“Target Canada Asks Suppliers for 2% Cost Break to Share in Its Struggles” by Marina  Strauss at Globe & Mail.  “In a recent letter to its suppliers, obtained by The Globe and Mail, Target said it is setting up the Target Canada Business Development Fund (BDF) by collecting “an incremental 2 per cent accrual against receipts at cost” from its vendors, starting in March of 2015. “The BDF will provide incremental funding for the key corporate initiatives, including investment in technology and supply chain, necessary to enhance the effectiveness of our business partnership and expedite our sales growth with you,” said the letter from John Butcher, new senior vice-president of merchandising at Target Canada.” Read more

 

“City plans to bill host Jim Sinegal up to $35,000 for Obama’s visit” by Patti Payne at Puget Sound Bus. Journal. “From our City Council’s standpoint, we shouldn’t pass this on to our citizens,” Sauerwein says. “We absolutely do not think the cost should be passed on to taxpayers.”…“We won’t know what the number will be until after he leaves and it’s all totaled up,” he says. “Any number I give you will be speculative.” But it is likely to be in five figures, and the Sinegals, as hosts, will get the bill.” Read more

 

“Costco and the perils of mixing politics and business” by Ben Carson at Washington Times.  “I should reveal that I have been a member of the Costco Board of Directors for 15 years. There are people on the board of several political persuasions, and we are all friendly and work well together because politics plays no role in business decisions. In the years that I have had the privilege of serving on the Costco board, I have never witnessed a single incident where politics influenced a business decision.” Read more

 

Opening today:  “First TargetExpress opens its doors in Dinkytown, MN” by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune.  “It’s too early to say how many TargetExpress stores the retailer might eventually open, Witherspoon said. But Target already is planning four more locations for 2015 — one in St. Paul’s Highland Park and three in the San Francisco Bay Area…Aside from basic socks and underwear, it doesn’t have an apparel section. Nor does it have furniture or patio sets. But it does have a full-size beauty department, along with the retailer’s fairly new beauty concierge service.” Read more

 

***A message from Dig It® Handwear.  Grow garden category sales with glove protection for manicured female hands!  Patented line of high-quality gardening gloves provides unique “pillow-top” protection for female gardeners.  Nationally distributed in Canada…Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary is an investor…now being offered to US Retailers for the first time.  View the line at www.digithandwear.com.  Peggable gloves merchandise easily–see the off-shelf display. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to get started.

 

“Dick’s Sporting Goods lays off all its in-store PGA pros” by Tim Schooley at Pittsburgh Bus. Times.  “Dick’s Sporting Goods has laid off all of the golf pros who work in its 560 stores nationwide, according to the Professional Golf Association of America and a report by ESPN. Three PGA professionals who were fired confirmed to ESPN.com that more than 500 full-time pros were let go Tuesday.” Read more

 

Farnsworth Group Study:  71% of all homeowners have purchased at least one home improvement product online within the past 12 months. “The study indicates that while consumers are purchasing home improvement products from a broad range of websites, home improvement store websites such as Home Depot and Lowe’s lead the way, as 46 percent of homeowners purchase products from these merchants online.”  Read more via 4-traders

 

“Former Dollar General CEO David Perdue Wins Georgia’s GOP Senate Runoff” at NPR.  “I’ve never run for anything in my life. I’m humbled,” Perdue told supporters gathered at a hotel in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Perdue led Kingston by about 8,000 votes – enough for 50.9 percent of the vote.” Read more

 

“Justin Bieber Shops at Whole Foods” at Disney Dreaming.  See the pics

 

“Amazon quietly releases payment app” by Benjamin Snyder at Fortune.  “But it falls well short in terms of functionality. Amazon’s app, which premiered on Thursday, currently lets users only upload gift and store loyalty cards. Users can’t yet make mobile payments using credit or debit cards like rivals.” Read more

 

“Home Depot Donates Lawn Mower to Feisty Grandma Who Fought Off Thieves” at News 9 Texas. “The folks at Home Depot heard about our story and decided to donate a brand new lawnmower to Raquel Pineda. “I just managed to grab on to it and I said this little old granny ain’t gonna turn it loose,” Raquel said. The 63-year-old didn’t back down when three thieves tried to take off with her lawn mower. Raquel managed to hang on while the suspects drove off and dragged her for 25 feet. She lost a tooth and ended up with a cuts and bruises.” See the video / Read more

 

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