Bath & Body -4.3% | Homes -4.6% | Advice Fatigue

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Pending home sales drop to the lowest level on record in January at CNBC. “Pending sales dropped 4.6% from December to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001.” Read more

 

Bath & Body Works Q4 net sales down 4.3% Press release

 

…Bath & Body Works forecasts tepid annual results on tariffs, spending concerns at Reuters. “Bath & Body Works forecast fiscal 2025 net sales growth of to 1% to 3%, largely below analysts’ estimates for a 2.8% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG.” Read more

 

The frontloading of cargo container shipments ahead of President Trump’s anticipated tariffs on trading partners has contributed to a sharp, sudden decline in pricing power for ocean shipping companies at CNBC

 

Warby Parker Q4 net revenue increased 17.8% Press release

 

…Target and Warby Parker Team “Each Warby Parker at Target shop-in-shop will offer products and services — including glasses, sunglasses, contacts, eye exams and vision tests… The first five locations, which will be staffed by Warby Parker employees, will open in the second half of 2025…” Press release

 

‘Advice fatigue’: American consumers are tired of hearing cost-cutting tips at USA Today. “…44% of consumers said they are sick of hearing that they should save money by staying home, while 21% found the tip helpful.” Read more

 

**A message from Comfy Sacks: Delight your consumer with foam-filled, long-lasting and soft bean bag chairs. Genius design + comfort. Website | Program details: info@eyeonretail.net

 

‘Experiential’ retail surges as landlords try to lure customers back to the mall at LA Times. “Inglewood’s Hollywood Park retail center hosts Cosm, an immersive theater that features plush stadium seating and a wraparound screen that’s 87 feet in diameter with life-like resolution that gives the venue that opened last year the feel of a scaled-down Las Vegas Sphere.” Read more

 

Amazon’s new Alexa+ uses generative AI to personalize conversations and automate tasks at GeekWire

 

Mystery Disease Linked to Bats Kills Scores in Congo at WSJ. “A fast-spreading mystery illness linked to bats has killed scores of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with nearly half dying within 48 hours of showing symptoms, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The disease, which causes uncontrolled bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, had infected 1,096 people and killed 60 as of Feb. 23…” WSJ subs.

 

Two Instacart alumni raise $5.5 million to build Highstock, an eBay for big brands with excess inventory Fortune subs. 

 

Helios AI to help Walmart with forecasting for agri commodities at Talk Business. “Helios CEO Francisco Martin-Rayo said this past fall was the first time Walmart opened its Open Call for technology service providers….He said Helios AI was the first tech service company to get a coveted “golden ticket.” Read more

 

Avride’s sidewalk delivery bots land in Japan at TechCrunch

 

How Walmart’s new video game miniseries lets consumers buy real-life products at Ad Age. “Walmart has launched a video game miniseries in which players can shop for physical products from real brands without having to leave the gaming environment. The effort, which takes place inside gaming platform Spatial, is Walmart’s latest attempt to offer real-world commerce opportunities within virtual settings, following similar activations on Roblox (and) social app Zepeto…” Ad Age subs.

 

Target Announces Partnership with Champion Press release

 

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Nike Thieves Rob Trains | McMillon May Move | THD US +1.3%

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US consumer confidence plummets in February, biggest monthly decline since 2021 at AP. “The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index sank this month to 98.3 from 105.3 in January. That’s far below the expectations of economists, who projected a reading of 103, according to a survey by FactSet…Markets on Wall Street immediately drooped…” Read more

 

Home Depot Q4 comp sales +0.8%, U.S. +1.3% Press release

 

…Home Depot earnings beat estimates, as retailer breaks comparable sales losing streak at CNBC. “In an interview with CNBC, CFO Richard McPhail said “housing is still frozen by mortgage rates.” Yet he said Home Depot saw broad-based growth, as sales increased in about half of its merchandise categories and 15 of its 19 U.S. geographic regions. Home Depot anticipates consumers will stop putting off projects as they gradually get used to higher interest rates…McPhail said.” Read more

 

Thieves targeting freight trains in California and Arizona deserts make off with $2M worth of Nikes at AP. “In a Jan. 13 robbery, suspects cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train traveling through a remote section of Arizona and made off with more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth more than $440,000…It was one of at least 10 heists targeting BNSF trains in remote areas of the Mojave Desert since last March that authorities are investigating, the Los Angeles Times reported. All but one resulted in the theft of Nike sneakers, according to investigators.” Read more

 

Moody’s: Top 10% of U.S. households in terms of earnings account for nearly 50% of consumer spending at Fox News. “…a record since at least 1989, according to the analysis. That figure marks a significant rise over the past three decades, when the highest 10% of income earners accounted for about 36% of consumer spending, Moody’s Analytics found.” Read more

 

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Walmart Wants to Be Something for Everyone in a Divided America at Bloomberg. “…the only time McMillon’s voice starts to quiver is when he talks about leaving behind Walton’s old office, which he’s likely to do in May. “That will be an emotional moment,” he says. “I try not to think about it too much, and I’ll try to do it alone. I don’t want anybody around.” When he first moved in, he wanted to put up a whiteboard, only to have people at the company tell him he couldn’t do it because Sam didn’t have one. Nope, McMillon told them: Sam had a pegboard. The whiteboard went up. And there will be one on the wall of McMillon’s new office on the third floor of a building that surely will have a better view. He probably can’t wait to get there.” Bloomberg subs.

 

Pro-Farrakhan pastor leading Target DEI boycott calls out Black Trump supporters at NY Post. “In a Sunday sermon that went viral on social media over the weekend, Bryant said, “I feel bad for them coons in the White House who are in there tap dancing for massah, wearing bow ties shimmying and grinding, laughing like nothin’ is funny.” Read more

 

The Costco Way: A Conversation With Tony James at Chief Executive. “For 36 years, Tony James helped guide the fate of the best-run retail company in the world. In a rare, exclusive interview, he shares his board playbook…”Jim Sinegal was like a prophet in that way. He knew what made the business tick. Even now, if you watch his inspirational sermons, they’re extraordinary. I’ve also never seen a CEO more in command of the details. His capacity to remember the details of this huge business was unbelievable. If you said to Jim, “I love those frozen peas at $3.99,” he’d say, “They’re $3.86.”” Read more

 

Joann to close all 800 fabric stores at CBS

 

Amazon to retire Chime meeting service, shift to Zoom at GeekWire. “There will be no more apologies about Chime from Amazon employees to outsiders joining their meetings…” Read more

 

Walmart Leadership to Participate in Upcoming Investor Events Press release

 

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Sam’s +6.8% | WM US +4.6% | Patel +Shein | Wayfair +1.1%

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Walmart U.S. Q4 comp sales (ex-fuel) +4.6% / Walmart Int’l Q4 net sales growth +5.7% Press release

 

…Walmart shares drop as retailer says profit growth will slow at CNBC. “In an interview with CNBC, CFO John David Rainey described consumer spending patterns as “steady” and said “there’s not any sharp changes that we’ve seen.”…About two-thirds of what Walmart sells is made, grown or assembled in the U.S. Yet if tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada take effect, he said Walmart is “not going to be completely immune.” Read more

 

Sam’s Club Q4 comp sales (ex-fuel) +6.8% Press release

 

Amazon’s big bet on warehouse robots is already getting a boost from generative AI at Fortune/Yahoo. “A few examples of generative AI at work include trajectory planning for robotic arms to better understand the degrees of movement and what sequence is most optimal to grab items. There’s also the use of generative AI to create visual packages and conceptualize how robotics can pick up atypical package sizes.” Read more

 

Trump’s FBI Pick Stands to Make Millions From Shein at WSJ. “Patel consulted for Shein’s parent company, Elite Depot, for nine months last year and was compensated with stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million…Patel has agreed to sell the shares he owns in public companies such as Meta Platforms and Apple if the Senate confirms him as FBI director…But Patel plans to retain his shares in Elite Depot, and the FBI allowed him to do so.” WSJ subs. 

 

Wayfair Q4 US revenue +1.1% Press release

 

Alibaba shares pop after cloud unit, e-commerce growth push up quarterly profit at CNBC. “Alibaba’s key business units, Taobao and Tmall Group, posted an annual 5% uptick in revenue to 136.091 billion yuan in the December quarter, while the International Digital Commerce Group — which oversees ecommerce businesses such as Lazard and AliExpress — added 32% year-on-year to 37.756 billion in revenues…” Read more

 

Amazon kills ‘Inspire,’ its TikTok-style feed for discovering products at TechCrunch

 

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How Temu got sucked into Trump’s trade war at Bloomberg. “Temu’s success isn’t an existential threat to Amazon. The pain has fallen most sharply on hobby shops, arts and craft stores and discounters such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree, according to research firm Earnest Analytics. Other US companies are looking to emulate some of Temu’s innovations, in particular by opening warehouses in China or Mexico to pack orders and send them individually into the US duty-free, says Derek Lossing, founder of the logistics consulting firm Cirrus Global Advisors.” Bloomberg subs.

 

Loblaw to open 80 new stores in 2025 at Financial Post. “…about 50 of which will be discount grocers…new locations are part of an approximately $10 billion investment over the next five years…The plans for 2025 include renovating more than 300 grocery and pharmacy locations.” Read more

 

Daughters of Target’s late cofounder raise concern over company’s pullback on DEI efforts at AP

 

Walmart sees growth in optical, pharmacy businesses at Talk Business. “Walmart operates around 3,000 optical centers in its U.S. stores…David Reitnauer, vice president of health and wellness and optical at Walmart, said in a Jan. 30 interview, that 70% of the vision center remodels are complete to start the new year.” Read more

 

Sabrina Simmons, former CFO at Gap, Inc., has been named Petco CFO Press release

 

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Best Employers (TJs #2) | Amazon Messy RTO | CTire +1.1%

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Forbes: America’s Best Large Employers (Trader Joe’s #2 / Costco #42 / HEB #55 / WinCo #67) Full list

 

Inside Amazon’s Messy Push to Bring Everyone Back to the Office at WSJ. “The space crunch has led the e-commerce giant to postpone the mandate at dozens of offices around the U.S., including in Houston, Atlanta and New York City. Workers assigned to some locations are still waiting to hear when they can actually go to the office full-time. Others who are back in five days don’t have any teammates in the same location. They find themselves jockeying for parking, a place to sit, and private rooms to make video calls.” WSJ subs.

 

Wholesale prices jump to a 3.5 percent annual increase at The Hill. “Wholesale prices moved up 0.4 percent in January to hit a 3.5-percent annual increase, undergirding consumer inflation that broke 3 percent last month for the first time since the second quarter of 2024.” Read more

 

Canadian Tire Q4 comp sales +1.1% “Strong growth was led by Automotive and offset by modest declines across other divisions. Essential categories were up 4%, while consumer demand remained constrained in discretionary categories, which were down 2%.” Press release

 

Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can’t the US Get It Right? at Bloomberg. “The shop is well lit; the floor, pristine. The welcoming aroma of freshly fried chicken and steamed pork buns wafts through the air. Customers pop in to snag on-the-go comfort foods such as savory onigiri and creamy egg salad on squishy white bread. It’s a scene that plays out hundreds of times a day at more than 21,000 7-Eleven locations across Japan, where the convenience stores inspire almost cultlike loyalty.” Read more

 

Kroger Announces David Kennerley as Incoming CFO “…Kennerley, senior vice president and CFO for PepsiCo Europe, will succeed Todd Foley as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 3.” Press release

 

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CVS CEO defends pharmacy middlemen, accuses drugmakers of ‘monopolistic’ practices at CNBC

 

Joann Fabric closing “approximately 500” of its roughly 850 locations across the U.S. at USA Today. “The news comes after the company filed for bankruptcy a second time in less than a year in January after initially filing and then going private in March 2024.” Read more

 

Bezos’ Rocket Firm Bracing for Job Cuts at Bloomberg/MSN. “The magnitude of the job cuts wasn’t immediately clear, though one of the people said it will be at least in the hundreds of jobs and potentially reach one thousand or more employees.” Read more

 

US Foods Q4 net sales +6.4% Press release

 

Albertsons realigns regions, combines Boise & Denver divisions at BoiseDev. “The new combined Denver/Intermountain Division will be known as the “Mountain West Division,” Morris’ memo noted…At a higher level, Albertsons will organize itself into three regions — East, West, and California.” Read more

 

Fate of suit against Walmart uncertain at Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “A lawsuit Walmart Inc. faces involving delivery drivers’ pay is up in the air now that the future of the federal agency that filed the suit is unknown…” Read more

 

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Kroger Cuts 100s | Costco & WERE | Miami & Flowers

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Shopify beats on fourth-quarter revenue, but gives mixed guidance at CNBC. “Revenue in the fourth quarter jumped 31% from $2.14 billion in the same quarter a year earlier…Net income nearly doubled to $1.3 billion…” Read more

 

Kroger cuts hundreds of jobs at Cincinnati headquarters, other local facilities at Local 12. “…eliminated a couple hundred jobs as it shuts down or lowers the priority of projects the company has opted not to continue because they aren’t working out, according to sources with knowledge of the cuts who asked not to be identified. Most of the people whose jobs have been cut are consultants, many of whom worked outside Cincinnati, but numerous others are full-time employees.” Read more

 

Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers are traveling (through Miami) to you at AP. ” Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine’s Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles…The (Miami) airport received more than 3 million tons of cargo last year, with flowers accounting for nearly 400,000 tons, worth more than $1.6 billion.” Read more

 

A new IKEA location received a record-breaking 3,730 applications for just 150 open roles. Inside the pay and perks luring talent back to retail at Fortune/Yahoo

 

Walmart exec is paying it forward at Tulane University. “As senior vice president of operations at Walmart, Ivy Barney (MBA ’11) helps lead (Walmart)…One of her classmates in the (Tulane EMBA) program was Tracy Rosser (MBA ’11), who at the time was senior vice president of store operations with Walmart. He told Barney he had an opening on his team and thought she’d be a good fit.” Read more

 

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Wayfair Introduces New AI-Powered Tool ‘Muse’ Press release

 

Coca-Cola reverses sales volume slide, sending revenue up 6% in the fourth quarter at AP. “Quincey said limited-time offerings like Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry, Fanta Beetlejuice and Oreo-flavored Coke helped drive sales in the fourth quarter, and more innovation is coming this year.” Read more

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods Opens Internal Influencer Program to the Public Press release

 

Cannabis Industry Faces Debt Reckoning Without Bankruptcy Help at Bloomberg. “If it were like most companies on the losing end of a boom and bust cycle, Schwazze could just turn to the US bankruptcy court…But unlike most businesses, its product — marijuana — is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government…That disadvantage will make it harder for Schwazze and other cannabis companies to win concessions from lenders…” Bloomberg subs. 

 

USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter Rankings Ranked list

 

Costco CEO, execs members of Washington business group dedicated to ‘racial equity’ at Fox Business. “Costco’s CEO and several executives are affiliated with a Washington business group dedicated to advancing “racial equity for Black Washingtonians,” showcasing just how deeply committed the grocery wholesaler is to diversity, equity and inclusion…” Read more

 

IKEA Chief Creative Officer leaves to take job at SharkNinja Press release

 

Winn-Dixie & Harveys acquired by private investors “A consortium of private investors, spearheaded by the current CEO and President of Southeastern Grocers Inc., Anthony Hucker, and C&S Wholesale Grocers…has acquired Southeastern Grocers and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket banners from ALDI U.S.” Press release

 

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Amazon Store Woes | Curry Oakland Out | Walton +Hall of Fame

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Amazon Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work at WSJ. “…with the Amazon Go store in Woodland Hills, Calif., closing this month, the retailer has shrunk its Go portfolio by about half since early 2023, to 16 stores in four states…It has closed dozens of its other branded retail stores in recent years, including bookstores, fashion outlets and its “4-star” locations stocked with bestselling items from its website.” WSJ subs.

 

China launches limited tariffs at AP. “John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, called the response a “measured” one. “I don’t think they want the trade war escalating,” he said.” Read more

 

Grubhub confirms data breach at TechCrunch. “…the intrusion allowed unnamed hackers to access the personal details of customers, merchants and drivers who interacted with its customer care service. The breach also affected users of Grubhub’s Campus Dining service, which allows university students to use their meal credits on the food delivery app.” Read more

 

Kroger Health introduces free nutrition coaching program Press release

 

JCPenney Launches B2B Website to Support Bulk Order Purchasing Press release

 

Buy-Canadian website flooded with thousands of new user submissions at National Post. “Over the last few weeks, as Trump’s threat of 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports became more deliberate, (22-year old owner) Lobo says he’s been flooded with over 5,000 submissions. “I’ve never had so many emails in my life.” Read more

 

Target is sued for defrauding shareholders about DEI at Reuters/Yahoo

 

Sam’s Club’s CEO is doubling down on the experiential side of retail at Business Insider/MSN. “With all of this data, (Chris) Nicholas says he decided to put one person in charge of turning it into a more effective flywheel for the business….Sam’s Club has appointed Diana Marshall, who was previously chief growth officer, as its new chief experience officer. Marshall will report directly to Nicholas.” Read more

 

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Tire recycling tech startup with link to Costco lands $40M from former CEO Jim Sinegal and others at GeekWire. “I did bottled water for Costco,” (CEO) Abramowitz said. “So we were making a billion-plus bottles a year. This is kind of my penance for doing that.” Read more

 

Waffle House is adding a 50-cent surcharge per egg at CNN

 

PayPal shares slip as growth slows in card processing “Venmo’s total payment volume rose 10% in the quarter from a year earlier…Monthly active accounts for the (Venmo) debit card grew more than 30% in 2024, and Pay with Venmo monthly actives increased more than 20%.” Read more

 

Ayesha Curry’s Sweet July store in Oakland to close due to safety concerns at KTVU

 

How Trump’s China Tariffs Will Hurt Temu and Shein at Newsweek. “Trump is ending the “de minimis exception,” which allows companies to avert paying duties on imports worth $800 or less when shipping packages to customers in the U.S.” Read more

 

Alice Walton to be inducted into Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame at Talk Business

 

Ollie’s appoints Eric van der Valk as President & CEO – He previously served as COO of Christmas Tree Shops. Read more

 

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