Activist Investor May Pressure Whole Foods to Sell Itself by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Jana has lined up a slate of potential board nominees with the deadline to launch a proxy fight still four months away, giving the investor ample time to pressure Whole Foods to make the changes it is advocating.” Read more

 

Kohl’s hires Best Buy executive as chief marketing officer by Melanie Lawder at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Prior to his role at Best Buy, (Greg) Revelle served as chief marketing officer at AutoNation, and was also previously vice president of worldwide online marketing at Expedia Inc.” Read more | Press release

 

…Kohl’s First CMO Since 2012 by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. Read more

 

Analyst: Amazon accounts for 34% of current retail spending and that could grow to more than 50% in five years by Lauren Thomas at CNBC. Read more

 

Online coupon site RetailMeNot acquired for $630 million by Catherine Shu at TechCrunch. “Harland Clarke, a payment and marketing services firm, will acquire online coupon site RetailMeNot in a deal worth $630 million in equity. Harland Clarke will pay $11.60 per share in cash, which is about 50% higher than the stock’s closing price of $7.75 on April 7.” Read more

 

Why eBay’s CEO sold eBay India and poured $500 million into the country’s top Amazon rival by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read Q&A

 

Adweek: Home Depot Now Makes $5 Billion Online, but a Stellar Store Experience Remains Its Top Priority by Christine Birkner. “Home Depot’s executives walk the talk, too, donning the iconic orange aprons to shadow employees and serve customers at Atlanta-area stores every Thursday. “You learn so much in the aisles,” (Kevin) Hofmann said. “We’re trying to walk in the shoes of our front-line associates, because that’s our differentiator.” Read more

 

Supervalu acquires Unified Grocers in $375 million deal by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “The deal brings together two large grocery wholesale organizations with combined sales of $16 billion in 2016. Eden Prairie-based Supervalu and Commerce, Calif.-based Unified Grocers operate a combined 24 distribution centers and serve a customer base of over 3,000 stores.” Read more | Press release

 

Trump Set to Meet with Walmart, GM, and IBM CEOs on $1 Trillion Infrastructure Program via Fortune. “U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with about 20 chief executives on Tuesday…The chief executives are part of Trump’s “Strategy and Policy Forum” that was created in December and last met with the president on Feb. 3.” Read more

 

**A message from the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show – get ready for the nation’s largest souvenir show! We bring together 1,300+ booths filled with the latest introductions from every major souvenir and resort supplier, plus countless new resources. New for 2017, the show welcomes a Native American Pavilion, even more made in America products, new Boardwalk section and a special spotlight on Gourmet gifts. Look for new events and educational offerings, too . September 13-16, 2017. Register Now | Exhibitor List

 

Smart & Final Names Derek Jones As President Of Its Cash & Carry Banner Stores “Jones comes to Smart & Final from SpartanNash Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a U.S. grocery distributor and retailer, where he was President and Executive Vice President, Wholesale and Distribution Operations.” Press release

 

Buffett-backed firm interested in bid for Panera Bread by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “JAB Holding may have competition for Panera Bread, The Post has learned. Brazilian private equity giant 3G Capital is seriously weighing a rival bid for the 2,036-store chain, sources close to the situation said.” Read more

 

Amazon starts offering line-item data for business buyers by Erik Sherman at Inc. Read more

 

Inside Blue Apron’s Meal Kit Machine by Jing Cao at Bloomberg. “Today Blue Apron is a high-tech operation with more than 4,500 employees in three fulfillment centers around the U.S. Located in a warehouse district in Jersey City, southwest of Manhattan, the biggest facility is mostly refrigerated to a chilly 37 or so degrees and about the size of a Wal-Mart supercenter. Work goes on around the clock in three shifts; up to 500 or so men and women work any given period.” Read more

 

HHGregg’s demise could help Best Buy by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The biggest beneficiary … is likely to be Best Buy, which, after perhaps some near-term pressure from the liquidation sales, should see incremental market share gains,” Mike Baker, an analyst for Deutsche Bank, wrote in a research report over the weekend.” Read more

 

US Foods Announces New Chief Supply Chain Officer Press release

 

U.K. Grocers Secretly Squeeze Customers as Brexit Bites by Sam Chambers at Bloomberg. “Retailers haven’t dared to tinker with the cost of milk, which costs 1 pound ($1.25) for a 2.3-liter carton at all of the U.K.’s major supermarkets. Yet the price of decorative candles rose 29 percent from October through March while light bulbs were up 19 percent and dental floss increased by 17 percent, according to independent price checker MySupermarket.com.” Price hike chart/Read more

 

Dutch Deal Would Unite Biking Brands by Ben Dummett at Wall Street Journal. “Pon Holdings, a closely held Dutch conglomerate, Tuesday proposed to buy Accell Group for about €847.4 million ($898.2 million), creating one of the world’s biggest bicycle makers and bringing together well-known brands such as Raleigh, Diamondback, Cervelo and Santa Cruz.” Read more (subs.)

 

Microsoft’s Minecraft Set to Launch its Own Currency by Nate Lanxon at Bloomberg. “Another notable restriction is that the store is not a free-for-all. At launch, nine businesses will be selling their goods to players.” Read more

 

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