Tipsheet: Container Store +5.4% | Big 5 +0.3% | $30 Mall Parking

 

US GDP rose a better-than-expected 1.9% in the third quarter as consumers continued to spend at CNBC. “Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected the first look at U.S. economic growth in the third quarter to come in at a 1.6% rate…Personal consumption expenditures, a gauge of spending by American households, rose at a 2.9% annualized rate while government spending grew at a 2% rate.” Read more

 

How HBC’s CEO Is Trying to Win Canadians Back to Hudson’s Bay by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “(Helena Foulkes) said that the Neiman Marcus that opened in Manhattan in March has so far had “no effect” on business at the Saks flagship, which recently underwent a $250 million renovation.  She added that Nordstrom, which last week opened a massive New York City store, doesn’t serve exactly the same customer. Foulkes did acknowledge that both rivals had done a “good job” with their first entrants into the world of New York City department stores.” Read more

 

…Helena Foulkes: ‘Barneys is an example of how tough it is out there’ at CNBC. “Foulkes: ‘People … loved Barneys. We hope very much to learn from what they loved about Barneys [to] help us build on our experiences themselves.’” Read more

 

Stitch Fix Is Diving Deep Into Data for a More Tailored Experience by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Now Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake is laying the groundwork for her company’s next chapter. She wants to tap Stitch Fix’s data-crunching prowess to even more accurately predict what shoppers want to buy and keep, and to drum up more business between so-called fixes.” Read more

 

The Container Store Group Q2 comp sales +5.4% Press release

 

J&J’s own expert, working for FDA, found asbestos in Baby Powder by Chad Terhune & Lisa Girion at Reuters. “The private Maryland lab that found asbestos in Baby Powder under a contract with the FDA is run by a paid expert witness for J&J. Andreas Saldivar, laboratory director of AMA Analytical Services Inc, has served as a litigation expert on several occasions for J&J…” Read more

 

Big 5 Sporting Goods Q3 comp sales +0.3% Press release

 

Walmart and Green Dot Extend Relationship and Form Fintech Accelerator “Walmart and Green Dot have agreed to jointly establish a new fintech accelerator under the name “TailFin Labs, LLC,” with its mission to develop innovative products.” Press release

 

**A message from Real Coconut Water: 100% pure, sweet coconut water. Your #1 source for private label organic coconut water in Tetra Pak. Sell sheet | Website | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Shopify Q3 revenue +45% Press release

 

El Paso Walmart offers glimpse at memorial for mass shooting victims, reopening pushed back to Nov. 14th by Aaron Montes at El Paso Times via USA Today. “Walmart also plans a memorial it calls “The Grand Candela,” which will emit a beam of light at the southern side of the property. It’ll be surrounded by decorative metal fencing to commemorate the events of Aug. 3. The attack resulted in the death of 22; 25 were injured during the shooting.” Read more

 

Gap’s new CMO on what’s hot in retail and the rise of the female CMO by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “One of Gap’s biggest goals, in addition to reconnecting with its core customer, is building new connections with younger generations, O’Hare says, noting that the group is “one of the most anxious and stressed out consumer bases” out there.” Tiered subs.

 

Puma sees basketball and retail stores as the ways to fuel its rapid growth at CNBC. “China is Puma’s number one priority, Petrick said. Asia is the company’s fastest growing region, with 28.5% sales growth in the third quarter.” Read more

 

Venmo’s debit card now gives you 5 percent cash back at Target, Sephora, and Wendy’s by Jay Peters at The Verge. Read more

 

It costs as much as $30 to park at the American Dream mall by Matt Arco at NJ Advance Media. “Gov. Phil Murphy is among the critics of the retail and entertainment complex’s paid parking plan, which he said Tuesday night is like “taking it through the nose.” Especially considering more than $1 billion in taxpayer money could be involved in helping American Dream.” Read more

 

Lululemon CEO: To really pop our menswear line, more men need to know we actually have one at CNBC. “We know our awareness and consideration within the men’s category is still low, and that is where the opportunity lies,” (CEO) McDonald said on “Halftime Report.” Read more/Video

 

Salvage shops offer sustainable decor with a story by Katherine Roth at AP. “Two of the hottest trends in home decor are sustainability and authenticity. No wonder architectural salvage shops are busy…“When you can point to your floor and say it came from an old shoe factory in Connecticut, for example, that’s a big attraction,” (publisher Rich Ellis) says. There are between 500 and 700 architectural salvage businesses across the country.” Read more

 

The $280 swim trunks Jeff Bezos wore this summer are now sold out basically everywhere by Rachel Tashijan at GQ. “He wore them over and over throughout his vacation, leading some outlets to wonder if he only had one pair of swim trunks—and a ton of people to hunt for the funky printed trunks.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

The Top-Earning Dead Celebrities Of 2019

Lowe’s Announces 2019 Vendor And Innovation Partners Of The Year

Amazon hopes $1.5 mil elects pro-business Seattle leaders

‘Pokemon Go’ Hits $3B in Lifetime Revenue

Stray roosters seen at Dollar General store are free to take

Kind Healthy Snacks to lay off 15% of its employees by year-end

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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Tipsheet: Wgreen -100 HQ | Holiday Digital +14% | Amazon -$180 Fresh

 

Amazon makes grocery delivery free with Prime by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “…no longer charging an extra $15 per month, or $180 per year, for Amazon Fresh delivery on top of the $119 annual Prime fee. (Amazon) is also expanding and further integrating Whole Foods Market into its grocery delivery and pickup service.” Read more

 

Walgreens lays off employees at Deerfield HQ, scraps annual bonuses and boosts cost-cutting goal to $1.8 billion by Lisa Schencker at Chicago Tribune. “More than 100 employees in the Deerfield office lost their jobs, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Walgreens spokesman Jim Cohn declined to comment on how many employees were laid off…” Tiered subs.

 

…Walgreens to shutter 40% of in-store clinics at AP. “The company said Monday that it will close 150 Walgreens-run clinics by the end of the year, but it will keep open more than 200 that are run in partnership with health care providers.” Read more

 

…Walgreens to open 100 Jenny Craig sites “…will offer…private one-on-one consultations, a customized menu plan and meal delivery…marks the first time Jenny Craig will offer its services at a national drugstore chain in the U.S.” Press release

 

Nordstrom family won’t raise its stake in department store chain; shares fall at CNBC. “Nordstrom also said Monday that its board has had talks with co-presidents Pete and Erik Nordstrom around succession planning…Nordstrom has recently added two new positions to the management team — Teri Bariquit as chief merchandising officer, and Ken Worzel as chief operating officer.” Read more

 

Digital spending during November and December is expected to reach $143.7 billion, up 14.1% from a year ago, according to a study by Adobe Analytics at CNBC. Read more

 

Saudi perfume retailer teams up to buy Barneys by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “David Jackson, a former owner of the luxury department store, plans to stride into a final sales hearing on Thursday with a last-minute bid to buy the 96-year-old department store chain, he told The Post.” Read more

 

Marathon Petroleum Plans to Spin Off Gas Stations, May Shake Up Leaders by Rebecca Elliot & Corrie Driebusch at Wall Street Journal. “As part of a truce with Elliott, Marathon’s board is discussing changes, including a spinoff of its sprawling gas-station operation and potentially replacing Chairman and CEO Gary Heminger and other executives, the people said…Marathon owns and operates roughly 4,000 convenience stores in the U.S., largely under the Speedway brand.” WSJ subs.

 

Tesco will next week become the first major British supermarket group to offer a subscription customer loyalty scheme at Reuters. Read more

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – High quality cookware made for the cabin, camping, RVs & hunting and fishing trips. 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Amazon poised to escalate Pentagon ‘war cloud’ fight at The Hill. “Last week, a speechwriter for former Defense Secretary James Mattis alleged just that, claiming in an excerpt of his upcoming book that Trump wanted to “screw” Amazon by giving the contract to another company.” Read more

 

Sally Beauty hires Ex-Victoria’s Secret exec as Group Vice President, Stores for Beauty Systems Group Press release

 

Why Department Stores Are Becoming…Restaurants by Jacob Gallagher at Wall Street Journal. “Marc Metrick, the president of Saks Fifth Avenue, noted that about 50% of L’Avenue’s patrons arrive through the restaurant’s dedicated entrance—but no matter. Even if the diners fail to combine aubergine grillée burrata with sweater-browsing that day, the hope is that they’ll remember Saks next time they do need a knit.” WSJ subs.

 

Raley’s Closes 27 Pharmacy Locations Press release

 

Walmart Sparks Panic and Confusion in the Dish-Soap Aisle by Sharon Terlep & Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “Proctor & Gamble  didn’t make enough dish soap, and Walmart is letting all its customers know about it.Adding to the confusion, some rival retailers said they had plenty of soap. P&G wasn’t pleased, as some at the company worried the warnings could exacerbate the problem by causing a run on the product, according to people familiar with the matter.” WSJ subs.

 

Tipsheet Extra

One family built Forever 21, and fueled its collapse

CBD: ‘This Generation’s Snake Oil’

Game of Thrones showrunners quit Star Wars trilogy

Google reportedly in talks to acquire Fitbit

Apple announces AirPods Pro with noise cancellation

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Tipsheet: Amazon +100K in 3 | Target No Robots | Mattress ‘Car’ Loans

 

Amazon clobbered after a miss on the bottom line and soft guidance at CNBC. “Amazon’s fourth-quarter revenue guidance came in between $80.0 billion to $86.5 billion, far below the street’s average estimate of $87.4 billion, indicating the all-important holiday shopping season may be underwhelming.” Read more

 

…Amazon will spend nearly $1.5B in Q4 for one-day delivery initiative as shipping costs skyrocket by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

…Amazon tops 750,000 employees for the first time, adding nearly 100,000 people in three months by Nat Levy at GeekWire. Read more

 

…Amazon’s advertising business is growing like crazy at CNBC. “Net sales in Amazon’s “other” category, which primarily represents advertising, was $3.59 billion in the third quarter, up from $2.50 billion in the third quarter of 2018. The quarter saw 45% year-over-year growth in the segment…” Read more

 

Massive American Dream mall to open but will shoppers come? at AP. “This development will either sink or swim,” said Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer of Publicis Communications. “It’s going to be tough to get a lot of attention when you are next to a much bigger amusement park — Manhattan.” Read more

 

H&M opens new-look small boutique in Berlin, plans more at Reuters. “We need stores closer to where people hang out. We are not used to operating in smaller spaces,” said Anna Bergare, head of business development at the H&M Lab, which is testing new concepts and technology.” Read more

 

Walmart kicks off shorter holiday shopping season with deals starting Friday by Kelly Tyko at USA Today. “Beginning at midnight Eastern time on Friday, Walmart is launching Early Deals Drops on Walmart.com, which Bratspies said is earlier than ever. He shared some of what the company called “top deals,” which include a VIZIO 55-inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV for $398, a $100 savings.” Read more

 

**A message from BK Resources – The Best Kept secret for commercial and food service kitchen equipment. Stainless steel: commercial faucets, sinks, work tables, bar equipment, ice bins & more. Catalog | Website

 

How Best Buy’s Corie Barry Went From Being Seen as ‘a Risk’ at the Company to Its CEO by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Early on in her nearly 20-year career at Best Buy, Corie Barry was deemed a “risk to the organization” in a performance review. Unnerved by the assessment, Barry decided to work on what she was told were her shortcomings, rather than bolt. “You can decide somewhere here there is a nugget of truth, somewhere in here there are things I need to work on,” Barry told the audience at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women summit on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. “I buckled down.” And at the next assessment, she brought her own development plan.” Video/Read more

 

Carter’s Q3 net sales +2.1% Press release

 

Home-Improvement Boom Is Forecast to Fizzle by Ryan Dezember at Wall Street Journal. “Following years of 5% to 7% growth in spending since last decade’s housing crash, Harvard’s model has been predicting slower growth for the past year or so and an outright decline next year for the first time since 2010.” WSJ subs.

 

Authentic Brands Group emerged as the winning bidder for the bankrupt Barneys on Thursday after two rival attempts fell flat by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The only thing that appears to be keeping ABG from taking possession of Barneys is Barneys itself. The 96-year-old department store chain issued a statement Thursday suggesting that it’s still holding the door open for Ben-Avraham, who has offered to buy Barneys stores in addition to the brands, which could save jobs.” Read more

 

Walmart wants robots in stores. Target doesn’t by Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN. “You won’t see robots in Target stores anytime soon. We really think, even in today’s environment, where people are talking about AI and robotics and different elements of technology, the human touch still really matters,” (CEO Brian) Cornell said.” Read more

 

Senators Ask FTC to Investigate Amazon Over Capital One Hack by Robert McMillan at Wall Street Journal. “The year before Capital One was hacked, a cloud-security consultant named Scott Piper, in an email, warned Amazon that such a server-side request forgery could be used to steal data from Amazon’s customers.” WSJ subs.

 

6-year, 0% loan for a mattress? Intense competition continues to grip mattress industry by Nathan Bomey at USA Today. “Mattress industry executives say they’re not extending loans to borrowers who can’t pay, so there’s no reason to be concerned. But the strategy bears resemblance to how the automotive industry got overextended in the lead-up to the 2008-09 financial crisis.” Read more

 

NRF: Holiday Shoppers Plan to Spend 4 Percent More This Year Press release

 

Amazon Sells Clothes From Factories Other Retailers Blacklist at Wall Street Journal. “A yellow gingham toddler top embroidered with flowers was among those clothes, listed on Amazon for $4.99 by a New York City retailer. The Journal traced the top to a factory in Chittagong, Bangladesh, that has no fire alarms and where doors are of a type managers can lock and keep workers in.” WSJ subs.

 

Bed Bath & Beyond pulls black jack-o’-lanterns following blackface comparisons at Fox News. “The black jack-o’-lanterns showed an “extreme lack of sensitivity,” NAACP Westchester regional director Wilbur Aldridge said, per News 12.” Read more

 

This retail employee is teaching workers how to stop the private equity industry from eating their jobs by Yasmine Gagne at Fast Company. “Sarah Woodhams: ‘(Private equity) made the mistake of going after a very beloved brand, Toys ‘R’ Us, and people took notice of it. People were finally loud about it, and that was sort of [KKR and Bain’s] downfall, because all of a sudden we were bringing predatory practices to light.”’ Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

E-scooter ridership plummets 50% in San Diego

From turning shipping containers into grocery store kiosks to opening its first brick-and-mortar store

Walmart store manager running for Congress

What Handing Out Full Size Candy Bars on Halloween Says About You

Behind AT&T’s plan to take on Netflix, Apple and Disney with HBO Max

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Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

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Tipsheet: Dick’s CEO for President? | NY Times Nordstrom Close-Up | Breaking Bad Fans @ Costco

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO quietly tests presidential bid by Natasha Korecki at Politico. “Various messages were presented to a focus group in southern Wisconsin this week centering on (Ed Stack)…Those in the group were shown several short videos of other candidates including Biden, Warren and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz…but viewed eight or nine videos that included Stack messaging, according to a focus group participant.” Read more

 

Amazon Ready to Pour Billions Into Policing Products on Its Site by Tripp Mickle at Wall Street Journal. “We have to be vigilant and willing to spend hundreds of millions and eventually billions of dollars to protect our customers,” said Mr. Wilke, Amazon’s chief executive of world-wide consumer. He said the company is lobbying for stiffer federal penalties for counterfeiters.” WSJ subs.

 

Deloitte Holiday Study: Shoppers are expected to spend $1,496 per household during the holiday season this year. The top 20% of spenders account for 60% of total dollars people plan to spend during the holiday season. Read more

 

The Michaels Companies Appoints Mark Cosby CEO “Before joining Michaels, Cosby most recently served as President, North America at Office Depot Inc. His previous experience includes senior executive roles as President of Retail at CVS Caremark and a variety of positions at Macy’s Inc., including President, Stores.” Press release

 

Amazon Adds Thousands of New Locations for Free Package Pickup Across the U.S. “Amazon today announced the expansion of Counter, a network of staffed pickup points…customers now have access to thousands more Amazon Hub Counter locations with Amazon’s new store partners GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores.” Press release

 

Inside the Nordstrom Dynasty by Jonah Engel Bromwich at NY Times. “Peter’s band Stag shares its rehearsal space with a strip club in Seattle called Dream Girls SoDo. At a recent rehearsal, Peter (Nordstrom), who is 6-foot-5 and called Pete by everyone, had untucked his immaculate white dress shirt from his slacks, perhaps in an effort to fit in with the T-shirts around him. But his Dries Van Noten shoes clashed with the dirty sneakers of his bandmates. “The strippers love this,” he said, as the four-piece banged out a version of their song “Pied Piper.” Tiered subs.

 

Kroger will hold an investor conference at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Press release

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – High quality cookware made for the cabin, camping, RVs & hunting and fishing trips. 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

David’s Bridal wants to remake itself after bankruptcy with ‘real brides,’ easier returns by Nathan Bomey at USA Today. “David’s Bridal is now allowing store-bought returns on wedding dresses for the first time…The strategy is based on eliminating “friction points” with consumers, including “confusing and conflicting” pricing and ordering policies, said James Marcum, who was appointed CEO in June.” Read more

 

Casey’s General Stores Launches New Brand Platform – “Here for Good” Press release

 

Amazon sues e-commerce ‘coaches,’ alleging they taught underhanded tactics to sellers at GeekWire. “In a new lawsuit, Amazon accuses Michael Gazzola, Matthew Behdjou and several related companies of perpetrating a scheme that includes chains of fake reviews, dishonest marketing, infringement of Amazon’s trademarks and more.” Read more

 

Mattel hires former Walmart exec Danit Marquardt as VP of global corporate communications by Diana Bradley at PR Week. Subs.

 

Gymboree is making a comeback, thanks to a former rival at NJ Advance Media. “The kids apparel store is being revived by former rival The Children’s Place and will relaunch in early 2020 with more than 200 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.” Read more

 

Erik Nordstrom, co-president of Nordstrom, sits down with CNBC to discuss the company’s new planned flagship store and the state of retail at CNBC. 7:54 video

 

Ken Braunbach, Walmart’s vice president of transportation explains why the company pays its truck drivers twice the national median salary by Aaron Holmes at Business Insider. Read more

 

Hackers hover near online shopping carts, too. It’s called e-skimming by Susan Tompor at Detroit Free Press via USA Today. “Many of the bad actors operate out of Eastern Europe. Some groups sell the stolen credit card data on the Web. At least one group has used a complex re-shipping scheme to make money, Browning said.” Read more

 

Former eBay CEO John Donahoe will become Nike’s new CEO at GeekWire. Read more

 

Breaking Bad fanatics line up at Costco to buy ‘Schraderbrau’ from Walter White’s DEA agent brother-in-law at Daily Mail. “A Breaking Bad-themed beer sold out in just three hours during a limited launch in New Mexico, where crazed fans of the hit show lined up to score a bottle. Actor Dean Norris, who played DEA Agent Hank Schrader in the series, promoted the initial batch of ‘Schraderbrau’ beer on Saturday by signing bottles at three Costco locations in Albuquerque.” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Katie Couric steamrolls Sheryl Sandberg in interview

WeWork can no longer afford to move in to former Lord & Taylor building

How will Amazon deliver in Germany, its second biggest market?

Natalie Knight to become new CFO at Ahold Delhaize

Take a peek inside Nordstrom’s luxurious new NYC flagship store

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Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net

Tipsheet: B.Buy Next Day | H.Dep Tornado | Macy’s No Fur

 

Best Buy now offering next-day delivery with no minimum order at AP. “Best Buy says the next day service covers thousands of items but excludes bigger items like TVs and refrigerators.” Read more

 

Destination Maternity to close 183 stores in Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Nathan Bomey at USA Today. “The company had 446 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico as of Aug. 3. It also operated 491 shops-within-a-shop at various department stores and baby specialty retailers.” Read more

 

Walmart CEO writes to PM, seeks stable business environment at The Economic Times. “The letter comes at a time when a body of small traders, which has been accusing Flipkart and Amazon of “unfair business practices” and violation of FDI rules, has stepped up its opposition against the foreign-owned marketplaces.” Read more

 

Nordstrom wants its new Manhattan store to be a place where women can discover new brands at CNBC. “When Nordstrom’s first full-line department store for women in Manhattan opens to the public on Thursday, at 225 West 57th St., there will be a pop-up space for Everlane, a trendy women’s and men’s apparel brand that started on the internet and currently only has a handful of stores in the U.S. You’ll also find Birdies ballet flats, dresses from Reformation, jewelry pieces from Kendra Scott and Dirty Lemon’s collagen- and charcoal-infused beverages.” Read more

 

Dallas tornado rips through Home Depot & Central Market at CBS DFW. Video

 

The market for adult diapers, disposable underwear and absorbent pads is growing fast, up 9% last year to $9 billion, having doubled in the last decade at Reuters. “But manufacturers like market leaders Essity and Kimberly-Clark Corp reckon only half of the more than 400 million adults likely to be affected by weak bladders, are buying the right products, because they are too embarrassed.” Read more

 

Macy’s to stop selling real fur by end of fiscal year 2020 at AP. Read more

 

**A message from EasyLock keyless locking deadbolt: Deadbolts are useless if left unlocked. EasyLock = no key required/twist to lock. Video | Sell sheet | Sample @ info@eyeonretail.net

 

Former Stitch Fix COO is rewriting the e-commerce playbook by Kate Clark at TechCrunch. “Coming out of stealth today, the team at The Yes is readying a beta mode to better understand and refine their product. Bornstein and Aggarwal have raised $30 million in venture capital funding to date across two financings.” Read more

 

Barneys may cut hundreds of staffers within weeks by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Barneys informed 785 employees across New York that they could lose their jobs on Nov. 1. The layoffs would include staffers at Barneys’ two Manhattan stores, including the Madison Avenue flagship; its e-commerce unit and back-office facility in Long Island City; its Woodbury Common outlet center and its Fifth Avenue headquarters, the notice said.” Read more

 

Top radio advertisers for the week: Walgreens #3 (up from #45), Home Depot #5 (down from #1) at Radio Ink. Read more

 

United Colors of Benetton to open its first U.S. Pop-Up shop in more than 4 years Press release

 

Under Armour’s Kevin Plank says he and new CEO Patrik Frisk will ‘divide and conquer’ at CNBC. “(Frisk) will still report into Plank, however, as the founder transitions to an executive chairman role and becomes brand chief…“It will empower us. It’s gonna be freedom,” Plank told CNBC’s Courtney Reagan in an interview.” Video/Read more

 

Synchrony and Dick’s Sporting Goods Announce a Multi-year Extension Press release

 

Tipsheet Extra

The 10 food trends Whole Foods says you’ll eat up in 2020

Moon’s browser extension lets you pay with bitcoin on Amazon

‘Breaking Bad’ Restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos Comes to Life

Founder of restaurant on the 9th floor of Barneys escorted out of the building

Jeff Bezos unveils partners in building a human-capable lunar landing system

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Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

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Tipsheet: Costco Chicken Plant Up | Amazon Expired Food | Casper IPO?

 

Hudson’s Bay to be taken private by chairman-led group at Reuters. “Hudson’s Bay Co said on Monday it has agreed to a higher offer from a group of shareholders led by its Executive Chairman Richard Baker to take the struggling Canadian department store chain private. The group has offered C$10.30 per share in cash for the 43% of shares it does not own, representing a premium of about 9% to the company’s closing price on Friday.” Read more

 

Amazon is shipping expired food, scaring consumers and putting big brands at risk at CNBC. “A data analytics firm that specializes in the Amazon Marketplace recently analyzed the site’s 100 best-selling food products for CNBC and found that at least 40% of sellers had more than five customer complaints about expired goods.” Read more

 

Instacart agrees to $11M settlement after drivers said they were skimped on wages by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The settlement comes as Instacart — valued at $7 billion — faces a worker strike planned for next month by a group of drivers and shoppers, according to a Medium blog post.” Read more

 

Alphabet subsidiary Wing is now delivering snacks and health care products to residents of Christiansburg, Virginia at The Verge. Read more

 

Online Influencers Tell You What to Buy, Advertisers Wonder Who’s Listening by Suzanne Kapner & Sharon Terlep at Wall Street Journal. “Ipsy, an online cosmetic brand, was a pioneer in paying social-media stars hefty fees to promote its eye shadow and lip gloss in Instagram posts and YouTube videos. Now, the brand is leading the way again, this time by pulling back.” WSJ subs.

 

Amazon is now funding computer science courses in more than 2,000 high schools Press release

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – Utensils perfect for the cabin, camping, RVs, hunting and fishing. High quality and 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Massive Costco chicken plant up and running despite concerns about the facility and suppliers by Paul Hammel at Omaha World Herald. “A $450 million campus of buildings that opened recently in Fremont will eventually process 2 million chickens a week, or about 100 million a year, enough to supply a third of Costco’s demand for both roasted and fresh chicken.” Read more

 

Feds seek to have Academy Sports added to Sutherland Springs mass shooting case by Paul Takahashi at Houston Chronicle. Tiered subs.

 

Grocery sales are rising but so is the pressure on profits, analyst says at CNBC. “Walmart has a 22% share of the $847 billion U.S. grocery industry…(Walmart’s) same-store sales growth at its grocery business has been outperforming rival supermarket chains since 2017, but the gap is narrowing. Also, as food prices are disinflating, grocery gross margins have worsened for Walmart, Wolf said Friday in a research note.” Read more

 

Casper Is Said to Work With Morgan Stanley, Goldman on IPO by Crystal Tse & Alistair Barr at Bloomberg. “The company also plans to open hundreds of physical stores. Part of its motive for going public is to raise capital for that expansion, one of the people said.” Tiered subs.

 

Amazon workers ‘forced to go back to work’ after fellow employee dies on shift by Dana Schuster at NY Post. Read more

 

‘Murder Kroger’ has long lived in Atlanta lore. A major rehab may finally put the painful nickname to rest at CNN. “The new Kroger reopened on October 16 along the Atlanta BeltLine, a popular multiuse trail. It features a large outdoor seating area, a Starbucks and a BBQ restaurant. Local headlines dubbed the store “Beltline Kroger,” while others refused to let “Murder Kroger” die.” Read more

 

A law from the 1600s will keep retail shops closed on Sundays at the nation’s newest shopping mall at CNBC. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Fortune: Top 10 Sustainability All Stars

New Cosmic Crisp apples expected to be a game changer

Online ordering boom gives rise to virtual restaurants

Amazon will move into the former Necco factory in Boston area

Burglar hid in Costco for hours before stealing $13K worth of jewelry

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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: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net

Tipsheet: WM Virtual Store | Amazon #3 Brand | B.Buy Untuck | Albertsons +2.4%

 

Amazon Holiday Toy List Slots Can Cost Brands Up to $2 Million by Spencer Soper & Matthew Townsend at Bloomberg. “It’s perfectly legal for Amazon to sell advertising on its site. It becomes a problem when the world’s largest online retailer tells shoppers recommendations are curated by experts but doesn’t disclose the money it gets from the toy industry, said Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.” Tiered subs.

 

Barneys enters deal to sell assets to Authentic Brands, B. Riley for $271 million cash at Reuters. “Any further bids must be received before a deadline on Oct. 22, according to the filing. In the absence of further bids by the deadline, the company will go ahead with the deal with Authentic Brands and B. Riley.” Read more

 

Walmart and Mattel Lease ‘Floors’ in a Virtual Toy Store Run on Interactive Video by Sahil Patel at Wall Street Journal. “In Walmart’s Toy Lab, for example, users can examine, test and watch children (played by actors) play with 40 different toys including a transforming Batmobile and a Star Wars lightsaber. On Mattel’s Barbie DreamFloor, users can help Barbie create her own video blog—or “vlog” in web parlance—while browsing products such as a Barbie house or space shuttle.” WSJ subs.

 

Interbrand: Best Global Brands 2019 (Amazon #3, H&M #30, ebay #44, Tiffany #94) Top 100 list

 

Albertsons Q2 ID sales +2.4% Press release

 

Best Buy relaxes dress code to allow workers in blue shirts to wear jeans by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “They also no longer have to tuck in their shirts and can wear any color shoe (as long as they’re not flip-flops or sandals) instead of having to only wear black shoes.” Tiered subs.

 

**A message from Real Coconut Water: 100% pure, sweet coconut water. PL or branded organic in Tetra Pak. Sell sheet | Website | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Casey’s names Tom Brennan as Chief Merchandising Officer “Brennan joins Casey’s from CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., the parent of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, where he was Chief Operating Officer.” Press release

 

NRF: Retail sales in September were down 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from August but up 4.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year Press release

 

Did a Muslim Slave Make Your Chinese Shirt? by Jianli Yang & Lianchao Han at Wall Street Journal. “The forced-labor economy appears designed to meet two goals: earn money for the state and politically “stabilize” Xinjiang through economic performance to legitimize Communist rule over the region. Inmates in Xinjiang prisons serve as a key labor force in the cotton value chain, from cotton-field reclamation and construction of irrigation systems to planting, harvesting, processing and garment production.” WSJ subs.

 

Alibaba Group thwarts 300 million hack attempts per day, founder Jack Ma says at CNBC. Read more

 

Amazon dumps $1 million into Seattle elections by Reid Wilson at The Hill. “This year, three incumbents are running for re-election, including one, Kshama Sawant, who voted against repealing the ($275-per-employee) tax. Four open seat races are being fought between two candidates who won the most votes in the August 6 election.” Read more

 

Kroger workers say firings and job changes have sparked fear and ‘chaos’ in some stores by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. Read more

 

Lowe’s Canada says there is no plan to transfer 200 IT jobs from Longueuil to Bangalore, India Press release

 

Patagonia founder talks about the sustainability myth and the problem with Amazon by Jeff Beer at Fast Company. “I’m an avowed socialist. I’m proud of it. That was a dirty word just a few years ago until Bernie Sanders brought it up. It was equated with communism and that whole thing. Yet the countries around the world that are most squared away are all socialistic countries like those in Scandinavia.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Inside James Dyson’s costly decision to kill his electric car

Shoe companies Rothy’s and Steve Madden are at each other’s throats

Hollywood Reporter: The 100 most powerful people in entertainment 2019

Costco poultry plant holding open house Saturday

Family Circle magazine to shut down after December issue

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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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: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net

Tipsheet: CNN Hits Target | WM InHome Live | Lowe’s Upgrade | Barneys in Saks?

 

Walmart will now put groceries right in your fridge, starting in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, FL at CNBC. “InHome grocery delivery is a membership program that is being rolled out at an introductory price of $19.95 a month. It requires shoppers to purchase a $49.95 smart door lock kit or smart garage door kit, which comes with free installation and one month of free unlimited grocery delivery.” Read more

 

Barneys nearing sale to Saks, Authentic Brands by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Saks Fifth Avenue is teaming up with licensing firm Authentic Brands Group to acquire Barneys out of bankruptcy for $270 million, sources told The Post…Under the deal, ABG would acquire the Barneys brand and Saks would pay a licensing fee to operate Barneys.com and create a Barneys store within Saks.” Read more

 

Walmart subsidizing some vendors in price war with Amazon at Ad Age. “Walmart…has introduced a program to temporarily lower the price consumers pay for some items on its marketplace site, where third-party vendors pay Walmart a fee to list their goods. The merchants selling on the site, however, will still be paid the same amount that was listed before the cuts, with Walmart subsidizing the difference, according to a description of the plan obtained by Bloomberg that was confirmed by a Walmart spokeswoman.” Registration/Subs.

 

Amazon Joins Trend of Sending Workers Away for Health Care by Melanie Evans at Wall Street Journal. “One of the latest is Amazon.com which will pay travel costs for workers diagnosed with cancer who choose to see doctors at City of Hope, a Los Angeles-area health system. More than 380,000 of the Seattle-based company’s employees and families across the U.S. are eligible for the travel benefit.” WSJ subs.

 

How Kohl’s is trying to keep its stores fresh ahead of the holidays at CNBC. “At a Kohl’s store here, the retailer has rolled out a space called “Curated by Kohl’s,” to be heading to 50 of Kohl’s roughly 1,100 locations nationwide. It features six brands, including lingerie maker Adore Me and card marker Lovepop. And in these spaces, Kohl’s is working with Facebook — and its massive database of brands that advertise on the social media platform and Instagram — to help market the brands and choose what might rotate in next.” Read more

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – Utensils perfect for the cabin, camping, RVs, hunting and fishing. High quality and 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Panera Bread employee who posted video ‘exposing’ how mac and cheese is prepared was fired at Fox News. Read more

 

How Amazon.com moved into the business of U.S. elections by Nandita Bose at Reuters. “The expansion by Amazon Web Services into state and local elections has quietly gathered pace since the 2016 U.S. presidential vote. More than 40 states now use one or more of Amazon’s election offerings, according to a presentation given by an Amazon executive this year and seen by Reuters.” Read more

 

Walmart’s Flipkart confirms it is entering the food retail business in India by Manish Singh at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Amazon is eating into Google’s dominance in search ads at CNBC. “Amazon’s share is expected to grow to 15.9% by 2021, with Google’s expected to contract slightly to 70.5% of the market.” Read more

 

Piper Jaffray analyst Peter Keith upgraded Lowe’s to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $130, up from $113 at Real Money. Read more

 

Target raised wages. But some workers say their hours were cut, leaving them struggling by Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN Business. “CNN Business interviewed 23 current and former Target employees in recent months, including department managers, who say hours have been scaled back…Andrew, who works at a Target store in Maryland, put it simply: “How are we supposed to be enthusiastic and happy if we’re only working 19 hours a week?” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Underground store for buying stolen credit card data has itself been hacked

Amazon’s rapid expansion in Bellevue could reach 4.8M square feet

Mack Truck workers strike for the first time in decades

2019 C-store design contest honors seven retailers

Woman feels ‘violated’ after Instacart delivery gone bad

Black households can afford just 25% of homes for sale, down from 39% in 2012

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

**

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: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net