Archive for year: 2024

The looming dockworkers strike is mostly up to 1 fiery union leader at Politico. “The decision to strike is largely in the hands of the mercurial and tough-as-nails head of the dockworkers union, Harold Daggett, a native New Yorker who’s been accused of having mob ties…The union’s constitution allows Daggett to call a strike without a vote of his members.” Read more

…Shippers scramble for workarounds ahead of looming US East Coast port strike at Reuters. “Ronnie Robinson, chief supply chain officer at DSW parent company Designer Brands, normally routes about 20% of the company’s shoe imports through the East Coast. He shifted about half of those goods to the West Coast. And, he paid ten times more than a typical ocean transit to fly in a small shipment of leather boots and dress shoes from Brazil.  Robinson (said) his company cannot risk late deliveries to clients like Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Dillard’s.” Read more

Adobe expects U.S. online sales to hit $240.8 billion this holiday shopping season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31), representing 8.4% growth year-over-year Full report

H&M abandons 2024 margin target as costs hurt profit at Reuters. “H&M scrapped its margin target for 2024 as higher discounting, costs and fierce competition hurt operating profit in the third quarter, denting shares in the world’s second-biggest listed fashion retailer.” Read more

PayPal to allow cryptocurrency buying, holding and selling for US merchants at Reuters

Promises of ‘passive income’ on Amazon led to death threats for negative online review, FTC says at CNBC. “Jamaal Sanford received a disturbing email…The message, whose sender claimed to be part of a “Russian shadow team,” contained Sanford’s home address, social security number and his daughter’s college…The sender said Sanford…would only only be safe if he removed a negative online review. “Do not play tough guy,” the email said. “You have nothing to gain by keeping the reviews and EVERYTHING to lose by not cooperating.” Read more

Salt Life apparel brand to close 28 retail stores after bankruptcy auction at Fox Business

American Eagle sues Amazon over alleged ‘knock-offs’ of Aerie products at CNBC. “American Eagle said it didn’t authorize Amazon to sell products from its Aerie line…Clicking on a link leads to an Amazon webpage that “displays only knock-offs and ‘dupes’” of Aerie products…notified Amazon “over a month ago” of the infringing products, but says they were relabeled with misspellings of its Aerie trademarks, including “Aeries,” “Arie” or “Aries.” Read more

Kroger’s Wellness Festival is this weekend in Cincy “175+ sponsors engaging and educating attendees through live activations and sampling.” (+ Third Eye Blind!) Event schedule

Former JCPenney Executives Ask $30 Million for Their Colorado Estate at WSJ. “For years, no one wanted to buy a roughly 38-acre Colorado parcel overlooking the Rocky Mountains because it was filled with old buildings, a railroad caboose and a metal sculpture of an airplane…But in 2020, former JCPenney executives Peter McGrath and his wife, Janet Fox (spent) over $17 million to clean up the property and build a roughly 5,750-square-foot ranch-style home on it. Now they are putting the estate, known as Sage Ridge, on the market for $30 million.” WSJ subs.

Tire Study: Go-to tire retailer – Discount Tire 33.8%, Walmart 17.7%, Costco 16.9%…Costco took the crown for overall brand ranking…Sam’s Club faced the highest rate of customer-reported issues.” Press release

LinkedIn Top Startups 2024: The 50 U.S. companies on the rise List

How Kwik Trip created a cult-like following in the Midwest at Minneapolis Star Tribune. “That personal touch, replicated in 850 stores and growing, has made the La Crosse, Wis.-based convenience store chain a cultural icon in its region…Kwik Trip — and its Iowa counterpart, Kwik Star — has won the type of cult following common among regional convenience store brands. East Coasters love their WaWa, Texas has Buc-ee’s, and Great Plains folk swear by Casey’s General Store pizzas.” Tiered subs.

NOT SHOCK POLL – Survey by Blind finds 91% of Amazon employees not happy about return-to-office policy at GeekWire

Harris Says She Will ‘Go After’ Companies Engaged In ‘Price Gouging,’ In First Solo Interview As Democratic Nominee at Forbes

Walmart’s 11th annual Open Call at Talk Business. “Walmart opened its doors to more than 500 entrepreneurs on Tuesday (Sept.24) at the retail giant’s 11th annual Open Call. Jason Fremstad, Walmart head of supplier development and sourcing, said merchants will hold 800 meetings on Wednesday with the supplier hopefuls. He said Walmart continues to source products made or assembled in the U.S. but also wanted to stretch the focus by inviting export buyers from Canada and Mexico.” Read more

CDC: Tenth death reported in listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head meats at USA Today

A Shoplifter Gets Shot Stealing Candy at Walgreens. Who’s to Blame? at WSJ. “More than a year after the killing, the official answer is no one; even San Francisco’s mayor backs a state ballot measure to stiffen shoplifting penalties.” WSJ subs.

Reuters speaks to nine current 7-Eleven franchisees in Japan, almost all voiced disapproval of Seven & i’s strategy  and welcomes the proposed buyout by Circle K owner Couche-Tard Read more

Ulta Beauty Announces Partnership with Wicked  Press release

CHECKS IN THE MAIL – $500K Target gift card scheme lands East Coast man behind bars at Mercury News. “In his plea agreement, O’Brien admitted the goal was $1,077,100…In addition to the (5-year) prison term, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ordered O’Brien to serve three years of supervised release and repay the retailer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.” Read more

Target names former PepsiCo exec Jim Lee as new chief financial officer at CBS News. “Lee has over 25 years of experience at PepsiCo, where he was most recently the company’s deputy chief financial officer. He will succeed Michael Fiddelke, Target’s chief operating officer.” Read more

…Get to Know Jim Lee, Target’s New CFO “Lee: ‘I have three kids ranging in age from 12 to 17. All of them, along with my wife, are accomplished classical musicians. So, much of my free time is spent with them, driving them to different commitments related to their music. Outside of that, I like to exercise every day. I also enjoy the strategy and probabilities in the occasional game of poker and am a big sports fan.'” Read more

Walmart Unveils its Holiday Plans “Beginning Oct. 8 at 12 a.m. ET on Walmart.com and the app, Walmart+ members get exclusive early access to shop the most-wanted deals, 12 hours earlier than anyone else…” Press release

Amazon introduces Amelia, an AI assistant for third-party sellers at CNBC. “…it’s launching the product, called Amelia, in beta for select U.S. sellers, before introducing it more broadly later this year. Amazon describes it as an “all-in-one, generative-AI based selling expert,” and is making it accessible through Seller Central, the internal dashboard for third-party merchants.” Read more

Mastercard: US holiday sales to grow again with promotions in focus at Reuters. “U.S. retail sales are expected to rise 3.2% in the holiday season as companies look to deals to attract thrifty shoppers during a shorter-than-usual shopping window this year…In comparison, retail sales rose 3.1% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 of 2023, according to the report from Mastercard…” Read more

Amazon’s New ‘Shark Tank’-Style Show Gives Winners Top Billing in Its Store at WSJ. “Coming soon: Amazon.com sellers duking it out on TV to get their wares prime placement at the world’s largest online retailer. Think “Shark Tank” meets Home Shopping Network. The e-commerce giant plans to introduce a new competition show next month in which entrepreneurs pitch their products to a studio audience as well as to judges including Amazon executives and celebrities like Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and designer Christian Siriano. Finalists will have their inventions sold in a new Amazon “Buy It Now” online store, and the winner of each episode will earn $20,000.” WSJ subs. 

…Contestants sue MrBeast and Amazon over alleged conditions on reality competition show at Variety. “While participants knew upon signing the contract at the production’s inception that they were facing a potentially long and challenging competition, they allege getting a lot more than they bargained for,” attorneys for the anonymous “Beast Games” contestants said in a statement about the lawsuit. “Several contestants ending up hospitalized, while others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions.” Read more

***A message from Su Salsa: It’s time for lime in your salsa set! Lime flavored foods are everywhere…but lime flavored salsas aren’t. Su Salsa Mild delivers a “hint of lime” flavor with a jalapeno kick. High-impact lime green label pops at shelf. Learn more/See the label. Sample request: info@eyeonretail.net

Walmart will now let you ‘Shop with Friends’ from home at Fast Company. “…lets users choose from a set of models to find one that looks like them, then assemble a virtual fitting room of outfits they’re potentially interested in. Then, they can see how the outfits look on their chosen model and generate a link to their fitting room to share by text, email, or social media, letting friends weigh in on which outfits to get.” Read more

Amazon is using generative AI to drive more same-day shipping at CNBC. “During an exclusive tour of Amazon’s largest California sort center, located in Tracy, Armato told CNBC that 60% of Prime orders in March were delivered the same day or next day in the top 60 metropolitan areas in the U.S. Amazon is betting on generative AI to increase that figure.” Read more/Video

Walmart used 3D printing tech for a supercenter expansion at Talk Business. “Walmart teamed up with Greely, Colo.-based Alquist 3D to build a new 8,000-square-foot concrete structure in Tennessee that stands 20-feet tall via 3D printing. It is the one of the largest freestanding, 3D-printed commercial structures in the U.S, the retail giant said. The new building is an extension to the Walmart Supercenter in Athens, Tenn., and will be used to for online pickup and delivery services. It’s the first time Walmart has used 3D technology in commercial construction.” Read more

Former Zulily workers sue Seattle’s one-time e-commerce darling at Seattle Times. “The workers…allege the company did not provide remote workers with enough advanced notice of coming layoffs.” Read more

Amazon raises pay to more than $22 an hour, gives free Prime to transportation workers at Fast Company

Sam’s Club boosting pay for 100K frontline workers at NY Post. “Under Sam’s Club’s new plan, “hourly wages will progress faster in their pay range, expanding the increase to between 3% and 6% based on years of service.” The average hourly rate for Sam’s Club associates is anticipated to be above $19. The company also announced that its also giving associates the “potential to earn thousands of dollars annually in bonuses.” Read more

After Shark Tank, Mark Cuban Just Wants to Break Shit—Especially the Prescription Drug Industry Wired/Q&A

Big Lots: 47 more stores across 19 states to close; total closures surpass 300 at The Hill

Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail 2024 (Wegmans #1, Sheetz #2, Target #3) Top 20 list

US holiday sales to grow at slowest pace since 2018, report says at Reuters. “U.S. holiday sales are expected to grow at their slowest pace in six years, data from Deloitte showed on Thursday as persistent inflation and dried up savings turn shoppers more frugal for the all-important shopping period. Holiday retail sales are likely to rise between 2.3% and 3.3% in the November 2024-January 2025 period, totaling up to $1.59 trillion, data report said, from a 4.3% growth to $1.54 trillion last year.” Read more

Amazon starts testing ads in its Rufus, shopping-focused chatbot at TechCrunch. “Ads will be shown based on Amazon search and conversational context, Amazon says, and Rufus may generate text to accompany existing ad copy in certain cases.” Read more

He Didn’t Realize Jeff Bezos Was Buying His $79 Million Indian Creek Home. Now He’s Suing. at WSJ. “Jay Parker, Elliman’s CEO of the Florida region, called Kryss personally to say that Bezos wasn’t the buyer and that the purchaser wouldn’t pay more than $79 million, according to a complaint filed…Kryss then agreed to sell at a 7.1% discount—only to find out after closing that the purchaser was in fact an entity tied to Bezos…” WSJ subs.

Signet Jewelers Q2 comp sales down 3.4% Press release

Target shopping cart ‘redesign’ prompts outrage from parents at NY Post. “On a gray section in the back of the bucket seat, there are also tiny holes that Darling says are the “Perfect size for toddler fingers — to get their fingers literally stuck in there.”…In this case, however, the court of public opinion didn’t take Darling’s side online…” Read more

NRF Names American Fashion Designer Tommy Hilfiger as The Visionary 2025 Press release

How Blenders founder Chase Fisher’s $5 ‘beater’ sunglasses led to deal with Deion Sanders at Fox Business. “So, I went to Target and the first thing I saw was a pair of $5 neon green sunglasses, and I wore them out to the club. I kid you not, everybody was coming up to me and asking about my shades…There was like all this buzz around my sunglasses, and I was like, ‘Damn, these are only $5 that I bought from Target.’” Read more

Famous Footwear Q2 comp sales down 2.9% Press release

Walmart Rolls Out Caroline’s Carts “Caroline’s Carts are designed for…people with limited mobility or injuries. The seat has a capacity to hold 35-250 pounds…all stores scheduled to be equipped with the carts by early 2025. The order from Walmart this year is greater than all Caroline’s Cart orders combined since manufacturing began in 2012.” Press release

Amazon rejects plea to stop selling taxi roof signs as cab scam spreads across Canada at CBC. “Toronto police report that since June 2023 the department has received 919 reports of the taxi scam, totalling $1.7 million in losses.” Read more

Market study says Amazon is spending up to $20B on Project Kuiper satellite network at GeekWire

Lululemon Is Seeing a Slowdown in Its Women’s Business. Has It Reached Its Ceiling? at WSJ. “Competing brands are a deeper problem than a lack of variety in the lineup, Jefferies analysts said in a note last week. “While we acknowledge that product newness and color are important factors, we believe the bigger challenge lies in heightened competition from brands like Alo and Vuori, which are rapidly gaining market share,” the analysts wrote.” WSJ subs.

Thrive Market Announces New Retail Media Network Powered By Instacart Press release

Tesco loses UK legal battle over ‘fire and rehire’ of staff at Reuters