Archive for month: June, 2018

 

Walmart may face backlash in India; massive protests planned on July 2 by Karan Choudhury at New Dehli. “As many as 1,000 simultaneous protests are planned in which more than 700,000 people are likely to take part, CAIT said…“We demand that the government reject the deal and frame an e-commerce policy and a Regulatory Authority for e-commerce.”” Read more

 

Visa, Mastercard said to be near swipe-fee settlement via NY Post. “Under the settlement, Visa, Mastercard and a number of banks that issue debit and credit cards including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America would pay the merchants around $6.5 billion, the report said, citing some of the people.” Read more | WSJ article (Subs.)

 

BJ’s Wholesale CEO Chris Baldwin speaks to CNBC about the company’s IPO 6:11 video

 

Exclusive: Inside Target’s top secret test store by Mark Wilson at Fast Company. “This Target is a full-sized store, but because it’s squeezed into the geometric limitations of a city block, its sections have been Tetrised together…“We’re working towards a new men’s grooming pilot,” says De Salvatore as we pass. “That goes live pretty soon.” Read more

 

Kroger establishes digital HQ in Downtown Cincy to house 1,000 jobs by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. Read more

 

U.S. fines CVS $1.5 million for failing to report opioid theft in New York at Reuters. Read more

 

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Kroger builds new store across from HQ by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “McMullen: “I’m sure the store director there may get more help than he or she wants.”…It’ll feature a bar and food hall on the second floor. “That will be something new for us,” McMullen said of the food hall.” Read more

 

Inside The Container Store’s next-generation flagship by Faith Isbell at Dallas Business Journal. 12 pics / Read more

 

Rite Aid plays Barry Manilow songs over and over again outside their stores to deter loiterers…but it’s angering the locals by Kathleen A. Hughes at Wall Street Journal. “Lisa Masters…says she had been worried about noise from the local bar scene. Instead, she heard Barry Manilow—at all hours, and at top volume. She couldn’t enjoy her patio or open her window without hearing “…oh Mandy…” Read more (Subs.)

 

Field Agent: One Year Later: Lidl Shoppers Share Likes, Dislikes “To the full sample of 268 Lidl shoppers, Field Agent posed the question, “What 3 words would you use to describe Lidl?” Clean (74 mentions), Affordable (42), Convenient (33).” Read more/Video

 

Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid lose $11 billion in value after Amazon buys online pharmacy PillPack at CNBC. Read more

 

…FDA chief on Amazon’s health-care move: ‘Disruptive competition is a good thing’ at CNBC. Read more

 

PORK CARTEL? – A New Lawsuit Says Big Pork Producers Are Colluding to Raise Prices by Natasha Bach at Fortune. “According to the suit, since at least 2009, these pork producers have shared confidential information about their companies with competitors through a market monitor called Agri Stats. The exchange of information, the suit claims, was used to allow the companies to monitor each other’s production and thereby control supply and price.” Read more

 

Retailers Say Customer Service Will Suffer under ‘Deeply Flawed’ California Privacy Law “The law prohibits retailers from treating customers who opt out of data sharing any differently from those who do not, a provision that could put an end to retail loyalty programs that offer discounts to members.” Press release

 

H&M will be discounting clothes all summer by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “We went into the second quarter carrying too much stock,” said Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson in a statement on Thursday about the company’s most recent financial performance.” Read more

 

LuLaRoe And The Evel Knievel Family Announce Licensing Partnership Press release

 

The Recycling Game Is Rigged Against You by Faye Flam at Bloomberg. “In a paper published last week in Science Advances, she and her colleagues calculated that between now and 2030, 111 million metric tons of potentially recyclable plastic will be diverted from Chinese plants into landfills.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Produce groups to Kroger on 90-day payment plan: ‘fix this mess’

48 Music Biz Jobs of Tomorrow

Trader Joe’s employees share 8 annoying things they wish shoppers would stop doing

Walmart to shutter stores in Arkansas, Illinois and Texas

Review: The Go-Go’s reunite for sold-out show in Oakland

Deloitte CEO’s future in doubt as she’s not renominated by board

Publix buys all Safeway stores in Florida

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Brand Finance: America’s 500 Most Valuable Brands 2018 (Amazon #1, Walmart #8, Home Depot #11, Walgreens #44, Target #48) Full list

 

Amazon Workers Facing Firing Can Appeal to a Jury of Their Co-Workers by Spencer Soper at Bloomberg. “Employees can dismiss some panelists they worry will be unsympathetic. It didn’t help much, she says: At the hearing, the videoconference made it difficult to connect with any of the panelists or engage on a personal level, and she sweated through her shirt. She wasn’t invited to watch her boss’s presentation, and he got the last word. She waited by the phone until the career ambassador called to tell her she’d lost.” Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

Valerie Casey to lead Walmart’s aggressive design push by Mark Wilson at Fast Company. “She’s tasked with leading the company’s next big step into the future: merging Walmart’s thousands of stores, dozens of apps, and website into one seamless experience. And she’s coming in at the highest role a designer has ever taken at Walmart–as an officer.” Read more

 

Amazon’s favorite poaching ground for senior executives is Microsoft at CNBC. “Amazon has hired at least 30 executives from Microsoft in the years between 2015 and 2017.” Read more

 

Why Retailers Are Installing Blue Lights In Bathrooms to Discourage Drug Use by Monica Rodriguez at Fortune. “The theory is that drug users, who often use the privacy of bathroom stalls to shoot up heroin and other drugs, would have difficulty finding their veins. Turkey Hill Minit Markets, a 260-store chain in Pennsylvania, is one of two convenience store chains that have teamed with University of Florida’s Loss Prevention Research Council to field-test the bulbs’ effectiveness.” Read more

 

Darcy Penick named President of Bergdorf Goodman ” She joined Saks in 2006, and then transitioned to Shopbop in 2009 as the Divisional Merchandise Manager. She was promoted to Chief Merchandising Officer within four years and in 2016 was appointed Chief Executive Officer.” Press release

 

Walmart-Led Blockchain Effort Seeks Farm-to-Grocery-Aisle View of Food Supply Chain by Kim S. Nash at Wall Street Journal. “In a blockchain test last year, he says,  his team traced a similar batch of mangoes from a Mexican orchard to a Walmart store in 2.2 seconds, Mr. Yiannas says. That’s much faster than the six days and 18 hours the trace-back took gathering data from paper, barcodes, and other sources, he says.” Read more (Subs.)

 

Upscale underwear maker Tommy John is opening its second brick-and-mortar store by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “…in SouthPark mall (Charlotte). Tommy John currently operates only one other store, which opened last October at the King of Prussia mall outside Philadelphia.” Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

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All Toys R Us stores will close on or before Friday at USA Today. Read more

 

…Former Toys R Us CEO considering a revival of the bankrupt retailer at CNBC. “Bloomberg reported Monday afternoon that Jerry Storch has been working with Credit Suisse Group as a financial advisor.” Read more

 

PGA Tour Superstore plans to grow from 33 stores to 40 this year…50 by 2020 by Mike Buteau at Forbes. “We have an insatiable appetite for growth,” Dick Sullivan, PGA Tour Superstore President and CEO, said during a recent interview…”It’s not a question of capital. Arthur Blank has plenty of money. It’s really a question of resources.” Read more

 

Amazon is the #4 Advertiser at Ad Age. Tiered subs.

 

Man posed as IRS agent to cash in $224K in Target gift cards by Mark Reilly at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “According to the complaint against Zhang, the scam worked like this: Victims get a call from someone pretending to be a tax collector from the IRS and are told they’re facing arrest if they don’t pay up. In this case, “paying up” means buying thousands of dollars worth of Target Corp. gift cards with cash and turning over the activation codes to the “tax collector.” Read more

 

Hudson’s Bay in talks with Signa for Kaufhof joint venture via Financial Post. Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

P&G’s Incontinence Problem: How to Get Women Into Adult Diapers by Sharon Terlep at Wall Street Journal. “It gave me goosebumps,” Fama Francisco, who runs P&G’s feminine-care division, said of data showing potential growth in category. “Thank god we entered when we did.” Read more (Subs.)

 

Home Depot ups Stacey Tank to VP of Home Services PR Week Subs.

 

Party City will open roughly 50 Toy City pop-up stores in September at CNBC. “The locations will sit alongside its Halloween City shops and run through the holiday season. The company hopes to capitalize on Toys R Us’ demise, which left a void in the toy industry.” Read more

 

NEBRASKA – Costco poultry operation proposed in Lancaster County by Matt Olberding at Lincoln Journal Star. “It’s the first application in Lancaster County for a poultry operation related to the Costco plant, and it’s not being well received. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department already has received more than 50 emails from people in opposition to the proposal.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Target’s chief diversity officer not afraid to stand out in crowd, push tough conversations

DC Partners With Walmart For 100-Page ‘Giant’ Comic Book Line

Why designers and chains are downplaying their plus-size lines

Elon Musk is reportedly running an exclusive private school out of SpaceX’s headquarters

Coors said to be in talks with marijuana companies about infused beverages

Kroger set to hire nearly 600 employees in downtown Cincy

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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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A tech goof might have just leaked the date for Amazon Prime Day at CNBC. “This year’s Amazon Prime Day is reportedly scheduled to start around midday July 16 and continue through the following day. The information was accidentally published on a banner of Amazon’s U.K. website this week, according to TechRadar.” Read more

 

Kroger Q1 Supermarket Comp Sales Without Fuel +1.4% “When calculating identical sales to (include) Kroger Specialty Pharmacy and ship-to-home solutions – Kroger’s identical sales, without fuel, were 1.9% in the first quarter. The company intends to use this calculation going forward.” Press release

 

…Kroger tightens 2018 profit forecast, shares soar at Fox Business. “Kroger raised the lower end of its adjusted profit forecast to a range of $2 to $2.15 per share from $1.95 to $2.15 per share estimated previously.” Read more

 

How Amazon Became One of Washington’s Most Powerful Players by Brody Mullins, Laura Stevens and John D. McKinnon at Wall Street Journal. “Amazon now has an army of nearly 100 lobbyists at more than a dozen lobbying firms working on a list of issues including taxes, trade, government procurement, internet policy, drone regulation, grocery rules, music licensing and, more recently, food stamps.” Read more (Subs.)

 

Stitch Fix shares pop on speculation of Oprah taking stake in the company at CNBC. “A representative for Winfrey later told Bloomberg the speculation wasn’t true. Stitch Fix declined CNBC’s request for comment.” Read more

 

Amazon’s try-before-you-buy fashion service is now available to all Prime members — but the discounts are gone by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The Prime Wardrobe service gives customers seven days to try on a wide range of clothing…at home before being charged for the items they want to keep. Customers have to order at least three items and no more than eight (that’s down from a maximum of 15 at the launch of the beta program and 10 in November).” Read more

 

Mass. could be third state with both $15 minimum wage and paid leave by Katie Johnson at Boston Globe. Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

Walmart ‘surprised’ old store is a migrant shelter by Michael Corkery at NY Times via CNBC. “But real estate records pointed to the potential use. A Walmart executive signed a document that indicated the buyer was purchasing the property with a $4.5 million loan from a nonprofit that runs migrant children shelters.” Read more

 

Aldi Named America’s Grocery Value Leader for the Eighth Consecutive Year Press release

 

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Skyrocketing insulin prices provoke new outrage by Nathaniel Weixel at The Hill. “The price for a vial of one the most popular insulin brands, Humalog, increased from $21 in 1996, to $35 in 2001, to $234 in 2015, to $275 in 2017.” Read more

 

Buffett, Bezos and Dimon’s pick to change health care is known as a thought leader, not necessarily a business leader at CNBC. “It’s a strange pick,” said Craig Garthwaite, director of the Health Enterprise Management Program at Northwestern…”I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a great physician who can run a hospital. But does he know how to run a (pharmacy benefits manager), deal with pharmaceutical companies and the business side of health care?” Read more

 

Pilot Flying J Reveals Most Popular Food and Beverage Items by State (NY – Hot Dog, MN – Egg Rolls) Press release/List

 

Why Petco’s CEO Choice is So Intriguing at Pet Business. “…at a time when Millennials are playing an increasingly vital role…(Ron) Coughlin brings to his new role a successful track record of engaging this demographic. This was true not only at HP Inc…but also in his previous role as chief marketing officer for PepsiCo’s $10-billion-plus international beverage business.” Read more

 

Trader Joe’s ranks #1 among multichannel retailers in Forrester Research’s 2018 U.S. Customer Experience Index (Costco #2, BJ’s #5) at Supermarket News. Read more

 

Stolen special edition Neiman Marcus car recovered from Mississippi River by Janice Broach at WMC Action News 5. “It was full of mud weighed a ton,” said D.C. Thompson with Lazer Towing. “It was hard to get out. Was no fish in it.”…Neiman Marcus made 50 of the special cars. The only one in Memphis was purchased at Infiniti of Memphis by a man who lives in Memphis.” Video/Pic/Read more

 

Bossa Nova just raised another $29 million for its grocery store robots used by Walmart at CNBC. Read more

 

Field Agent Study: 65% of the 451 online grocery-shoppers reported making at least one unplanned purchase during their digital shopping “trip.” Study data

 

REPEAT OFFENDER – Monkey who attacked Home Depot employee attacked another employee the week before at ABC 25 News. “The monkey, named Spanky, was recorded attacking an employee named Marilyn Howard on June 4th, biting and scratching Howard on her arms, back, and face…In the video, you can hear an employee say to Ballard, “Last week, we asked you not to bring it in here!” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Future ‘A Star Wars Story’ Spinoffs on Hold at Lucasfilm

ESPN’s Internal Political Divide: Bristol Tradition vs. “Woke” Reformers

European beers impacted by CO₂ supply shortage

Threshold for harmful chemicals in drinking water lower than thought

The Amazon Fire TV Cube is so good I want one for every TV in my house

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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

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net

 

 

CVS introduces prescription drug delivery at CNBC. “CVS will charge $4.99. For same-day delivery, the company will charge $8.99. It’s now expanding (same-day delivery from NYC) to Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C…CVS will ship the products through the U.S. Postal Service.” Read more

 

Costco’s Craig Jelinek named “Best CEO for Women” (Menear #17, Bezos #24, Joly #39) at MarketWatch. Top 50 list

 

Want to be Walmart CMO? Tony Rogers Switches to Sam’s in New Role by Jack Neff at Ad Age. “Walmart U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Tony Rogers is moving over to sibling Sam’s Club in the newly created role of chief member officer — a surprise move that takes him from running marketing for the world’s biggest retail chain…” Read more (Tiered subs.)

 

Kroger Named to Computerworld’s Top 100 Best Places to Work in IT Press release | Computerworld ranking 

 

Big Companies Are Creating More of Their Ads In-House by Alexandra Bruell at Wall Street Journal. “Shortly after Chief Marketing Officer Whit Alexander joined Best Buy in 2015, the electronics retailer ended its agency-of-record relationship with Crispin Porter + Bogusky and began investing in more of its own marketing capabilities, hiring designers, writers and production talent. More recently, Best Buy has invested in analytics talent as it seeks to create more targeted and effective ads, and plans to hire dozens of marketing folks across creative and media, Mr. Alexander says.” Read more (Subs.)

 

Here’s what Walgreens’ new downtown digs will look like by Brigid Sweeney at Crain’s Chicago Business. “Standing in the marble lobby of the long-vacant Old Main Post Office in the Loop, Walgreens co-COO Alex Gourlay and Mayor Rahm Emanuel this morning unveiled a glimpse of the drugstore giant’s huge new downtown office…” Pics/Read more

 

At Home Chief Merchandising Officer Honored With 2018 Women In Business Award Press release

 

Wayfair finalizes Boston’s second-largest office deal of 2018 by Catherine Carlock at Boston Business Journal. “Wayfair Inc. has finalized a lease for 395,000 square feet in Back Bay…second only to Amazon’s 430,000-square-foot office lease in Boston’s Seaport District.” Read more

 

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Best Buy signs lease for DC in North Carolina’s Raleigh/Durham area by Ben Graham at Triangle Business Journal. Read more

 

Toys ‘R’ Us says more than 115 companies interested in brand by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “…it has had “substantive communication with over 85 such parties.” An auction date to sell its US intellectual property was pushed back last week to Aug. 6 from Monday…” Read more

 

53% of adults between the ages of 21 and 37 are receiving financial help from a parent or guardian at CNBC. Read more

 

Why food companies and supermarkets are threatened by the rise of takeout, drive-thrus and meal kits by Spencer Jakab at Wall Street Journal. “According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, food spending for meals prepared at home grew by less than 2% a year from 2013 to 2016 while spending on meals prepared elsewhere grew more than 20%.” Read more (Subs.)

 

Rent-A-Center to be Acquired by Vintage Capital for $15.00 Per Share in Cash Press release

 

Amazon targets hotels with new ‘Alexa for Hospitality’ voice service, inks Marriott deal by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

Home Depot to be third major U.S. retailer to ban deadly paint strippers Read more

 

Will Cabela’s credit card office stay in Lincoln? Some aren’t so sure by Paige Yowell at Omaha World-Herald.”Capital One says it plans to keep the Cabela’s credit card office in Lincoln it acquired last year, but some experts say that’s no long-term guarantee. The office services the Cabela’s CLUB credit card and has more than 450 employee.” Read more

 

Amazon HQ receives 150k signatures urging company to stop selling facial recognition software to cops by Monica Nickelsburg a GeekWire. Read more

 

Bain to acquire Varsity Brands, a top maker of cheerleader uniforms and school spirit items, for roughly $2.5 billion at CNBC. Read more

 

Burglars make off with $100k of Apple products after rappelling through Best Buy store ceiling at WSB-TV 2 Atlanta. “Someone that comes in, it’s a ‘Mission Impossible’ style burglary,” Sgt. Robert Parsons told Petchenik. Parsons said once inside, the burglars burrowed into a storage room and stole thousands in iPhones, iPads, Mac books and more.” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

This watch is made from melted down guns

‘Get rich with Amazon’ schemers to pay up to $102M in settlement with FTC

Google to Fix Location Data Leak in Google Home, Chromecast

“Shane” to Appear in ‘Walking Dead’ Season 9

‘Gotti’: How John Travolta Tried — and Failed — to Save His Passion Project

Armed man who shot, killed Walmart gunman is a pastor

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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