Amazon seller blasts the company’s forced arbitration policy in congressional hearing on antitrust at CNBC. "Jacob Weiss, founder and president of home goods retailer OJ Commerce, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust that he, like many other e-commerce business owners, relies on Amazon to survive...“Amazon’s forced arbitration clauses have made it impossible to get a fair shake,” Weiss told the subcommittee." Read more   GNC leadership changes: Josh Burris will assume the role of CEO and and Cam Lawrence will assume the role of CFO Press release   Coles, Woolworths introduce purchase limits as panic buying begins in [...]

  Retail CEOs meet with President Biden at White House at Washington Post. "The meeting also included Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart; Sonia Syngal, chief executive of Gap; Marvin Ellison, chief executive of Lowe’s; and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also took part. The meeting with the business executives came as the White House accelerates its push for Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief proposal..." Read more   Best Buy Is Cutting Some Store Workers’ Jobs, Reducing Hours at Wall Street Journal. "Jordan Diaz, 27 years old, quit working at [...]

  TikTok sale to Oracle, Walmart is shelved as Biden reviews security at Fox Business. "Discussions have continued between representatives of ByteDance and U.S. national security officials, the people said. Those discussions have centered on data security and ways to prevent the information TikTok collects on American users from being accessed by the Chinese government, they said." Read more   America's Best Mid-Sized Employers (Build-A-Bear #4, True Value #73) 2021 at Forbes. Read more   U.S. consumer prices increase steadily in January at Reuters. "The Labor Department said on Wednesday its consumer price index increased 0.3% last month after climbing [...]

  H&M Faces Russian Criminal Investigation Over Customs Duties at Bloomberg. "Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation into clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB for allegedly avoiding 3.1 billion rubles ($42 million) of customs duties." Read more   ‘We Are Forgotten’: Grocery Workers Hope for Higher Pay and Vaccinations at NY Times. "Brookings found that 13 of the largest retail and grocery companies in the United States earned $17.7 billion more in the first three quarters of 2020 than they did a year earlier, but most stopped offering extra compensation to their associates in the early summer." Read more   [...]

  Target’s activewear brand hits $1 billion in sales, as retailer gains ground in apparel at CNBC. "We like to joke about this internally that it’s become our guests’ favorite work wear, not just workout wear,” said Jill Sando, Target’s chief merchandising officer for style and owned brands." Read more   Container Store’s stock tumbles as biggest investor downsizes stake at NY Post. "Leonard Green & Partners has sold 5 million shares in the Coppell, Texas-based home- and office-furnishings chain, representing 9.9 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, according to a regulatory filing." Read more   Food price spikes see [...]

  Amazon loses effort to halt Alabama union drive, voting begins next week at CNBC. "On Friday, the NLRB denied Amazon’s appeal, saying it raised “no substantial issues warranting review.” “The Employer’s Motion to Stay the Election Pending Review is also denied as moot,” according to a filing." Read more   LVMH tells Tiffany employees to return to office in March at Wall Street Journal via Reuters. "A month after acquiring Tiffany & Co, French luxury goods giant LVMH told employees at the U.S. jeweller to return to the office two days a week beginning March 1, the Wall Street Journal [...]

  BOOM - Costco January comp sales +15.9%: US +15.4% / Canada +15.2% / Other Int'l +19% / Ecom +106.7% "Costco reported net sales of $13.64 billion for the retail month of January, the four weeks ended January 31, 2021, an increase of 17.9 percent from $11.57 billion last year." Press release   Union leaders backing Amazon election in Alabama discuss effort with White House at Reuters. "RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said labor leaders “connected to the RWDSU” spoke to the White House, but he declined to name who they spoke with. He also said another senior advisor to Biden [...]

  New Walgreens CEO to get nearly $25 million signing bonus at Chicago Tribune. "Brewer will receive a one-time cash bonus of $4.5 million, which is subject to repayment if she leaves without “good reason” or is terminated for cause within two years, the filing said. The signing bonus includes a $20.2 million long-term incentive award in Walgreens stock that will fully vest in three years. In addition to her $1.5 million base salary, Brewer will be eligible for an annual performance bonus of up to 200% of her eligible earnings, according to the SEC filing." Read more   Amazon [...]