC estimated the mandate would increase the construction costs of a single-family house by $10,538, although contractors in the San Diego area have put the costs at about $20,000, depending on the size of the home.” Read more

 

Office Depot Q1 Total Sales +6.0% Press release

 

Nordstrom Rack president meets with the three black men falsely accused of theft by Rachel Rice at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “We just listened to Nordstrom about what they said they were going to do about (training) in their store … and (Mekhi) told them how he felt from the encounter,” she said. “I felt like they were listening and open to hearing about how (the young men) felt.” Twyla Lee said she and her son have future meetings planned with NAACP leadership.” Read more

 

Party City Q1 Comp Sales +2.4% Press release

 

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Amazon employees are outraged by their company’s opposition to a plan to add more diversity to its board by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Tensions surfaced last week on an employee email thread, viewed by Recode, following Amazon’s opposition to a shareholder proposal that would require its board to formally consider women and minority candidates when selecting new board members.” Read more

 

Amazon pulls the plug on Google Product Listing Ads, at least for now by Zak Stambor at Internet Retailer. “While it isn’t clear why Amazon changed course, Taylor notes the move came about a month after Google launched Google Shopping Actions, which enables retailers to list their products in sponsored listings adjacent to regular search results.” Read more

 

Retail Council of Canada names Home Depot Canada’s President Jeff Kinnaird and his team 2018 Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Press release

 

Suit says woman was assaulted and fired for reporting food safety violations at Publix by David J. Neal at Miami Herald. Read more

 

Hudson’s Bay seeking ways to turn around the slumping fortunes of its Lord & Taylor chain at Financial Post via Reuters. “The Canadian retailer has been working with investment bank PJ Solomon Co for advice on potential deals regarding its department store portfolio, and is also working with consulting firm AlixPartners LLP on cutting costs and reforming its business, the sources said.” Read more

 

Business Hates Mexico’s Presidential Front-Runner. And He Doesn’t Care at Bloomberg. Read more

 

Walmart ends grocery delivery deal with Uber and Lyft by Jordan Crook at TechCrunch. “It is incredibly hard to deliver people and packages together,” said one of Reuters’ sources with a delivery company that works with Walmart and has direct knowledge of the matter. “They are two completely different business models.” Read more

 

In first move since Amazon acquisition, Ring launches Neighbors app to help users fight crime by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. Read more

 

Amazon’s Alexa will be built into all new homes from Lennar by Elizabeth Weise at USA Today. “Lennar announced Wednesday that standard features in its new homes will include built-in Wi-Fi, smart locks, doorbells, thermostats and lights —  all controlled by Alexa…Each house will come with two Alexa-enabled smart speakers, an Echo Show and an Echo Dot. New homeowners will also get a free visit from an Amazon technician to help set everything up and teach them how to use it.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Target to open first small-format store in downtown Denver in July

Pete Coors blasts smaller brewers’ ‘cheap shots and insults’

Bjarke Ingels Will Redesign Lord & Taylor’s Flagship Into WeWork’s New HQ

7-Eleven Tests First Ever Self-Chilling Canned Beverage

Mexico Offers Nafta Compromise on Car Content, Wages

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Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for 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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Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

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Dick’s Sporting Goods hires lobbyists on gun control by Polly Mosendz & Matthew Townsend at Bloomberg. “The company has retained Glover Park Group to lobby congress on the matter, according to a disclosure form filed in late April. The move is unusual for a firm in the retail sector…” Read more

 

Timberland lays off dozens of employees via NY Post. “Timberland said that it had laid off roughly 45 employees nationwide, including a number of employees at its headquarters in Stratham.” Read more

 

Regulators sue Albertsons for allegedly banning employees from speaking Spanish in front of non-Spanish speakers by Morgan Cook at San Diego Union-Tribune. Read more

 

The board of Flipkart has approved an agreement to sell about 75 percent of the company to Walmart for approximately $15 billion at Bloomberg. Read more

 

Blue Apron turns to Costco as growth slows by Heather Haddon at MarketWatch. “…started selling at 17 Costco stores around San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest on Saturday…Blue Apron meals are $24.99 at Costco this week, or about $6.25 a serving. Blue Apron’s subscription meals start at around $8.75 a serving.” Read more

 

Alibaba March-quarter revenue grew 61 percent to 61.9 billion yuan ($9.73 billion) from a year earlier, beating analyst estimates of a 53 percent increase at Reuters. Read more

 

Clash at Amazon HQ: Construction workers shout down council member over plan to tax big business by Monica Nickelsburg. “Amazon is a responsible builder … they don’t have a requirement to pay a prevailing wage but they do,” said Chris McClain, political director of the Iron Workers Local 86 union.” Video/Read more

 

Award-winning chefs will set up kitchens at 225 Walmart Supercenters through November to give cooking demonstrations by Robin Mero at Talk Business. Read more

 

Sprouts says it ended Amazon Prime partnership as of May at CNBC. “Sprouts said the transition to Instacart, along with lower-than-expected inflation, will hurt its forecast for same-store sales. The grocer revised its 2018 growth estimate to between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent, from a range of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent.” Read more

 

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Lands’ End opening a new chain of brick-and-mortar outlets by Lewis Lazare at Chicago Business Journal. “…a new 5,000-square-foot store at 20291 N. Rand Road in the northwestern suburb of Kildeer, Illinois. The store is the first of between four and six retail outlets the company plans to open in 2018.” Read more

 

Ex-Target SVP named Sally Beauty CFO (their third in less than two years) by Korri Kezar at Dallas Business Journal. “Aaron Alt has been named senior vice president, chief administrative officer and CFO of the Denton-based retailer. He is expected to take the position effective June 4.” Read more

 

Kohl’s hires new chief merchandising officer from QVC, HSN parent Qurate by Melanie Lawder at Milwaukee Business Journal. “Doug Howe has been tapped as the retailer’s new chief merchandising officer, the company announced Wednesday. Howe was previously the global chief merchandising officer at Qurate Retail Group.” Read more

 

Costco is now opening 24 California warehouses at 9 a.m. instead of its usual 10 a.m. slot during the workweek by Benjy Egel at Sacramento Bee. Read more

 

Hawaii Approves Bill Banning Sunscreen Believed To Kill Coral Reefs by Vanessa Romo at NPR. Read more

 

Instagram Starts to Take Payments—But Not for Products Just Yet by Josh Constine at TechCrunch. “It lets you register a debit or credit card as part of a profile, set up a security pin, then start buying things without ever leaving Instagram.” Read more

 

SuperValu Completes Sale of 21 Farm Fresh Stores Press release

 

Loblaw shareholders reject proposal on ‘living wage’ for employees by Aleksandra Sagan at The Canadian Press via Toronto Star. “In Metro Vancouver, workers paid a living wage would receive $20.91 per hour…In comparison, British Columbia’s minimum wage is currently $11.35 per hour.” Read more

 

Walmart, Target are prepping for a post-Toys ‘R’ Us world by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. Read more

 

Md. seafood industry loses 40 percent of workforce in visa lottery by Scott Dance at Washington Post. “This is going to cause the price of crabmeat to go out of sight,” said Harry Phillips, owner of Russell Hall Seafood on Hooper’s Island. “There’s not going to be hardly any Maryland crabmeat…” Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

How Humana Already Benefits From Walmart Retail Store Traffic by Bruce Japsen at Forbes. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Former Walmart Leader Joins Novant Health As CIO

Payless ShoeSource plans to move multiple departments to Dallas

‘Solo’ Tracking for Huge $170 Million Memorial Day Launch

Kroger ground beef among 17.7 tons recalled for potential plastics contamination

Working Moms Reveal Their Struggles Over Having A Second Kid

In Venezuela, a Haircut Costs 5 Bananas and 2 Eggs

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

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net