“Stephen Colbert gives shout out to Staten Island Lowe’s for fixing veteran’s wheelchair” by Ryan Lavis at Staten Island Advance. “I don’t see why all our veterans health issues can’t be helped by Lowe’s,” Colbert quipped, adding, “Why wait months to have that hip replaced at the VA when Lowe’s will fix you up in minutes with duct tape, chicken wire and a socket wrench set?” See the video / Read more

 

“Bezos pet projects blamed for huge losses in Q2 for Amazon” by James Covert at NY Post.  “Wall Street was caught off guard in particular by a forecast for an operating loss between $410 million and $810 million in the current quarter — more than half of which could be attributable to Bezos’ taste for high-priced talent.” Read more

 

“Amazon’s Sunday Delivery Now Covers 25% of U.S. Population”  Read Amazon’s News Release

 

“Wal-Mart’s U.S. fix-it man has never worked in the U.S.” by Andria Cheng at MarketWatch.  “Greg Foran, the 53-year-old New Zealand native who was put in charge of Wal-Mart Stores biggest division on Thursday, is a groundbreaking choice: He has never worked in the U.S.” Read more

 

“Greg Foran was Passed Over for Top Job at Woolworths (Australia) in 2011” by Eli Greenblat at Sydney Morning Herald (2011 article).  “Mr Foran’s shock resignation comes as Woolworths is engaged in a pitched battle for shoppers with smaller rival Coles, with the Wesfarmers unit outperforming Woolworths in terms of sales over the last nine quarters.” Read more

 

Barclays:  “Target Can Fix Its Canada Business” by Jonathan Ratner at National Post.  “We believe that a large opportunity remains in Canada for Target to take market share from existing competitors such as Sears Canada,” the analysts said, noting Target would be best suited to focus on the home and apparel segments.” Read more

 

“Cabela’s Q2 Comp Sales Down 14.2%” “Total revenue increased 0.6% to $761.2 million; Retail store revenue increased 3.4% to $500.4 million.” Read more

 

“Roundy’s CFO Karst Leaving to Join Rite Aid” Read the release

 

“Largest Target on East Coast to open its doors in Upper Merion” at The Times Herald.  “Most Target stores don’t have all these windows, but the fact that we are elevated above the parking level is very different for Target,” she said of the unique design. “For people driving down the highway they wanted to be sure it stood out. When it’s all lit up at night it looks really cool.” Read more / See the 5 in-store videos

 

“A group of activist workers wants Costco to stop buying plastic goods from a “sweatshop” plastic company” by Reuven Blau at NY Daily News.  “Ming and more than 100 of her former colleagues and supporters plan to rally outside the Costco in Sunset Park on Saturday. They want the company to stop buying from Reynolds, which is stocked with Pactiv products. “They are a sweatshop!” said Shu Rong Lin, 47, a former Pactiv packer.” Read more

 

“A Sort Of Creepy Reason To Love Costco” by Kim Bhasin at HuffPo.  “In the days following a massive fruit recall, the membership-based warehouse retailer actually called customers to tell them to toss their potentially Listeria-tainted peaches, nectarines, plums and pluots…Any time one of Costco’s approximately 70 million members buys something, the company logs the item number of the product they purchased, explained Craig Wilson, vice president of quality assurance and food safety at Costco.” Read more

 

“Lowe’s Kyle Nel to Speak at Ad Age Conference on Sep. 17th” at Ad Age.  “Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, will share how the home improvement retailer is using physical lab spaces, along with a team of science-fiction writers, to help it envision what the future might look like.” Read more

 

Fortune: “Is T.J. Maxx the best retail store in the land?” by Beth Kowitt.  “It’s a bold statement, but it’s true.” Ron Hess, a professor of marketing at William & Mary’s Mason School of Business, puts it this way: “They are stunningly good.” Read more

 

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