Archive for month: April, 2020

 

Macy’s plans to reopen 68 U.S. stores on Monday at Reuters. “It expects to have all of its roughly 775 stores reopened in six weeks, if infection rates taper off as projected and state and local governments allow it.” Read more

 

Walmart CEO joins coronavirus relief effort with business opportunity by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has signed up for the digital fundraising campaign, All-In Challenge…McMillon and his management team have agreed to vet 10 small businesses who participate in auctions for the opportunity to present their business plans. Starting bids for the 10-minute pitches are $5,000 — but only one winner will be featured on Walmart.com.” Read more

 

Facing a lack of passengers, Sun Country Airlines ramps up plan to fly packages for Amazon at CNBC. “Minneapolis-based Sun Country plans to be flying all 10 of the cargo planes by the end of July, earlier than the previous target for summer’s end, CEO Jude Bricker told CNBC on Wednesday.” Read more

 

Kellogg says profit jumps 23% on virus-led stockpiling at Reuters. Read more

 

Mural painted outside Jeff Bezos’ house in protest demanding more coronavirus safety for Amazon workers at Fox News. “A Washington Post reporter at the site tweeted that police were present but kept their distance and that there was no “movement” seen from Bezos’ home. The group of nine finished the mural in about an hour.” Pics/Read more

 

eBay Q1 revenue of $2.374 billion, down 2% on a year ago at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Walmart workers will call out of work, use tracker to protect themselves from COVID-19 at USA Today. “Walmart workers, saying the company is failing to inform and protect them from the spread of COVID-19, will start tracking cases themselves and stay home from work for a day in protest. Over 500 Walmart employees were expected to not report to their jobs Wednesday to signal the launch of a new mapping system…” Read more

 

Tapestry sales plunge nearly 20% as coronavirus pandemic shuts vast majority of its stores at CNBC. “Coach sales fell 20%, while sales at Kate Spade dropped 11%, and sales at its Stuart Weitzman brand plunged 40% during the quarter.” Read more

 

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CVS Health works with Piedmont Healthcare to help create hospital bed capacity in Georgia Press release

 

Walmart’s $14 Million Deal With Pregnant Workers Gets Approval at Bloomberg Law. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $14 million to nearly 4,000 workers who say they were denied accommodations while pregnant, after an Illinois federal court gave final OK for the class action settlement in a case that sheds light on policies that can exclude expecting mothers.” Subs.

 

Amazon says it’s a victim of Trump admin’s ‘personal vendetta’ after landing on counterfeit list at The Verge. “The report, which looks into intellectual property protection and hot spots for counterfeiting and piracy, put Amazon’s Canada, UK, Germany, France, and India websites on the list as online markets for knockoff goods. It’s the first time a US business has been put on the notorious markets list.” Read more

 

Costco will start requiring customers to wear masks Monday at CNN. “Certain exemptions are applied, including for customers under 2-years-old and people who can’t wear one because of a medical condition.” Read more

 

Lysol Maker Bets Cleaning Boom Will Outlast Coronavirus at Wall Street Journal. “A handwash challenge launched by Reckitt’s Dettol brand on TikTok, encouraging people to post videos of themselves dancing while washing their hands, has been viewed more than 88 billion times since mid-March, Mr. Narasimhan said.” WSJ subs.

 

Amazon is cracking down on internal communication after a surge in worker activism at Recode. “This week, Recode has learned that Amazon has started strictly enforcing rules that limit its employees’ internal communications with each other on several large company email listservs…” Read more

 

Rite Aid drive-thru coronavirus testing isn’t hitting full capacity: CEO at Fox Business. “Rite Aid has set up 25 drive-thru coronavirus testing sites at its stores in eight states…”We wish that we had more people coming,” (CEO) Heyward told “Mornings with Maria.” “We’re still not seeing the full volume of people making appointments to get these tests.” Read more

 

Amazon may have violated labor laws by firing worker involved in protest, New York attorney general says at Business Insider. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Mass. Walmart temporarily closing after 23 employees test positive

US patent office rules that artificial intelligence cannot be a legal inventor

Hundreds of Georgia’s poultry workers have tested positive for COVID-19

A scarf a day turns Dr. Birx into pop culture star

Liability shield for businesses emerges as new fight over reopening

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TODAY: Target CEO appears on CBS This Morning to discuss the safety protocols in the stores and how he is addressing concerns from workers 5:16 video

 

GOP Sen. Hawley asks DOJ to open a criminal investigation into Amazon at CNBC. “In his letter to Attorney General William Barr dated Tuesday, Hawley said the Journal’s reporting appears to meet the definition of a punishable crime under antitrust law. “Amazon abuses its position as an online platform and collects detailed data about merchandise so Amazon can create copycat products under an Amazon brand,” he wrote.” Read more

 

YESTERDAY: President Trump opened up a 4 p.m. meeting with industry executives to the smaller White House press pool.

…THE PARTICIPANTS in the 4 p.m. event included: Walgreens President Richard Ashworth…Rite-Aid CEO Heyward Donigan…Walmart CEO Doug McMillon; CVS CEO Larry Merlo; CVS EVP Tom Moriarty…” Politico

 

Walmart Labs will hire 2,800 in India this year at The Times of India. Read more

 

NO CASH PLEASE – Whole Foods stores restricting or even eliminating cash payments at Fortune. Subs.

 

Kroger Health Expands Free Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing to 12 States Press release

 

CVS and UPS team up for drone deliveries to retirees amid coronavirus outbreak at GeekWire. “The service, approved by the Federal Aviation Administration under Part 107 rules, will be available for The Villages, a community in central Florida that’s home to more than 135,000 residents.” Read more

 

Walgreens today announced plans to open COVID-19 testing locations in 49 U.S. states Press release

 

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Target’s Brian Cornell made $21.6 million last fiscal year at Star Tribune. “The majority of Cornell’s compensation came from previously issued restricted stock awards that vested in the last fiscal year.” Tiered subs.

 

Retail Tenants, Landlords Clash Over Proposed Pandemic Rent Clauses at The Wall Street Journal. “Most retail leases limit a tenant’s ability to claim a rent abatement based on business interruption or force majeure clauses, which either exclude pandemics or don’t relieve a tenant from paying rent. Tenant lawyers say they are insisting these clauses become a part of new leases.” WSJ subs.

 

Sam’s Club makes $1 million donation to small business support fund at Talk Business. Read more

 

N.Y. Looks to Mandate Hazard Pay for Retail Workers at Progressive Grocer. “The New York City Council is considering legislation that could send shock waves through the food retail industry…The “Essential Workers’ Bill of Rights,” introduced last week, would force food retailers with more than 100 workers to give hourly employees an extra $30 to $75 per shift during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure would also expand paid sick leave coverage for grocery delivery workers.” Read more

 

The secret group of scientists and billionaires pushing a Manhattan Project for COVID-19 at the Wall Street Journal via Fox Business. “The eclectic group is led by a 33-year-old physician-turned-venture capitalist, Tom Cahill, who lives far from the public eye in a one-bedroom rental near Boston’s Fenway Park. He owns just one suit, but he has enough lofty connections to influence government decisions in the war against Covid-19.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

Consumer tech sales have increased 23 percent year-over-year

Amazon faces lawsuit over Chinese battery that allegedly burned down a garage

French PM: high school students will have to wear masks

Who’s liable if workers get sick as economy reopens?

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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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Amazon Scooped Up Data From Its Own Sellers to Launch Competing Products at Wall Street Journal. “We knew we shouldn’t,” said one former employee who accessed the data and described a pattern of using it to launch and benefit Amazon products. “But at the same time, we are making Amazon branded products, and we want them to sell.” WSJ subs.

 

Instacart is adding 250,000 more shoppers at TechCrunch. Read more

 

J.C. Penney in Advanced Talks for Bankruptcy Financing at Wall Street Journal. “Penney is in discussions with existing lenders including Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. for a so-called debtor-in-possession loan that would keep the department-store chain’s operations funded during a court-supervised bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. The loan package could total roughly $800 million to $1 billion, with some of that money potentially including existing debt.” WSJ subs.

 

Grainger Q1 sales +7.2% Press release

 

Target will extend its $2 an hour temporary wage increase until May 30 “(Target) will also continue to extend access to free, safe and reliable back-up care for team members, and a 30-day paid leave for team members who are 65 or older, pregnant or who have underlying medical conditions as defined by the CDC, through the end of May.” Press release

 

Walmart releases 2020 Annual Report

 

Patagonia Starts Selling Online Again After Unusual Decision To Pause Its E-Commerce Due To Pandemic at Forbes. “I haven’t heard of anybody else [in the outdoor apparel space] who has shut down e-commerce,” says Christopher Svezia, an analyst at Wedbush Securities who covers the consumer sector.” Read more

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – Quality cookware for the cabin, camping, and the great outdoors. 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged 14.4% in March, a worse-than-expected performance at AP. Read more

 

Amazon begins selling items from neighborhood stores in India amid Facebook’s deal with Jio at TechCrunch. “Amazon said it piloted the “Local Shops on Amazon” program six months ago and has already on-boarded 5,000 local shops and retails from over 100 cities across India.” Read more

 

Walmart and Nextdoor launch new program “This support network makes it easier for vulnerable community members to coordinate the pickup and delivery of their groceries, medications and other essentials with a neighbor who is already planning a shopping trip to their local Walmart store – completely contact-free.” Press release

 

Amazon’s white-collar workers are starting to stand up for their blue-collar colleagues at Recode. “Several of Amazon’s corporate employees are urging thousands of their colleagues to defy their employer by taking this Friday off work en masse to instead gather virtually and discuss how to push for more rights for the company’s warehouse workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.” Read more

 

Grocers Hunt for Meat as Coronavirus Hobbles Beef and Pork Plants at Wall Street Journal. “I have not seen beef sales and all protein behave this way since the Atkins Diet days,” when shoppers bought up meat as part of the low-carb diet, said Jeff Lyons, senior vice president of fresh food for Costco. The warehouse chain is considering new suppliers to shore up its meat supplies, he said.” WSJ subs.

 

…Meat inventories are likely to become tight within two weeks..and temporary shortages are possible, said Pat LaFrieda, chief executive of his namesake meat wholesaler, based in New Jersey.

 

…Meatpacking union says 25% of US pork production hit by coronavirus closures at CNBC. “The union, which represents 80% of beef and pork production workers, said that 13 packing and food processing workers have died after contracting Covid-19 and 5,000 meatpacking workers have tested positive or been exposed.” Read more

 

Neiman Marcus threatens Hudson Yards Mall at Daily Beat. Read more

 

Reimagining stores for retail’s next normal at McKinsey & Company. “…if online penetration increases by ten percentage points and gross margin falls by one percentage point, driven by increased pricing pressure, retailers could expect store profitability to decline by up to five percentage points.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Here’s why you can’t find frozen french fries

Big-box chains could benefit more from stimulus checks than small businesses

Alaska Native group sues Neiman Marcus over coat’s design

German supermarket chain Rewe on lookout for M&A targets

House Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Support C-store & Grocery Workers

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Ex-True Value CEO named Bed Bath & Beyond COO “Prior to (True Value), (John) Hartmann was Chief Executive Officer of leading home improvement company Mitre 10, Chief Operating Officer at HD Supply, and has held senior positions at The Home Depot, Cardinal Health and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Press release

 

Macy’s weighs raising as much as $5 billion in debt to weather coronavirus crisis at CNBC. “It will seek to use its inventory as collateral to raise $3 billion and real estate to raise $1 billion to $2 billion, they said. It is not planning to pledge its prime Herald Square location in New York as part of the deal, one of the people said.” Read more

 

Amazon now accepting food stamp benefits in seven states at Fox Business. “SNAP beneficiaries in New York, Washington, Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, Florida and Oregon can apply their benefits to online Amazon grocery orders.” Read more

 

Pinduoduo is the fast-growing rival to Alibaba and JD in China at CNBC. “A large part of PDD’s appeal is the group buying function. When a user selects an item on Pinduoduo, they can choose to participate in group buying. The more people that join in, the lower the price of the item goes.” Read more

 

Mattress company Casper winds down European operations and lays off 78 people at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Alibaba, JD offer bookings for COVID-19 tests at Reuters. “The services have been launched as China accelerates testing for the illness and the city of Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the outbreak, opens up from lockdown.” Read more

 

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Amazon lobbying up 3% in Q1 at $4.3 million at CNBC. Read more

 

The retailers that are smartest about shopping tech will finish on top after the coronavirus by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “The retailers that were already doing it successfully are the ones that are going to recover much more quickly,” says Kimberly Becker, senior research director with Gartner. And in a future when shoppers are likely to be skittish about staying long in any store—if they visit at all—only the tech-savvy chains will survive.” Fortune subs.

 

Houzz, an online platform for home renovation and design, has laid off 155 employees, roughly 10% of its staff at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Kroger offers blueprint for businesses to reopen safely “Late last week, several U.S. Governors and business organizations asked Kroger to help their state’s businesses to reopen safely. Kroger developed this new platform – KrogerBlueprint.com – in 36 hours to begin providing immediate assistance to states and businesses with plans to update with new learnings in real time.” Press release

 

NRF Urges Federal Pandemic Insurance Program Similar to 9/11 Terrorism Coverage Press release

 

The Death of the Department Store: ‘Very Few Are Likely to Survive’ at NY Times. “Department store chains account for about 30 percent of the total mall square footage in the United States, with 10 percent of that coming from Sears and J.C. Penney, according to a January report from Green Street Advisors, a real estate research firm. Even before the pandemic, the firm expected about half of mall-based department stores to close in the next five years.” Tiered subs.

 

Tipsheet Extra

Google switches its Shopping search service to mostly free listings

Lululemon apologizes after backlash over bigwig’s ‘bat fried rice’ shirt

Trump tells Chevron to ‘wind down’ oil fields in Venezuela

Coronavirus at meat packing plants worse than first thought

Gucci parent company left naked amid lower demand from Chinese shoppers

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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