Tipsheet: Rubio Endorses Amazon Union | Lowe’s EVP Q&A | Target Cuts Office Space

 

Marco Rubio endorses Amazon unionization effort at CNBC. “In an op-ed in USA Today, Rubio asserted that Amazon has “waged a war against working-class values” and is “looking to crush the union vote” at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. “The days of conservatives being taken for granted by the business community are over,” Rubio wrote.” Read more

 

Ulta Beauty Q4 comp sales down 4.8% Press release

 

Ulta shares tumble on weaker-than-expected outlook, retailer taps President Dave Kimbell as CEO at CNBC. “Although the decline was smaller than expected, shares fell as the beauty retailer gave a disappointing outlook for the coming year…Kecia Steelman, Ulta’s chief store operations officer, will be promoted to chief operating officer.” Read more

 

Target downsizing Minneapolis office space at Fox Business. “Target will leave its office space in Minneapolis’ City Center skyscraper, according to an email to employees on Thursday. The move comes as the company is reimagining the future of work at its headquarters by adopting a hybrid “Flex for Your Day” approach. The “Flex” will give employees the option to work virtually and in person at the office as they “gradually return to headquarters” later this year.” Read more

 

Forbes Q&A with Marisa Thalberg, EVP, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer at Lowe’s “I wanted to open people’s eyes to the possibilities of dressing your home at Lowe’s—that we’re not just for building and project-based goods. The New York Fashion Week project came about when I was talking to a colleague who had a big responsibility for producing the New York Fashion Week. She was bemoaning, “How are we going to pull this off with virtual shows?” And I just started thinking, “Where does couture fashion even fit right now in the zeitgeist when people are so focused on their homes?” Read more

 

Poshmark sales top estimates in its first quarterly report as a public company, but outlook disappoints at CNBC. “Different parts of the country are behaving quite differently,” Chandra said, citing Florida as a strong growth market where customers are searching Poshmark for dresses and bathing suits, whereas New York is still catching up. “So, we are accounting for the state-wide differences.” Read more

 

Tilly’s, Inc. Q4 comp net sales +2.5% Press release

 

**Find the future of the candy and snacks industries at the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Innovation Avenue! Innovation Avenue delivers the leading brands of tomorrow for retailers truly looking for something cutting-edge to wow their shoppers. Indianapolis, June 23-25 2021. Most innovative new products 2019 | 2018 | Register now

 

Wayfair: Ed Macri, Chief Product & Marketing Officer, to retire “The marketing team will join other go-to-market functions as part of Wayfair’s Commercial organization under Steve Oblak, Chief Commercial Officer. Bob Sherwin, who has worked alongside Macri for the last eight years and currently serves as VP of Marketing, will assume the role of Chief Marketing Officer reporting to Oblak.” Press release

 

Costco membership fees poised to increase at Fox Business. “Analysts noted that Costco’s membership fee increases every five to 5.5 years, suggesting its next increase for international customers will begin in 2021 with U.S. and Canadian shoppers getting hit with an increase in the latter half of 2022.” Read more

 

SpartanNash appoints Jason Monaco as EVP and Chief Financial Officer Press release

 

14-hour days and no bathroom breaks: Amazon’s overworked delivery drivers at The Guardian via Yahoo. “Fourteen-hour shifts were common because delivery service providers wouldn’t allow drivers to return any packages from their routes and the pressure to meet delivery rates meant Meyers used a plastic bottle to go to the bathroom on a daily basis.” Read more

 

Instacart Appoints Frank Slootman, Chairman And CEO Of Snowflake, To Board Of Directors Press release

 

Amazon Won’t Sell Books Framing LGBTQ+ Identities as Mental Illnesses at Wall Street Journal. “The company explained its decision in a letter Thursday to Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The senators had written last month to Chief Executive Jeff Bezos requesting an explanation of why “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” was no longer available on Amazon nor on its Kindle and Audible platforms.” WSJ subs.

 

Kohl’s pushes back against activist investors – says they’re focused on short-termism and financial engineering Press release

 

***Eye on Retail Tipsheet will not be published next week and will return 3/22/21. Thank you!

 

Tipsheet Extra

In Brazil, organized crime siphons billions from gas stations

Stuart Weitzman Selling Three Treasures to Benefit Charities

E-commerce: 44% of respondents rarely complain directly to a company

U.S. consumer sentiment rises in mid-March to highest in a year

Chocolate sales up 10.5% in 2020 in grocery outlets

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Tipsheet: China’s Alibaba Plans | WM/Lowe’s @ UBS | Curbside Samples

 

Coupang – South Korea’s largest e-commerce company – raises $4.6 billion in U.S. IPO at Reuters. “Coupang said in a statement that it had priced 130 million shares sold in the IPO at $35 per share…giving (Coupang) a market value of $60 billion.” Read more

 

China Lays Plans to Tame Tech Giant Alibaba at Wall Street Journal. “Officials familiar with Beijing’s thinking said regulators don’t want to crush (Alibaba) – as long as it disassociates itself from its flashy and outspoken founder and aligns itself more closely with the Communist Party…Those people said Alibaba also will be required to end a practice that has been dubbed “er xuan yi”—literally, “choose one out of two”—under which, regulators believe, the tech giant punished certain merchants who sold goods both on Alibaba and its rival platforms, including JD.com.” WSJ subs.

 

Free samples with your curbside groceries: How brands are wooing Walmart’s online shoppers at CNBC. “Jay Picconatto, director, General Mills commerce marketing, said sampling in grocery pickup “is something we wouldn’t have even touched two years ago or 18 months ago.” Yet as store traffic plummeted last spring and retailers limited in-store demos, he said, the company leaned in aggressively.” Read more

 

Kroger to close 3 stores in Los Angeles over a $5-per-hour hazard pay mandate at Cincinnati Enquirer via USA Today. “…will shutter two Ralphs and one Food 4 Less stores in the city on May 15…”It becomes impossible to operate these three stores,” Kroger said in a statement, noting the mandate will cost nearly $20 million over the next 120 days.” Read more

 

Amazon leases another Bellevue office tower as it makes room for planned 25k employees in city at GeekWire. Read more

 

China’s JD.com cashes in on steady online demand, beats market expectations at Reuters. ” JD.com raked in 110 million new active customer accounts during the year. Meanwhile, Jack Ma’s Alibaba added about 68 million active buyers in the same period…The company’s net revenue rose 31.4% to 224.3 billion yuan in the quarter ended Dec. 31.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Presents at UBS Global Consumer and Retail Virtual Conference Transcript @ Seeking Alpha

 

US jobless claims fall to 712,000 as pace of layoffs eases at AP. “The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment aid dropped by 42,000 from 754,000 the week before.” Read more

 

Amazon quietly opens its eleventh Fresh store, reportedly plans 28 more at The Verge. Read more

 

Activist investor group cuts its Kohl’s board slate to 5 directors from 9 at CNBC. “The five nominees are Macellum Chief Executive Jonathan Duskin, former Denny’s Chief Marketing Officer Margaret Jenkins, former Macy’s Chief Merchandising Officer Jeffrey Kantor, former Burlington CEO Thomas Kingsbury, and former Chico’s President Cynthia Murray.” Read more

 

Walmart Presents at UBS Global Consumer and Retail Virtual Conference Transcript @ Seeking Alpha

 

Where Brands Are Reaching Gen Z at Harvard Business Review. “With 37 million daily active users and 20 million multiplayer games and experiences, Roblox, which launched in 2004, has quietly become a powerhouse shared experience campfire. More than two-thirds of all 9 to 12-year-olds in the U.S. play Roblox.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos names Andrew Steer CEO of Earth Fund, will spend $10B by 2030 at Fox Business. Read more

 

Amazon staffers reportedly fear secret ‘Vesta’ robot will be a pricey flop at NY Post. “People are very skeptical — we’re worried it could turn into another Fire Phone,” one source told Insider, referring to the unsuccessful smartphone on which Amazon took a $170 million write-down in 2014, the year it was released.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Walmart partners with craft brewers on ‘Black is Beautiful’ stout beer

Looking beyond tobacco, BAT tries Canadian pot luck

The states with the longest and shortest life expectancies, according to the CDC

Parents rally again against a proposed Costco location in Black Mountain Ranch

Kroger says it administered ‘empty syringes’ instead of COVID-19 vaccines

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Tipsheet: Sam’s App Dloads 2X Costco | 75% Apparel Online | Weis Markets +14.1%

 

Mastercard exec says almost 75% of apparel sales were made online last month at CNBC. “…up from 47% just a year ago.” Apparel sales overall declined 5.3% during the month, but e-commerce spending didn’t miss a beat. Online clothing sales spiked 47% year over year, according to data from Mastercard Economics Institute.” Read more

 

Consumer prices up 0.4% last month but core prices moderate at AP News. “U.S. consumer prices increased 0.4% in February, the biggest gain in six months, led by a sharp jump in gasoline prices. But core inflation, excluding food and energy, posted a much smaller 0.1% gain, easing fears about a possible sustained acceleration in inflation.” Read more

 

Weis Markets Q4 comp sales +14.1% Press release

 

Sam’s Club tops Costco in the land of apps at Fox Business. “The Sam’s app was downloaded 9.6 million times, nearly double the amount that Costco’s app was downloaded…BJ’s saw its app downloaded about three million times last year, according to Apptopia.” Read more

 

United Natural Foods, Inc. Q2 net sales +7.1% Press release

 

Amazon’s secret home robot Vesta reportedly in ‘late-prototype stage’ of development at The Verge. “The device has been under development for around four years and now has more than 800 employees working on it..The basic premise…is that Vesta will be an Amazon Echo on wheels: a voice-activated assistant that can navigate your home, respond to your commands, and interface with other smart home devices.” Read more

 

Express, Inc. Q4 comp sales down 27% Press release

 

**Find the future of the candy and snacks industries at the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Innovation Avenue! Innovation Avenue delivers the leading brands of tomorrow for retailers truly looking for something cutting-edge to wow their shoppers. Indianapolis, June 23-25 2021. Most innovative new products2019 | 2018 | Register now

 

CDC, Dollar General exploring partnership to speed up COVID-19 vaccine rollout at USA Today. Read more

 

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc Q4 net retail sales down 8.7% Press release

 

Canada’s competition laws come under scrutiny after grocery business controversies at Financial Post. “A group of MPs will start considering changes to Canada’s antitrust rules next month, prompted in part by a series of controversies in the grocery business. Supermarket chains have been under scrutiny from Ottawa since last spring, when the country’s three largest grocers opted to simultaneously cut $2-per-hour pandemic pay bonuses for front-line workers.” Read more

 

The Gap Inc. can’t use the pandemic and ensuing lockdown orders as an excuse not to pay rent for a pair of stores in Manhattan Law 360 subs.

 

Planned production of the smallest iPhone 12 mini has reportedly been reduced by 70 percent or more in the first half of this year at The Verge. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Entrepreneur shines in first ever national pitch competition put on by Lowe’s

Scientists turn Amazon’s Alexa into heart monitoring device using sound waves

Beyond Meat expands distribution at Walmart

How one small Pennsylvania pharmacy is vaccinating thousands

Swingers crazy golf comes to America

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Tipsheet: Target ‘Embarassing’ @ Mag Mile | Dick’s +19.3% | Gap China For Sale?

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods Q4 comp sales +19.3% “…which included an increase in eCommerce sales of 57%. eCommerce penetration for the fourth quarter of 2020 was approximately 32% of total net sales, compared to approximately 25% during the fourth quarter of 2019.” Press release

 

…Dick’s Sporting Goods shares fall as retailer predicts slowing sales in year ahead at CNBC. “The sporting goods retailer estimated that same-store sales could decline as much as 2% or grow by as much as 2% in the year ahead, a significant drop from same-store sales growth of nearly 10% in fiscal 2020.” Read more

 

Lowe’s aims to fund local community repair projects at Fortune. “…providing a total of $10 million for projects it will select, such as refurbishing a town’s theater that has fallen into disrepair, or repainting a seniors home, with work to be completed this calendar year. “It’s a way to state our long standing commitment of community service,” Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison tells Fortune. People can make submissions at  Lowes.com/100hometowns as of Tuesday and Lowe’s will award the grants in June.” Read more

 

The World’s Most Innovative Companies 2021 (Shopify #3, Lululemon #26) at Fast Company Top 50 list

 

Stitch Fix swings to a quarterly loss and softens outlook on shipping delays; shares plunge at CNBC. “Net sales rose 12% to $504.1 million, falling short of expectations of $512.2 million. Shipping delays over the holiday season meant that the company was forced to work through a backlog and couldn’t record revenue for all boxes shipped during the quarter.” Read more

 

PayPal plans to acquire Curv, a cryptocurrency startup based in Tel Aviv, Israel at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Target in talks to replace Macy’s in Water Tower Place, a switch one local official calls ‘embarrassing’ for Chicago’s Magnificent Mile at Chicago Tribune.”Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, who lives near the vertical mall, on Friday spoke out against Target’s potential arrival on the avenue in an interview on WGN Radio. Pappas said a Target store would damage the reputation of Michigan Avenue and nearby Oak Street as destinations for higher-end retailers.” Read more

 

Walmart expands shoppable TikTok efforts into beauty and outside brands Ad Age subs.

 

Shopify buys contract to suck CO2 from air to cut emissions at Reuters. “E-commerce firm Shopify said on Tuesday it would become the first customer to buy contract carbon removal units from Canada-based direct air capture company Carbon Engineering to slash its greenhouse gas emissions and called on others to follow suit.” Read more

 

**A message from Readywise, the leader in emergency food supplies – Consumers are looking for emergency food supplies – are you offering the selection they want? Up to 25-year shelf life. High quality and great taste. Website | Catalog | Sample: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Amazon expanding its food delivery service, called Amazon Food, across 62 zip codes in Bangalore at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Wish Q4 revenue +38% Press release

 

Ahold CFO Aims to Make Online Sales a Larger Part of Its Revenues at Wall Street Journal. “In the U.S., Ahold’s biggest market, online sales grew to €1.97 billion, equivalent to $2.37 billion, in 2020, up more than 100% compared with the previous year. Still, this represents roughly only 4.3% of the company’s U.S. sales, which totaled €45.47 billion last year, up 15.6% compared with the prior-year period. Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight is working to increase online sales further, she said.” WSJ subs.

 

Callaway Golf, Topgolf merger approved by shareholders at NBC. Read more

 

Gap weighing sale of China business: Bloomberg News at Fox Business. “Gap entered the Chinese market about a decade ago, betting on rising incomes in the world’s second largest economy to boost its sales. However, it stopped selling Old Navy apparel in the country last year…Gap’s Asian market accounts for about 5% of its overall net sales…” Read more

 

Casey’s General Stores Q3 inside comp sales +2.1% Press release

 

Target introduces new sweet and savory owned brand – Favorite Day at A Bullseye View. Read more

 

Amazon spends $131 million to take minority stake in air cargo contractor ATSG at CNBC. “It comes as Amazon continues to grow Amazon Air…with plans to open a $1.5 billion air hub in Kentucky later this year.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Soaring home prices are starting to alarm policymakers

Peloton alternative launches at Sam’s Club for $799

Home Depot and Lowe’s land on Citi’s consumer spending winners list

Nike announces senior leadership changes to drive consumer direct acceleration

Rolling Stone: The best products we tested in March 2021

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Tipsheet: WM New Board Member | Big Lots +7.9% | Deliveroo IPO Soon

 

GameStop shares jump after retailer taps Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen to lead e-commerce shift at CNBC. “Cohen is serving as chairman of a special committee formed by GameStop’s board to help its transformation. Board members Alan Attal, Chewy’s former top operations executive, and Kurt Wolf, chief investment officer of Hestia Capital Management, also serve on the committee.” Read more

 

Big Lots Q4 comp sales +7.9% Press release

 

Amazon-backed Deliveroo reveals it lost $309 million in 2020 ahead of IPO at CNBC. “A date for Deliveroo’s initial public offering has not been officially announced but it is likely to be in the next few weeks, and the company could be valued at up to $10 billion. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Cazenove have been appointed as the joint global coordinators.” Read more

 

Inside Jeff Bezos’s failed attempt to make Amazon “cool” like Apple and Nike “Ficklin worked for months under clandestine conditions he had never experienced before: inside a faraday cage, or an electrified room, with walls that blocked wireless signals. This level of security ensured no wireless signals could go in or out to leak information on the product. Eight perfectly clean human bodies, working on laptops that were required to stay in that room over the course of months, eventually permeated the space with an unavoidable biological odor. When his team visited Amazon’s Seattle offices, they were banned from taking Ubers, which could theoretically be tracked, or even from entering the building through the same entrance, lest an eagle-eyed reporter notice.” Fast Company subs.

 

PriceSmart February net merchandise sales +1.3% Press release

 

**Find the future of the candy and snacks industries at the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Innovation Avenue! Innovation Avenue delivers the leading brands of tomorrow for retailers truly looking for something cutting-edge to wow their shoppers. Indianapolis, June 23-25 2021. Most innovative new products: 2019 | 2018 | Register now

 

How Amazon landed a key role in ‘Nomadland’ at GeekWire. “McDormand told THR that one downside of Amazon letting her in was that “some people got some packages that I packaged that were pretty bad.” “Nomadland” cinematographer Joshua James Richards told The Wrap that it was great to show Fern working in an actual Amazon FC, that the company was “totally accommodating” and that McDormand did real work.” Read more

 

Bezos Scores $218K Fees After ‘Overstaffed’ Legal Team’s Win Law 360 subs.

 

Walmart adds former AT&T chairman to board of directors at Talk Business. “Randall Stephenson, 60, retired in January 2021 as executive board chairman of AT&T after a 38-year career with the company…” Read more

 

H-E-B’s Stephen Butt shares the grocers new plans Dallas Morning News subs.

 

UK’s Tesco commits to healthy food sales target after shareholder pressure at Reuters. “…committed to increase its sales of healthy food to 65% of total sales by 2025 following pressure from some shareholders to set targets…would represent a jump from the current level of 58%…” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Savion lands purchase agreement with Target for huge solar project

Shopify takes a shot at Amazon over alleged copycat products

Albertsons testing remote-controlled delivery

Dolce & Gabbana seeks over $600M damages from two U.S. bloggers

Sprouts provides a peek at its new store format

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Tipsheet: Costco Bacon Demand +45% | Saks Splits | Canada Will Probe Grocers/Suppliers

 

Costco comp sales (ex-gas & f/x): Q2 +13.0% / February +13.8% Press release

 

…Costco bacon demand jumps 45% at Fox Business. “(CFO) Galanti, who is skilled at explaining Costco’s hits and misses in plain speak, ballparked the inflationary uptick. “Some categories are in that 2-4% range, some like meat and pork a little higher than that, produce is flat” he detailed in response to a question. However, overall inflation is flat to up 1-1.5% he clarified.” Read more

 

Costco Wholesale’s Q2 Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha

 

Greg Smith, head of Walmart supply chain, exits to Medtronic at Talk Business. “(Furner) said Walmart is beginning a search for a new chief supply chain officer. “We’re also conducting an internal process to fill a supply chain chief Operating officer (COO) role under that position, and this new COO role will have responsibility for leading our distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation fleet…” Read more

 

CANADA – Government probe into ongoing grocer-supplier dispute confirms rift ‘needs attention’ at Financial Post. “The minister leading an investigation into the Canadian grocery sector says he is now certain something must be done to ease tensions between the major supermarket chains and their suppliers.” Read more

 

Activist investor group says Kohl’s earnings show ‘best of worst’ in retail, continues push for change at CNBC. “The group of activists looking to seize control of Kohl’s board published a letter saying the retailer’s latest quarterly financial results were lackluster. ″[Kohl’s] board seems to be content performing just slightly better than the worst companies in retail,” the group said in a letter sent to Kohl’s shareholders.” Read more

 

**Find the future of the candy and snacks industries at the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s Innovation Avenue! Innovation Avenue delivers the leading brands of tomorrow for retailers truly looking for something cutting-edge to wow their shoppers. Indianapolis, June 23-25 2021. Most innovative new products: 2019 | 2018 | Register now

 

Saks Fifth Avenue Owner to Separate E-Commerce and Stores Units at Wall Street Journal. “Insight Partners has put up $500 million for a minority stake in Saks.com, valuing the business at $2 billion…Few changes will be visible to customers…Shoppers will be able to buy online and pick up in stores. They will also be able to make returns and exchanges and use their Saks credit cards either at the stores or online. The online business will oversee the marketing and merchandising for both channels.” WSJ subs. | Reuters

 

Kroger ups average pay to $15.50 per hour as digital sales top $10 billion at Cincinnati Enquirer via USA Today. Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton @ CNBC Yesterday at CNBC. “Customers are open to new brands, exploring new brands, from trusted resources and retailers that they have a great relationship with,” Tritton said.” Video/Read more

 

Kroger Q4 Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha

 

Gap CEO predicts spending spree post-pandemic at Fox Business. “We’re quite optimistic,” Chief Executive Sonia Syngal said in an interview. “We do think there’s going to be this peacocking effect that happens, as people emerge from Covid.” Read more

 

BJ’s Wholesale Club Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha

 

Tipsheet Extra

A sand shortage? The world is running out of a crucial commodity

Freshly adds Amazon private brand exec

Kroger’s Ocado facility delivers first load

Betty Crocker, Barbie launch science-based baking lab to encourage girls

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Tipsheet: Kroger +10.6% | Costco #1 Trust | Burlington Eyes 2K Stores

 

Kroger Q4 identical sales (ex-fuel) +10.6% Press release

 

BJ’s Wholesale Q4 comp sales (ex-gas) +15.9% “Adjusted EBITDA increased 36.1% year-over-year to $204.5 million, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.” Press release

 

Burlington Stores, Inc. Q4 comp sales flat “Michael O’Sullivan, CEO, stated, “We saw comparable store sales improve sequentially as the quarter progressed, starting with a double digit decline in November, improving to flat in December, and then accelerating to double digit growth in January.” Press release

 

…Burlington has increased its long-term store target to 2,000 stores, up from its previous store target of 1,000 stores…The Company operated 761 stores as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

 

Walmart’s Flipkart in early talks for U.S. listing via SPAC deal – sources at Reuters. “…although a traditional stock market listing is much more likely, people familiar with the matter said. The talks for a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) are at a very early stage and could fall apart as no plans have been finalized yet, said the people, who declined to be named as the information is confidential.” Read more

 

The Buckle, Inc. February comp sales up 5.3% Press release

 

Disney to close at least 60 Disney Stores in North America before end of year at USA Today. “That amounts to about one-third of the stores in North America; there are about 300 worldwide.” Read more

 

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Bed Bath & Beyond bets on in-store brands to revitalize business at Fox Business. “Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton, who employed a similar strategy during his stint as a merchandising executive at Target, said the plan represented the “most significant transformation of our product assortment in a generation.” Read more

 

Amazon in Talks to Carry Many NFL Games Exclusively on Prime Video at Wall Street Journal. “Fox Corp.’s annual average fee for its Sunday afternoon games is expected to jump to around $2 billion from the current $1.1 billion, the people familiar with those negotiations said. ViacomCBS Inc. likely will see its average fee per season of Sunday afternoon games go from $1 billion to the $2 billion range, the people said.” WSJ subs.

 

Walmart says it will spend an additional $350 billion on American-made products over the next decade at CNBC. Read more

 

Gap Inc. appoints former Disney exec Salaam Coleman Smith to its Board of Directors Press release

 

Costco, Amazon and Apple Take Top Spots in Verint Retail Customer Satisfaction Study “Costco received the highest score related to trust (86.5) and company recommendations (87.4). Amazon received the highest satisfaction score for online purchases (87.7) and returns online (87.7), while Apple came in third for satisfaction (85.1). Costco also received the highest NPS ranking and scored well in multiple satisfaction drivers, including service, price and merchandise.” Press release

 

Lowe’s Announces Stores will Close on Easter Sunday, April 4, for a Second Year Press release

 

The first Home Depot proposed for Mission Valley, CA is facing opposition at San Diego Union-Tribune. “Bruce Coons, leader of the Save Our Heritage Organisation , said his group lobbied city officials to preserve the Bowlero building, which was a popular bowling alley from 1957 to 1964. “A lot of people have fond memories of it,” said Coons.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Overtime is starting a basketball league for 16-to-18-year-olds that pays at least $100K a year

Square, Inc. is buying a majority stake in Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal

Kate Spade announces new structure for creative organization

Downstream, which helps brands with their Amazon ads, acquired by Jungle Scout

Alamo Drafthouse Files for Chapter 11

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Tipsheet: Michaels Sold | D. Tree Inc +4.9% | H-E-B No Mask

 

Michaels Companies to be bought by Apollo Global in $5 billion deal at CNBC. “Apollo will commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Michaels for $22.00 per share in cash. The purchase price represents a 47% premium to the closing stock price on February 26, 2021 (the last trading day prior to press speculation about a potential transaction involving Michaels).” Press release

 

Dollar Tree, Inc Q4 comp sales: Enterprise +4.9% / Family Dollar +8.1% / Dollar Tree +2.4% Press release

 

…Big-box competition hits Dollar Tree sales, shares fall at Reuters. “Net sales rose 7.2% to $6.77 billion but missed estimates of $6.79 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.” Read more

 

Walmart sweetens pay for most U.S. hourly workers on the coasts at Reuters. “The world’s biggest retailer also said it has seen a slight increase in job applications for digital and stocking roles, mostly internally. “(This) tells us that we’re becoming more competitive for this type of work,” said Drew Holler, Walmart’s head of people operations.” Read more

 

Nordstrom Q4 net sales down 20% Press release

 

…Nordstrom shares fall as shipping delays boost retailer’s inventory heading into 2021 at CNBC. “Nordstrom reported fourth-quarter sales and earnings that topped analysts’ estimates…But the company cautioned that it has been recently impacted by shipping delays…” Read more

 

Ross Stores Q4 comp sales down 6% Press release

 

**The Sweets & Snacks Expo is a can’t-miss event for thousands of confectionery and snack retailers, manufacturers and suppliers for a reason – here you’ll find all the product innovations, insights and industry connections you need to build a world-class in-store or online experience that will delight your shoppers. Indianapolis June 23-25, 2021. Show overview | Most Innovative New Product Awards | Destination Retail

 

Amazon is set to open its first U.K. Amazon Go supermarket in Ealing, west London at Eater. “The supermarket is set to open this week, joining the 27 Amazon Go supermarkets across the U.S. It’s reportedly been in the planning since 2017, when Amazon applied for trademarks on some doozy marketing lines: “No Lines, No Checkout. (No, Seriously),” and “No Queue, No Checkout. (No, Seriously).” Read more

 

Instacart raises $265M at a $39B valuation at TechCrunch. “The new funding, which, like its past few rounds, isn’t assigned a Series alphabetical designation, pushes the company’s valuation to $39 billion — more than double its $17.7 billion valuation when it raised its last financing, a $200 million venture round in October 2020.” Read more

 

Amazon appoints Laura Sutphen as director of corporate communications PR Week subs.

 

Best Buy Appoints Steven E. Rendle – Chairman, President and CEO of VF Corp – to Board of Directors Press release

 

Amazon tweaks cardboard box tape in new app icon after some saw Hitler’s mustache in the design at GeekWire. “The new icon changes the look of the tape above Amazon’s smile logo — which some thought looked a little too much like the German dictator’s mustache — and changed it from a jagged edge to a folded look.” Pics/Read more

 

Target Announces 2021 Strategic Investments “Following 30 store openings in 2020, including adding a record 29 new small-format stores in a single year, Target plans to accelerate the pace and open 30-40 new stores each year to meet community needs in urban centers, college campuses and dense suburban cities across the country.” Press release

 

H-E-B will require workers to wear masks, can only ask customers to do the same at KSAT. Read more

 

Emerging Europe.com bolsters defences as Amazon enters Poland at Reuters. “As Amazon sets its sights on central and eastern Europe, the e-commerce giant will need to convince long-time Allegro shoppers like Elzbieta Modrakowska to click away from the region’s leading online marketplace.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

HBR: How Employers Can Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy

Payroll/HR Giant PrismHR Hit by Ransomware?

Amazon issues rare apology in India

Experts sound the alarm on declining birth rates among younger generations

Universal set to resume construction of Epic Universe park in Florida

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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