Analyst predicts Costco will soon build stores in China for the first time by Tae Kim at CNBC. “It appears COST is on the verge of a bigger push into China … last week’s launch of an official flagship store on the ‘Tmall’ platform (with an expanded assortment of furniture, consumer electronics, and wine) suggests COST has broader ambitions for the market,” analyst Peter Benedict wrote in a note to clients Thursday titled “Flying Below the Radar – China Expansion on Tap?” Read more

 

Sam’s Club is eliminating about 700 back-office positions by Robbie Neiswanger at Arkansas Online. “A spokesman… confirmed the changes Friday, saying club-level accounting employees will be affected by the decision as the retailer automates the work. Money-counting cash recycler machines will now perform those duties.” Read more

 

Target Raises Minimum Hourly Wage to $11, Commits to $15 Minimum Hourly Wage by End of 2020 Press release

 

Aerosoles exec to lead Walmart’s online fashion team at Chain Store Age. “Denise Incandela was named Walmart’s senior VP, fashion, effective October 2, 2017. She will lead the fashion businesses for Walmart.com, Jet.com, and Shoes.com, according to Fashion Network…she will report to Walmart’s chief revenue officer Scott Hilton.” Read more

 

Department Stores Cling to Power Over Landlords on Mall Upgrades by Sarah Mulholland at Bloomberg. “Known as reciprocal easement agreements, or REAs, the contracts were put in place decades ago, when landlords relied on department stores to lure suburban shoppers. A majority of malls in the U.S. are encumbered by an REA, tying developers’ hands as they try to keep up with rapid shifts in retailing, according to Ryan Rivera, a partner at law firm Hartman Simons & Wood LLP.” Read more

 

Walmart Will Start Offering Meal Kits on Its Website by December by Cathaleen Chen at The Street. “Essentially, Walmart will be a portal for different meal kit companies to sell their products as a third-party host. The meal kit companies will then pay the retailer a referral fee for driving customers to them, McDevitt explained.” Read more

 

Bargain-loving bride walks down a shopping aisle to tie the knot at Costco by Emilia Mazza at Daily Mail. “The wedding reception will have a sectioned off area in the store’s food court – and guests will be served hot dogs, pizzas, pies and a cake topped with the Costco logo. ‘Where else can you, honestly serve your guests for under $10?’ she said.” Pics/Read more

 

Hudson’s Bay Executive Chairman Richard Baker aims for the long shot of taking the company private by Lauren Hirsch at CNBC. “The move comes as activist Land & Buildings Investment Management has urged the company to explore real estate monetization or go private.” Read more

 

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Wal-Mart director picked for U.S. attorney in Western District of Arkansas by Bill Bowden at Arkansas Online. “Duane A. Kees, known as “Dak,” currently focuses on corporate investigations for the Bentonville-based retailer, according to a news release the White House sent out Friday.” Read more

 

Rue21 emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Paul J. Gough at Pittsburgh Business Times. Read more

 

Aldi outrage as customers line up for hours to buy Mercedes-Benz Ride on Car at Daily Mail. “There was only one of the Mercedes-Benz models in stock, and he snapped it up as a Christmas present for his grandson. ‘I got here first,’ he said. ‘Very happy I got it.'” Pics/Read more

 

Activist Funds Seek Ouster of Tuesday Morning CEO by David Benoit at Wall Street Journal. “Their candidate to replace Mr. Becker is the former CEO of Signet Jewelers Ltd. and Francesca’s Holdings Corp., Michael W. Barnes.” Read more (subs.)

 

How Preckwinkle’s pop tax backfired in Chicago by Hal Dardick at Chicago Tribune. “In Philadelphia, a soda tax was applied to distributors, meaning it didn’t show up on store receipts. But here, county officials said the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled the pop tax had to be applied at the cash register. And so store owners opted to list the new tax on receipts, a reminder to consumers that the case of soda they’d purchased now cost an additional $2.88.” Read more

 

One Surprise Standout for Uber: Food Delivery by Mike Isaac at NY Times. Read more

 

Casper went to war with a popular mattress reviews site — then financed its takeover by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “In the booming world of online mattress sales, these reviews sites had accumulated massive power — often turning up high in Google search results for general queries like “mattress reviews” or brand-specific ones like “Casper reviews.” And without many showrooms to allow customers to try out these mattresses, online reviews carried even more weight.” Read more

 

Amazon Web Services Announces the Opening of Data Centers in the Middle East by Early 2019 Press release

 

Home Depot Data Breach Attys Score $15.3M In Fees by Shayna Posses at Law 360. “The attorneys representing banks and other financial institutions in litigation over Home Depot’s 2014 data breach won a $15.3 million fee award on Friday that represents only a slight reduction to their hotly contested request, as a Georgia federal judge gave his final blessing to a $27.25 million settlement.” Read more (subs.)

 

Deloitte hit by cyber-attack by Nick Hopkins at The Guardian. “So far, six of Deloitte’s clients have been told their information was “impacted” by the hack. Deloitte’s internal review into the incident is ongoing. The Guardian understands Deloitte discovered the hack in March this year, but it is believed the attackers may have had access to its systems since October or November 2016.” Read more

 

Walt Disney threatens to pull ESPN, ABC from fourth largest U.S. cable provider at Reuters. Read more

 

Blue Apron jumps on buy rating from Guggenheim by Sara Salinas at CNBC. “Blue Apron controls approximately 20 percent of the market share for the sector, the note said. “Given their proof of concept and evolving management strategy, we think they can effectively compete and sustain the brand’s leadership position,” Guggenheim said.” Read more

 

Walmart, Sam’s Club employees raise $5.3 million for Children’s Miracle Network at Talk Business. “Over the past 30 years, the Walmart and Sam’s Club fundraising campaigns have raised nearly $1 billion for pediatric healthcare.” Read more

 

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