Archive for month: June, 2020

 

US May retail sales surge 17.7% in the biggest monthly jump ever at Reuters. “U.S. retail sales were expected to rise 8.0% in May, after plunging 16.4% the prior month…” Read more | Census bureau data

 

US industrial production bounces back 1.4% in May after plummeting a record 12.4% in April at AP. Read more

 

Walmart buys tech from Carezone to help people manage their prescriptions at CNBC. “CareZone, which got its start in 2010, develops apps to help people manage their medicines. It also built technology for users to scan insurance cards and prescription drug labels, making it easier to figure out what’s covered by their health plan or to organize a home delivery.” Read more

 

Former eBay security director arrested for harassing journalist with live cockroaches at The Verge. “Six former eBay employees have been charged with a bizarre stalking campaign against an e-commerce newsletter…That included shipping the pig mask, a box of cockroaches, another box of fly larvae and live spiders, pornography, a book on “surviving the loss of a spouse,” a sympathy wreath from a local florist, and a “preserved fetal pig”…” Read more

 

America’s 50 Best Wine Retailers at Wine Enthusiast. Lists

 

Amazon’s Bezos willing to testify in House antitrust probe at Politico. “But the letter added, “Of course, we will need to resolve a number of questions regarding timing, format, and outstanding document production issues, all necessarily framed by the extraordinary demands of the global pandemic.” Read more

 

**A message from SPS Commerce. Are you leaving unused open-to-buy dollars on the table? When you’re constantly calling and emailing vendors to check on orders, it’s impossible to accurately determine order status or how much outstanding budget you have. Video overview | Website

 

Amazon is launching cameras that can detect if warehouse workers are following social distancing rules at TechCrunch. “The system is displayed on a 50-inch monitor. It’s not exactly immediate feedback that technology might be able to provide with, say, a haptic wearable. Instead, it’s designed to serve as a visual reminder for workers to keep their circles green by maintaining the appropriate social distancing.” Read more

 

The 2020 Top Women in Grocery: Susan Morris @ Albertsons at Progressive Grocer. Interview

 

Trader Joe’s says it will reopen Seattle CHAZ store and pay workers at Seattle Times. “Would-be customers who showed up Monday to find the store closed seemed to side with the workers — hardly a surprise in this ultra-liberal neighborhood. Some said the timing of the closure — just after employees asked to attend Black Lives Matter protest — would earn the company heavy public criticism.” Read more

 

Coupang is crushing Amazon to become South Korea’s biggest online retailer at Star Tribune. “Coupang’s logistics investments have paid off, as 99.3% of orders placed on its site are delivered within one day, the company said. Coupang now delivers 3.3 million items each day, up from an average of 2.2 million units per day at the end of 2019.” Read more

 

Hy-Vee now selling DSW shoes in latest fashion partnership at Star Tribune. “In August, designated store-within-a-store sections ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet will replace the small displays. The Brooklyn Park Hy-Vee will get the first designated DSW section, and about 10 more stores will get the section later this year.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

These are the 2020 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies

Save A Lot gets a $150M loan

Truck drivers may not deliver to areas with defunded police departments

Mexico halts migrant farm worker program in Canada

Poll: Americans are the unhappiest they’ve been in 50 years

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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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New coronavirus spread isn’t the feared ‘second wave’–it’s still the first, researchers say at CNBC. “To be defined as a second wave the virus would need to retreat and reappear, or a new variant would have to emerge, said Ian Lipkin, a professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. “The recent increase in cases does not reflect either.” Read more

 

Party City Q1 brand comp sales -17.1% “During the remainder of 2020, the Company plans to close approximately 21 stores, open 2 new stores, with the remaining 10 planned new store openings likely to shift into 2021.” Press release

 

EPA tells Amazon and eBay to stop selling fake coronavirus-killing products at The Verge. “The order applies to some products the EPA has already declared illegal, like a supposed disinfectant called “Virus Shut Out,” as well as chemicals like methylene chloride, which is hazardous and partially banned in the US.” Read more

 

CVS and Walgreens join Walmart in keeping multicultural beauty products out of locked cabinets at Reuters. “(CVS) said it had expanded its selection of products in its textured hair and color cosmetics categories by 35% over the past year to add new brands that appeal to communities of color.” Read more

 

Liquidation sales could begin as soon as this weekend at the initial 154 J.C. Penney stores that will permanently close at USA Today. Store list/Read more

 

**A message from SPS Commerce. Are you leaving unused open-to-buy dollars on the table? When you’re constantly calling and emailing vendors to check on orders, it’s impossible to accurately determine order status or how much outstanding budget you have. Check out this video to learn how SPS can help.

 

DoorDash Nears Deal to Secure Funding From T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Others at Wall Street Journal. “DoorDash Inc. is close to securing new funding that would value the largest U.S. meal-delivery company at more than $15 billion before the infusion, as a wave of deal making sweeps over the red-hot industry.” WSJ subs.

 

Starbucks changes policy to allow Black Lives Matter T-shirts at Fox Business. Read more

 

Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario Will Exit at Footwear News. “The president and CEO will depart on Friday. The move — announced late today — was a surprise. Just a few weeks ago, the executive appeared on LinkedIn to talk about how the company was reimagining its future.” Read more

 

Sephora is the first brand to join 15 percent pledge – dedicating 15 percent of their shelf space to Black businesses at Elle. Read more

 

Shoppers Wait and Wait to Reach Lululemon, Best Buy at Wall Street Journal. “…when he last called (Best Buy), the recorded line said there was a 115-minute wait and offered that he leave a number to get a call back. That call never came, he said, and Best Buy hasn’t answered his emails or tweets, which he said usually get a reaction from companies because he has some 40,000 Twitter followers. “It’s like the company doesn’t exist,” he said. “And they just have a website up and nothing underneath.” WSJ subs.

 

Two more Miami-Dade residents contract West Nile virus at Miami Herald. Read more

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods will resume paying shareholders a quarterly dividend, citing strong early sales at its stores that have reopened at Reuters. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

These are the organizations that have publicly committed to observing Juneteenth

The inside story of the toxic workplace culture at Refinery29

Bald men may be hit harder by coronavirus, scientists fear

Dollar General expands fresh produce offerings

The Dukes of Hazzard may get yanked from Amazon streaming

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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: 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

 

Amazon unveils small business credit line with Goldman Sachs at CNBC. “Now, in a sign of the close relationship between the two companies — Amazon used Goldman bankers for its $13.7 billion takeover of Whole Foods — the tech giant will share merchant data with Goldman, the people said. If sellers consent to it, Goldman will use data on businesses’ revenue and tenure on the e-commerce platform to help determine who should be approved, the people said.” Read more

 

May consumer prices fall 0.1%, the third consecutive month at AP News. “The Labor Department said Wednesday that its consumer price index fell 0.1% last month after tumbling 0.8% in April and 0.4% in March.” Read more

 

United Natural Foods Q3: Net Sales +12% / Net Income +54% / Adjusted EBITDA +32% Press release

 

As ‘America’s department store,’ Macy’s must take action on diversity, CEO says at CNBC. “There are a lot of advisors out there saying, ‘There is a lot of black talent.’ How does Macy’s enable that? That is on my agenda,” he said. “We are going to take action.” Read more/Video

 

Neiman Marcus store at Hudson Yards is being shopped as office space at NY Post. “Opened barely a year ago at the swanky mega mall it anchored on Manhattan’s West Side, the bankrupt luxury retailer is considering closing the store for good while its landlord shops the three-story, 188,000-square-foot space to office tenants, according to reports.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery team is so secretive that employees are often forced to use fake employer names in public at Business Insider. “…when the team tested its drones in employee backyards to collect real-world data, they were frequently interrupted by law enforcement who showed up after suspicious neighbors, who didn’t get sufficient answers about the team’s identity, called them to check in. Since employees were not allowed to say who they worked for, they often had to use fake team names, like “Project Venice” when asked about their affiliation.” Read more

 

Best Buy: Starting June 15, more than 800 locations across the country will begin allowing a limited number of people inside “…limiting the number of customers inside the store to 25% of capacity, which allows approximately 60 or more customers in a store depending on its size.” Press release

 

Chewy Q1 net sales +46% Press release

 

**A message from SPS Commerce. Are you leaving unused open-to-buy dollars on the table? When you’re constantly calling and emailing vendors to check on orders, it’s impossible to accurately determine order status or how much outstanding budget you have. 2:28 video | Contact/Website

 

Roku taps Kroger to sharpen targeted advertising at Supermarket News. “Roku’s shopper data program will provide Kroger sales information to help marketers make more precise and measurable media-buying decisions. Roku said marketers will be able to activate advertising across hundreds of ad-supported channels and link ad exposure directly to in-store and online sales.” Read more

 

HD Supply Q1 net sales -6.6% Press release

 

‘HERO PAY’ – Kroger employees in Virginia and West Virginia will be staging car caravan protests in eight cities on June 10 at WWBT. Read more

 

Amazon Struggled During the Pandemic. Can Smaller Rivals Take Advantage? at Wall Street Journal. “A survey by investment bank Jefferies Group LLC showed that almost one-third of respondents said they turned to non-Amazon sites during the pandemic because of delivery and inventory problems. At Thrive, new paid membership sign-ups in March and April were up threefold from the prior year. But the same problems that plagued Amazon ravaged Thrive.” WSJ subs.

 

Guess Q1 net revenue -51.5% Press release

 

Alibaba taps international influencers to sell more globally at TechCrunch. “AliExpress plans to recruit as many as 100,000 “promoters,” who will help merchants and brands on AliExpress promote through YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other popular internet platforms.” Read more

 

GameStop quarterly in-store sales drop 30% at Hollywood Reporter. Read more

 

Amazon takes over Bronx warehouse once home to rival Jet.com – leasing 200,000 sf at Prologis’ 1055 Bronx River Avenue at The Real Deal. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Amazon demands ‘full accountability’ for cop who arrested black delivery driver

These 22 LGBTQ-friendly brands are putting their money behind Pride

Nielsen presents virtual tools for shopper research

CVS adds 80+ products under its Live Better by CVS Health brand

Nintendo now says 300,000 accounts breached by hackers

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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

 

 

 

Jeff Bezos ‘happy to lose’ customers over Black Lives Matter message at Fox Business. “This sort of hate shouldn’t be allowed to hide in the shadows,” Bezos wrote Sunday on Instagram with a screenshot of the email from someone named Dave. “It’s important to make it visible. This is just one example of the problem. And, Dave, you’re the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.” Read more

 

Walmart and foundation commit $100 million toward diversity efforts at Talk Business. “Walmart gave no details on the (racial equity) center’s location or who will oversee the initiative, saying only more information will be shared soon.” Read more

 

Amazon cracks down on fraudulent email campaigns at GeekWire. “The suits allege that companies in Georgia, Michigan and Texas wrongly used Amazon’s branding in spam campaigns designed to send traffic to fake Amazon-branded surveys run by online marketers. Those marketers then made money off advertising impressions, according to the suits.” Read more

 

Instacart tweaks tipping system after tip-baiting outcry at The Verge. “Instacart now says it will shorten the window a customer can alter their tip from three days down to 24 hours. It’s also now requiring customers leave feedback for removing tips and pledging to deactivate any customer who “consistently and egregiously engages in this type of behavior.” Read more

 

Brooks Brothers is talking to banks about raising financing for a potential bankruptcy that could come as soon as July at CNBC. Read more

 

**A message from Comfy Sacks bean bag chairs – Consumers want to be comfy at home! Sales on premium bean bags filled with superior quality furniture foam continue to rise sharply. See why Apple chose Comfy Sacks to outfit their corporate HQ. Booklet | Video | Website | Request sample bag: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Private equity firm in talks to buy JCPenney – stock jumps at NY Post. “Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is in preliminary talks to acquire JCPenney out of bankruptcy should the US department store chain’s negotiations with its creditors fail, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.” Read more

 

Germany will require all petrol stations to provide electric car charging at Reuters. Read more

 

Covid-19 Stalks Large Families in Rural America at Wall Street Journal. “A Wall Street Journal analysis found that, across the country, the virus has spread more widely in places with the most crowded households, not necessarily places with the largest or densest populations. Remote, rural hamlets where extended families live under the same roof have turned deadlier than some of the densest blocks of Manhattan or Chicago, the analysis found.” WSJ subs.

 

Dunkin’ plans to hire 25,000 workers as restaurant industry begins pandemic recovery at CNBC. Read more

 

Retail in age of coronavirus lockdowns can be dangerous, bloodied store manager says at Fox Business. “The masks seem to upset customers the most, said Clarke, although many shoppers don’t like rules requiring people to stay 6 feet apart or the store’s policy of banning the return of items during the pandemic. “I had one lady threaten to burn the store down because we wouldn’t take her return,” she said. “It’s insane.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

An in-depth assessment of the Kroger-Walgreens partnership

Startup helps brick and mortar retailers detect face masks and social distancing

Man accused of stabbing, pepper-spraying Walmart employees

CrossFit chief sorry for tweet on Floyd killing after Reebok split

Target Directs $10 Million to Racial Equality Efforts

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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