2026 Archives

Target Exec Changes | McKinsey: AI Merchants | Retail Ponzi

February 10, 2026/in Eye-on-Retail

US retail sales unexpectedly stalled in December at Bloomberg. “The value of retail purchases, unadjusted for inflation, were little changed after a 0.6% gain in November…Eight out of 13 categories posted decreases, including declines at clothing stores and furniture outlets…outlays rose at building materials stores and sporting goods retailers.” Bloomberg subs.

Target increases in-store staffing hours, cuts about 500 other roles to help fix customer experience at CNBC. “In an internal employee memo obtained by CNBC, the big-box retailer said it’s making changes to the way it runs and oversees stores to improve the customer experience…To do that, Target said it will reduce the number of store districts…and put money toward more hours for front-line store employees…Target is laying off around 500 people, including about 100 at the store district level and about 400 across its supply chain sites, the internal email said.” Read more

Target Announces Executive Leadership Changes “Effective Feb. 15…Cara Sylvester is named chief merchandising officer…Lisa Roath is named chief operating officer. Rick Gomez, chief commercial officer, will depart Target and Jill Sando, chief merchandising officer for apparel and accessories, home and Fun101 will retire.” Press release

CVS Health Q4 Revenues +8.2% Press release

…CVS tops quarterly estimates, reaffirms profit outlook as turnaround plan takes effect at CNBC. “CVS’ pharmacy and consumer wellness division posted $37.66 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, up 12.4%…CVS said the increase came partly from higher prescription volume, including from the company’s acquisition of prescriptions from Rite Aid…” Read more

Coca-Cola Q4 Net Revenues +2.0% / Op Income -32% Press release

He Vowed to Revive RadioShack and Pier 1. Investors Say They Were Swindled. at WSJ. “Taino “Tai” Lopez …urged his followers to invest in a new company he had started that was scooping up distressed retailers on the cheap—RadioShack, Pier 1 Imports, Dressbarn, Modell’s Sporting Goods and Linens ‘N Thingg…Sean Murphy, an Illinois grandfather…invested $175,000 in the company…(he) got a $10,000 Pier 1 gift card and monthly checks of about $1,000 for about two years…The payments stopped abruptly in late 2022…Last September, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Lopez and his partners, accusing them of running a Ponzi scheme…” WSJ subs.

Amazon Prime Air delivery drone crashes into a Texas apartment building Fox Business/Video

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Kroger’s new CEO Greg Foran: Demanding but fair at WSJ. “At Walmart, Foran was known as a demanding, but fair and detail-oriented boss who worked long hours. On Saturday mornings, he would often take other executives on a company plane to visit stores around the country. Foran liked to inspect the quality of produce or meat and pepper workers with questions…He displayed a similar hands-on approach at Air New Zealand, sometimes working with cabin crew to serve drinks on flights.” WSJ subs.

Americans’ hope for their future has fallen to a new low at AP. “In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about five years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years ago.” Read more

Eddie Bauer to close Seattle headquarters, lay off 60 at Oregon Live

Merchants unleashed: How agentic AI transforms retail merchandising at McKinsey & Co. “Imagine that you’re a retail merchant or category manager who has just hired the analyst of your dreams…They keep an eye on the business at all times, even on weekends and holidays. They’re proactive, scouring through massive amounts of performance data…Now, imagine you have 20 of these analysts—for every single buyer. This is the new reality that agentic AI systems (autonomous, goal-driven AI systems that can plan, act, and learn) are bringing to retail merchandising.” Read more

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Spotify +Physical Books | Costco +6.4% | Bob’s $17 | Goose +14%

February 5, 2026/in Eye-on-Retail

Costco January comp sales (ex. fuel & f/x): US +6.8% / Canada +8.2% / Other Int’l +2.7% / Total Company +6.4% / Digitally-Enabled +33.1% Press release

Spotify Will Soon Offer Physical Books at WSJ. “Beginning this spring, the Swedish streaming service will allow premium subscribers in the U.S. and U.K. to buy hardcovers and paperbacks through its app, in partnership with Bookshop.org.” WSJ subs.

This year’s Super Bowl commercials feature AI, weight-loss drugs and celebrities galore at AP

How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back at Fortune. “(CEO Hillary) Super’s strategy is showing early signs of success. The company gained market share for two consecutive quarters. After its share price fell 50% in the first half of a volatile 2025, it began a steady climb in the fall and is now up 63% year over year. Since Super was announced as CEO, the company’s 183% gain has outperformed the S&P’s specialty retail index by more than eight times.” Fortune subs.

Canada Goose Q3 revenue +14% Press release

Beijing asks shipping companies to consider rerouting cargo through ports other than Panama Bloomberg subs.

Amazon worker increased his hours to 80/week but it wasn’t enough to avoid layoff at Seattle Times. “Several employees who spoke with The Seattle Times said they’d loved working for Amazon…But as Amazon shifted its priorities to AI over the past few years, they noticed a broader cultural shift. The pace at Amazon was already high, like “driving on a freeway at 100 miles per hour trying to catch things,” as the laid-off security engineer put it. The focus on AI increased that pace.” Read more

Boot Barn Q3: Comp sales increased 5.7%, with retail store same store sales increasing 3.7% and e-commerce same store sales increasing 19.6% Press release

Bob’s Discount Furniture announces pricing of IPO at $17.00 per share Press release

Layoffs hit their worst January levels since 2009, Challenger says at CNBC. “U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009.” Read more

‘Entirely false’: Buc-ee’s responds to rumor claiming founder Arch ‘Beaver’ Aplin III donated to ICE at Houston Chronicle/Yahoo

Washington Post lays off one-third of its newsroom – including Caroline O’Donovan, who covers Amazon NBC News

France to wage ‘year of resistance’ against Shein, online platforms, minister says at Reuters. “We need to protect ourselves of course, there is unfair competition, they must respect the consumer rules (applied to French retailers),” Papin said…two French lawmakers are preparing a bill that would allow the government to suspend online platforms without the need for court approval…” Reuters subs.

Pandora, the world’s largest jeweler jumps as CEO says firm wants to pivot from silver at CNBC

WSJ @ McMillon | Amazon 13B Same/Next Day | PayPal -15%

February 3, 2026/in Eye-on-Retail

Amazon sets new Prime delivery speed record in 2025 Press release

PayPal shares sink 15% after forecasting weak 2026 earnings; HP’s Enrique Lores named new CEO at CNBC. “Online branded checkout growth decelerated to 1% in the fourth quarter, compared with 6% a year earlier. The company said this was driven by weakness in U.S. retail, international headwinds and tougher comparisons.” Read more

Saks Global to exit Amazon partnership during bankruptcy at GlobalData/Yahoo

The Expensive Decision Walmart’s CEO Made That Changed Everything at WSJ. “Doug McMillon…sat down with WSJ ahead of his last day…” 7:15 video/WSJ subs.

Eddie Bauer stores could close amid possible bankruptcy filing at The Hill. “…financial data group Octus reported that Catalyst Brands was weighing restructuring…Catalyst Brands maintains the license to operate Eddie Bauer stores…Catalyst Brands also oversees JCPenney, Brooks Brothers, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, and Nautica.” Read more

Target’s New C.E.O. Faces Hometown Crisis as He Begins Turnaround Effort at NY Times. “Priority one through 10 is Target’s growth,” Mr. Fiddelke said in a statement to The New York Times. “We’re moving with urgency and focus.” NY Times subs.

Steve Jobs–Signed Apple Check No. 1 Sells for $2.4 Million Press release

Costco/Nike sneaker resale prices range from roughly $400 to $1,000 on third-party sites including StockX, eBay and GOAT Read more

Why Best Buy’s in-store ads are a big hit with brands at Retail Brew. “Best Buy said its in-store media offering, dubbed “takeover packages,” announced in 2025, are nearly booked for the entire year because of strong demand from advertisers including Ikea, Meta, and more.” Read more

Target plans to open 30 stores this year, and more than 300 new stores by 2035 Press release

Walmart is preparing to launch a new cross-border shipping program called Walmart Exports in early 2026 for sellers… according to an email to sellers shared by shipping software provider GeekSeller…will enable eligible Walmart Fulfillment Services items to be delivered from the U.S. to shoppers in Mexico and Canada, with additional countries added over time…” at Yahoo

New SNAP work requirements took effect Feb. 1st at Fox News

NY Times interviews Nestlé’s new CEO NY Times subs.

National Grocers Association names Kristin Popp, president of Women Grocers of America & EVP of Woodman’s Food Markets, as the 2026 WGA Woman of the Year at The Shelby Report

THD Cuts 800 | He-Man 30M Views | Sam’s/TJs #1

January 29, 2026/in Eye-on-Retail

Home Depot lays off 800 workers, says corporate employees will return to office 5 days a week at CNBC. “About 150 of the employees were based at Home Depot’s headquarters in Atlanta and the rest were in remote jobs, with most in the technology organization of the company and some on other corporate teams…Decker said the five-day in-office policy will begin the week of April 6.” Read more

Tractor Supply Q4 comp store sales +0.3% Press release

Amazon Found ‘High Volume’ Of Child Sex Abuse Material in AI Training Data at Bloomberg. “Amazon believes it over-reported these cases to NCMEC to avoid accidentally missing something…the volume of suspected CSAM that Amazon detected across its AI pipeline in 2025 stunned child safety experts interviewed by Bloomberg News.” Bloomberg subs.

ACSI 2026 Customer Satisfaction Ratings: Supermarket – Trader Joe’s overtakes Publix / Sam’s Club stays atop the general merchandise industry Press release

Worries deepen in US South after days of grappling with snow, ice and widespread outages at AP. “…officials warned Wednesday that people stuck at home were running out of food, medicine and other essentials…Roughly 332,000 homes and businesses remained without power Wednesday, the vast majority of them in Tennessee and Mississippi.” Read more

How Build-A-Bear Found Success in the ‘Nostalgia Economy’ WSJ subs./Video 8:49

Amazon’s Promotion of ‘Melania’ Has Critics Questioning Its Motives at NY Times. “Amazon paid Ms. Trump’s production company $40 million for the rights to “Melania,” about $26 million more than the next closest bidder, Disney. The fee includes a related docuseries that is scheduled to air later this year. The budget for “Melania” is unknown, but documentaries that follow a subject for a limited amount of time usually cost less than $5 million to produce. The $35 million for marketing is 10 times what some other high-profile documentaries have received.” NY Times subs.

Walmart Boosts Pay Potential for Pharmacy Technicians, Elevates 3,000 Roles Press release

Some TikTok Shop sellers are pulling back as the platform moves to end independent shipping in the U.S. at Modern Retail. “Brands selling on TikTok Shop have been able to handle fulfillment on their own since the platform’s U.S. debut in 2023. Under the new policy, sellers who are not fully transitioned to TikTok’s logistics system by the end of the rollout risk losing access to a crucial sales channel that puts brands’ products in front of some 170 million users.” Read more

51% of Americans say they’ve cut back on their spending to pay for travel USA Today

Mattel builds He-Man movie buzz with new action figures at Reuters. “The toy launch builds on momentum from the new movie’s first teaser trailer, released last week, which has since racked up more than 30 million YouTube views.” Reuters subs.

Sephora CEO Guillaume Motte Outlines Global Ambitions at WWD

SC #1 Growth | NWA #1 Metro | Goodwill +7%

January 28, 2026/in Eye-on-Retail

Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in the latest round of layoffs at AP. “Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at the ecommerce company, made the announcement Wednesday in a blog post…She said U.S.-based staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally.” Read more

South Carolina is the Nation’s Fastest-Growing State at US Census. “Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025…” Census data

…What the Census Says About the U.S. Population, in Six Charts at WSJ. “The U.S. added slightly more babies, but not enough to move the needle significantly on population growth. Births ticked up about 12,200 on the year to 3.6 million. That is better than the decline of 40,700 in the prior year…” WSJ subs.

The Home Depot parts ways with BBDO—behind the decision Ad Age subs.

The Deflation Doom Loop Trapping China’s Economy at WSJ. “Across China’s economy, consumers aren’t spending enough and producers are making too much. That leaves companies all along the supply chain earning less. Many feel they have no choice but to lower prices to unload inventory, eating into profits. With less money on hand, businesses are limiting wage growth, pausing hiring and shedding employees, which means workers have less to spend, continuing the vicious cycle.” WSJ subs.

Amazon will shutter all 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 remaining Amazon Go locations at GeekWire

….Amazon is discontinuing its Amazon One palm recognition ID system at GeekWire

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Goodwill Thrives as Americans Stretch Their Dollars at NY Times. “Goodwill Industries, said it surpassed $7 billion in revenue — a record — from its 3,400 stores in 2025, up roughly 7 percent from the previous year…Savers Value Village, which operates more than 300 stores mostly in the US and Canada, said net sales grew nearly 16 percent in its most recent quarter. The online consignment shop ThredUp said its revenue rose 34 percent last quarter.” NY Times subs.

Target’s Spring Beauty: Brings in nearly 3,000 new products, more than 60 new brands for the season Press release

Amazon agrees to pay consumers $309M in returns policy settlement at TechCrunch

Target falls off Fortune’s ‘most admired companies’ list for first time since 2001 at Yahoo. “Target ranked 27th in the 2025 iteration of the list but dropped out of the Top 50 for the 2026 list. The annual ranking of corporate reputation polls more than 3,000 executives, directors and analysts.” Read more

Milken Institute ranks Northwest Arkansas as nation’s best-performing large metro area at Talk Business

The new wave of protein is for the girls at Glossy. “An onslaught of protein products and the rise of “protein maxing” led some to question if we hit peak protein in 2025. But…the newest protein launches take the macronutrient beyond a gym bro supplement, instead promoting it as a building block of an aspirational lifestyle that includes matcha lattes and toned Pilates arms.” Read more

Struggling Florida woman, 92, working at Burlington store to pay bills gets staggering $65K in donations to retire at NY Post

Babies Are Getting Sick From Formula That Mimics Mother’s Milk at Bloomberg. “Baby formula contamination crises that have prompted recalls around the world underscore a recurring problem with infant nutrition: the more sophisticated it becomes, the harder it is to keep safe.” Bloomberg subs.