Archive for category: Eye-on-Retail

“Target’s interim CEO does not want job permanently” by Jim Finkle at Reuters via Chicago Tribune. “Target Corp interim Chief Executive John Mulligan said he has no interest in becoming the company’s chief executive, though that will not undermine his ability to help the company recover from its massive data breach and missteps in Canada.”  Read more

“A Q&A with Target’s Interim CEO John Mulligan” at A Bullseye View.  “This isn’t about me; it’s about the entire leadership team, and we all agree that we cannot pause. As an interim CEO, I am not simply keeping the ship afloat. We need to accelerate our growth and that means we all have to move faster and empower the people around us to do the same.”  Read more

“Costco store bans smiley faces on customer receipts (but then reverses itself)” by Kristen Hampton at WBTV-3 (Charlotte).  “Blake Hartwick went to the Tyvola Road store in Charlotte with his 3 year old daughter and the usual smiley face was not on the receipt.  Blake says his daughter asked the man at the door to draw one, “He looked at us and said I’m sorry I can’t draw a smiley face on the back of your receipt.”  Blake says two Costco employees told him a new corporate policy banned the practice. “I was stunned,” Blake said.”  See the video / Read more

“Whole Foods Q2 Comp Sales +4.5% (+6.9% LY)”  “Average weekly sales per store were $742,000, translating to record sales per gross square foot of $1,000. Operating income was $231 million, or 7.0% of sales, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $318 million, or 9.6% of sales.”  Read the release

“Retail’s game of musical chairs is likely not over” by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC.  “The skill sets needed to be a good merchant are often different than the skill sets needed to be a CEO,” he said. “Merchants tend to be right-brain people, and good [CEOs], particularly nowadays, tend to be someone a little more left-brained. … You don’t find [that] combination of skills that often.” Read more

“Apple Jumps to Second Place in Online Retail (Costco Appears in Top 15 for First Time)” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “Making its first appearance in the top 15 largest online retailers was warehouse club operator Costco.  The wholesale club chain, which increased its Internet sales by 48% to $3.1 billion last year, surpassed electronics retailer Best Buy…Online sales represented close to 3% of Costco’s $103 billion in revenue last year.”  Read more

“Wal-Mart acquires Adchemy” at The City Wire.  ““Walmart isn’t a retailer in Silicon Valley, we’re building an Internet technology company inside the world’s largest retailer. We are 2,100 strong and growing,” King noted in his May 6 blog entry.  Adchemy is WalmartLabs twelfth acquisition since Labs’ creation, and one of the largest to date in terms of people.”  Read more

Alibaba IPO: “eBay, Amazon and Google should be scared” at Mercury News.  “With its entry into the U.S. stock market, Alibaba — often described as a combination of eBay, Amazon and Google — will have a valuation estimated at $150 billion to upward of $200 billion, giving it an immediate market value greater than Facebook and Amazon.”  Read more

“Tesco Challenges Aldi by Taking Page from Amazon Playbook” by Gabby Thesing at Bloomberg.  “Clarke is modelling Tesco on the tech giants, building a digital one-stop shop centered around its Hudl tablet that includes everything from movies to banking. A smart phone will join the stable later this year. The aim? Lock in customers by incentivizing them with loyalty points to buy everything from mortgages to grapes.”  Read more

“Home Depot Still King of Radio” at Radio Ink.  “The Home Depot is averaging over 64,000 spots per week on radio, according to Media Monitors. At that consistent level, they are by far radio’s biggest advertiser, and have been for seven straight weeks now.” Read more

“Sears chief: Store closings will continue” by Alexia Elejade-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune.  “Citing examples of companies that have successfully undergone transformations despite seemingly damning financials, Sears Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert told shareholders Tuesday that “sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards.”  Read more

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“Google and Amazon launch same-day delivery in L.A. area” by Tiffany Hsu at LA Times (Survey to Open).  “Google is using third-party delivery agents trained through an in-person program the company calls “Courier University” that teaches agents how to greet customers at the door and how to use the mobile shopping app. The couriers will wear Google Shopping Express uniforms and, for the most part, drive Google-branded vehicles.”  Read more 

“In battle with Amazon, traditional retailers innovate, turn to Iterate” by Andy Vuong at Iterate.  “Iterate Studio, the brainchild of Denver serial entrepreneur Jon Nordmark, aims to level the playing field. The recently launched startup connects retailers with an army of tech firms that develop and test new features and services, such as website behavioral tracking.  About 20 retailers, including Yankee Candle and Sur La Table, have already signed up.”  Read more

“Puerto Rico Has the Most Walmart and Walgreen Stores Per Square Mile” at Latin American Herald Tribune. “The U.S. commonwealth has 118 Walgreens stores and 56 Walmart establishments, including Sam’s Club warehouses and the Amigo supermarket chain, which the Bentonville, Arkansas-based multinational acquired a decade ago.”  Read more

“America’s 10 Most Popular Stores (Target #6, Walmart #1)” by Thomas C. Frohlich at Huff Po via 24/7 Wall Street.  “According to data provided by Placed, a consumer habits data service provider that monitors behavior of more than 150,000 American consumers at 150 million locations daily, the most popular brands are primarily in the fast-food, discount retail and pharmacy segments.”  Read more

“Order From This Fast Growing Retailer and Your Package Will Take 2-3 Weeks to Arrive” by Serena Ng at WSJ. “The mom-focused discount site Zulily Inc. has been taking an average of two to three weeks to get merchandise to customers…The slow shipping times are the result of a bare-bones distribution system that is enabling four-year-old Zulily to turn a profit in an industry where some of its peers have struggled. But the lag has been a source of customer frustration and complaints.”  Read more

“Home Depot Disputes ‘Code Crackers’ Recommendations” at KTIC Radio.  “Catherine Woodling, a spokeswoman for Home Depot said the information in James’ blog about the do-it-yourself store is not accurate. She said that if you’re looking for the best buy in the store, customers should look for the “New Low Price” tags, which remain at that price for 90 days.”  Read more

“Study: Snobby Staff May Make Average Shopper Buy To Feel Accepted” at CBS New York.  “As 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported, the study soon to be released in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that around a snooty worker, the very uncomfortable average shopper will tend to buy something so that they feel like they fit in.”  Read more

“Hardware stores create their own Angie’s List” by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune.  “Consumers can endorse a business on porch.com, but it’s not clear how it will be monitored,” he said. “Do we know if the ballot box is being stuffed?”  The lack of negative reviews also concerns Krughoff. Consumers need a ratio between positive and negative reviews. “If people can endorse a business but not criticize it, that’s not a fair picture,” he said.  Ehrlichman says that Porch.com isn’t in the business of recommendations. “We let the neighbors do it,” he said.”  Read more

“Dove Study:  80% of women feel anxious about the way they look and only 4% would describe themselves as beautiful”  “Girls replicate their mothers’ behaviors about beauty, confidence and self-esteem. A striking 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful.”  Read the release

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“Wal-Mart to Build Online Grocery Pick-Up Center in Bentonville” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “Wal-Mart is wasting no time in deploying its latest grocery format — a stand alone pick-up center where shoppers can drive up and retrieve their online orders and never leave their car…The retailer reviewed plans for the first concept depot with Bentonville city officials on Tuesday (April 29.) The proposed development goes to the city planning commission on May 6.”  Read more

“Family Dollar focused on regaining customer base after straying ‘off course’ “ by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “Levine expressed confidence Wednesday that Family Dollar is on the right path during a presentation at Barclays Retail and Consumer Discretionary Conference in New York City.  “We’re going back to what we know. We’re going back to our core values. We’re going back to what our customers expect from us,” Levine said…“We got off course. We lost our core focus on providing value and convenience,” Levine said.”  Read more

“How Wal-Mart May Give Detergent Overdosing — And Sales — A Boost” by Paul Ziobro at WSJ.  “Wal-Mart has announced an initiative to cut the amount of water in each dose of liquid laundry detergent it sells by 25% by 2018…The mandate from the world’s largest retailer essentially marks the start of another shift in a direction that could boost sales in the $7 billion U.S. laundry category.”  Read more

“Costco vs. Sam’s:  Price Showdown in Indy” at RTV 6 ABC – Indianapolis.  “The grand total was $262.05 for Costco; $274.31 cents for Sam’s Club.  But it’s important to point out that Costco charges $10 more a year than Sam’s Club for a basic membership.  Another thing to consider — the price you pay will not only depend on whether you shop at Costco or Sam’s, but in which part of town you shop.”  See the shopping list

“What does Wal-Mart not sell? ‘Anything is Fair Game’ “ at AP via Dallas News.  “What other services could be on the horizon for the retail behemoth? Brian Sozzi, an equities strategist who follows Wal-Mart, believes the retailer will continue to focus on adding services.  The possibilities are endless. Shoppers can order caskets online from Wal-Mart and they can even buy life insurance in 217 Wal-Mart stores. But they’ll have to go elsewhere to arrange funeral services…“Anything is fair game,” says Wal-Mart’s Barnett.”  Read more

“Carrefour Implements Electronic Shelf Labels” at Retail Touch Points.  “Multinational supermarket chain Carrefour has equipped more than 55,000 Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) from Pricer into its Carrefour Villeneuve la Garenne store.”  Read more

2014 Barclays Retail & Consumer Discretionary Conference – Webcasts:

Walgreens 

Family Dollar

Kroger

SuperValu

“Walgreens Paperless Coupons Awarded Best Integrated Mobile Experience”  “Walgreens Paperless Coupons offering has set the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”  Read the release

“5 Secrets to Attracting Millennials at Retail”  “1. Millennials are willing to share their information with retailers, which makes them great candidates for loyalty programs. But the loyalty programs must be simple, beneficial, and save them money…5. Millennials don’t do all of their shopping online.”  Read the release

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“CNBC’s Top 25: Who Had the Biggest Impact on Business Since 1989 (Jeff Bezos #5)”  See the Top 25 list

“Deloitte:  80% Want to be Left Alone in Store”  “Consumers largely prefer to navigate the aisles and the checkout without a store associate’s help. Eight in 10 (80 percent) respondents in Deloitte Digital’s study said they prefer to obtain product information on their own device or from an in-store device like a kiosk, rather than ask a sales associate.”  Read more

“CR Magazine’s Top 100 Corporate Citizens (Target #61, CVS #79…)”  See the Top 100 list

“Tornado Impacts Walmart Workers” at The City Wire.  “The tornadic storms that cut a path across the Midwest on Sunday directly impacted 11 Wal-Mart workers — the majority of those in central Arkansas with others in Baxter Springs, Kansas and Miami, Okla. Ten of those lost their homes and/or their vehicles. One Walmart worker tragically lost two grandchildren in the storm, according to Dianna Gee, corporate spokeswoman with Wal-Mart Stores.”  Read more

“Walmart Offers a Helping Hand after Arkansas Tornadoes”  “Kevin Stephens, store manager in Conway, loaded his personal truck with water and supplies to take to the devastated areas this morning. Several other associates followed his lead by bringing aid to the damaged communities in Mayflower and Vilonia until Walmart trucks could arrive this afternoon with bottled water from the Walmart Foundation.”  Read more

“Container Store results were hurt by weather” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “Its 28 stores in areas where severe weather regularly forced store closings posted a same-store sales decline of 3 percent. Stores in areas with less of a weather impact posted a same-store sales increase of 4.1 percent.” Read more

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“Home Depot’s mission: ‘To ensure every veteran has a safe place to call home’ “ by Marsha Keefer at Community News.  “So that’s when we decided to put in for a Team Depot grant, which the VVA helped us with.”  The Home Depot Foundation has a mission: “To ensure every veteran has a safe place to call home.” It’s a good fit. The foundation said more than 35,000 of its associates are veterans.”  Read more

“Graphic:  How Much Data Is Generated Every Minute? (277,000 Tweets, 3,472 Pins…)”  See the graphic

“Man Sucker Punches Walmart Self Checkout Machine” at WGNS Radio.  “A Walmart customer who told police he was angry because he could not get any assistance, allegedly punched a self-checkout machine causing over $800 in damages.”  Read more

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