Archive for category: Eye-on-Retail

 

“Wal-Mart de Mexico’s Net Profit Down on Year” by Anthony Harrup at WSJ.  “Sales rose 2.2% to 102.6 billion pesos…Walmex Chief Executive Scot Rank said the company continued to see lower customer traffic at its Sam’s Club membership stores, which account for 26% of its sales in Mexico.”  Read more

 

“Why Is Miranda Lambert Working at Walmart?” at Wild Country 97.1.  “Miranda Lambert served a lot of happy customers over the weekend.  The country megastar and avid animal lover worked outside a Walmart in Madill, Okla. to find forever homes for several shelter dogs.”  See the pics / Read more

 

“Home Depot Merchant Bolts for Tuesday Morning” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News.  “Tuesday Morning Corp. said it has hired Melissa Phillips to be executive vice president and general merchandise manager…Phillips has 15 years of experience buying merchandise for major retail chains. Since 2009, she’s been the general manager for The Home Decorators Collection at Home Depot.”  Read more

 

“Walmart Brazil ‘Hopeless’ ?” by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg.  “Wal-Mart is still losing money there two decades after entering South America’s biggest market, acquiring two local chains in the mid-2000s and opening more than 500 stores…“Brazil feels hopeless,” Michael Exstein, an analyst for Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, said in an interview.”  Read more

 

“Costco CFO Richard Galanti an Investor in Travel Planning Service – Utrip” by Steven Loeb at Investor News.  “Utrip is a new kind of travel guide, which combines both artificial intelligence, as well as human experience, to create personalized, and off the beaten track, itineraries.”  Read more

 

“Wal-Mart Set to Reveal How Compliance Moved Executives’ Pay” by Emily Chasan & Joel Schectman at WSJ.  “The results are in, the board has voted on how last year’s compliance objectives went, and they said this has done so well that this will be part of our regular corporate governance,” Jay Jorgensen, global chief compliance officer at Wal-Mart said at the Dow Jones Global Compliance Symposium in Washington, D.C,. on Tuesday.”  Read more

 

“Canada: Sobey’s CEO Interview” by Karl Moore at The Globe & Mail.  “It’s the customers who call the shots and our purpose is to always be a step ahead, to be there, and listen and try to extrapolate. You can’t extrapolate too far away because then what you will end up with is that you might be out of touch with the actual.”  Read more

 

“Publix Opens 5th Store in Charlotte Area Today” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal.  “The 58,000-square-foot location is at 3110 Fincher Farm Road in the McKee Farms Shopping Center. The Lakeland, Fla. grocer spent the past six months transforming the site, a former BiLo grocery location.”  See the 20 pics / Read more

 

“GameStop to open 300 to 400 new technology stores” by Maria Halkias at Dallas News.  “GameStop CEO Paul Raines told analysts on Tuesday that each one of its three new technology store brands have the potential to become $1 billion businesses.  While GameStop is closing about 120 to 130 U.S. stores this year, it expects to open or buy 300 to 400 stores from its newly acquired brands.”  Read more

 

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“Millionaires Prefer Costco, Target, Home Depot” by Sarah Mahoney at Marketing Daily.  “The American Affluence Research Center finds the country’s richest are looking forward to major home improvements, with the accompanying large furniture and durable good purchases that go with them, in the months ahead…The twice-yearly survey is based on a sampling of 330 adults, in households with a net worth of at least $828,000, and an average net worth of $3.1 million.”  Read more

 

“Barron’s Cover Story: Buy Home Depot” at Timothy Kelleher Corp.  “Seventy-eight percent of Home Depot’s stores were within 10 miles of a Sears location…The bank’s analysts estimate that Sears sells about $9 billion a year in appliances and home-improvement goods. If its sales decline by 5% in the next three years, Home Depot could add at least $100 million in yearly sales…That’s all the more reason Home Depot’s shares look cheap. Given the company’s continued operating improvements and growth potential, investors can buy the house now for the price of the two-by-fours.”  Read more

 

“1 Strategy That May Allow Walgreen to Surpass CVS and Crush Rite Aid” at Motley Fool.  “A transfer from the U.S. to Switzerland would decrease the company’s tax rate from an estimated 37.5% for its 2014 fiscal year to 20%. Using 2013’s pre-tax income of $3.9 billion, Walgreen’s bottom line of $2.45 billion would have increased 27% to $3.1 billion, which equates to a net profit margin of 4.3%.”  Read more

 

“How a 13-Year-Old Got Her Fashion Line in Nordstrom” by Stephanie Vozza at Fast Company.  “Whatever you want to do in life, chances are, someone else has been there, done that. Instead of admiring–or envying–their success from afar, savvy entrepreneurs tap one to be a mentor…Jennifer Jackson, the merchandising manager for children’s clothing at Nordstrom, told Women’s Wear Daily that Taylor has the “unique ability to create fun, stylish clothes that really represent her customer, who are also her peers.”  Read more

 

“California company ‘represents a nightmare for the retail electronics industry’ “ at Orange County Register via SF Gate.  “Off Interstate 15 is the 173,000-square-foot distribution facility and headquarters of Monoprice, an online store which is trying to thrive by selling the electronic esoterica that carry a hefty markup at brick-and-mortar retailers.  Stuffed into one corner of the facility is a small physical store where you could pick up an HDMI cord for $3.61. A similar cord from Best Buy or RadioShack is about $20.” Read more

 

“Why Subway Doesn’t Serve a $14 Reuben Sandwich” by Michael Saltsman at WSJ.  “Costco charges its customers as much as $110 a year for the privilege of shopping at the store. That’s a $2 billion-per-year luxury no grocer or restaurant enjoys.  As a result, the warehouse retailer rakes in what amounts to a more than $10,000 profit per employee, according to data from business research company Hoovers. A casual dining restaurant, on the other hand, earns a roughly $2,000 profit per employee.” Read more

 

“General Mills ‘Stunning Reversal’:  Go ahead and Sue” by Stephanie Strom at Star-Tribune.  “The announcement was a stunning reversal for the company, which had quietly put up the new terms requiring consumers downloading coupons, “joining its online communities,” participating in sweepstakes and other promotions, and interacting with General Mills in a variety of other ways to agree to arbitration in lieu of suing the company in the event of a dispute.”  Read more

 

“Clock is ticking for Walmart suppliers on certified sustainable palm oil” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “In 2010, Wal-Mart made a public commitment to source 100% CSPO by the start of 2015 and it’s an important milestone the retailer plans to meet. The goal was one of several set by corporations coming under pressure from environmental groups to help stem the deforestation taking place in Malaysia and other developing countries to make room for tree plantations helping to fuel global demand.” Read more

 

Random:  “Kraft recalls 96,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer wieners (there’s cheese in them)” by Jessica Wohl at Chicago Tribune.  “A spokeswoman for Kraft said in an email that the recall is “isolated to about 8,000 cases of product that were distributed nationwide.”  “We apologize for this situation and are working hard to communicate with consumers about it,” said Joyce Hodel, with Kraft Corporate Affairs.”  Read more

 

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“Costco CFO Richard Galanti Confirms ‘Secret Codes’, but ‘It’s no Secret Agent Thing’ “ by Lou Carlozo at Reuters.  “Galanti cautions against reading too much into the price codes, as Costco’s margins are low enough (in the 10-11 percent range) that a shopper might have more advantage buying a newer item at the “.99” full price. “The question is, do you want something at the end of its season or at the beginning of a new season?” he asks.”  Read more

 

“Walgreens: Chinatown Egg Sale Causes ‘Riot’ “ by Rob Nagle at San Fran Examiner.  “Walgreens was offering a sale on eggs, 99 cents for a dozen eggs, and the sale was so successful they almost ran out and customers reportedly fought for what little was left…”They were fighting – fist fighting – over eggs,” he said. Police were called out to the scene to break up the fighting, but the women wouldn’t leave.  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Murnin said, “all these 50-, 60-, 80-year-old women fighting over eggs.”  Read more

 

“At Macy’s, lessons from Walmart’s failed RFID attempt” by Mary Catherine O’Connor.  “Macy’s began installing RFID infrastructure in all its 850 stores. Starting this month, Connell says, Macy’s is expanding substantially the number of vendors it is asking to ship items that are pre-tagged with RFID. By the end of the summer, the retailer plans to have half of all replenishment vendors sending RFID-tagged merchandise.”  Read more

 

“Kroger bets on bigger stores” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com.  “Shoppers must just love the big concept – since Kroger has added 15 since last summer and is in the midst of building 17 more. Kroger now has 90 Marketplaces in 14 states…But can big get too big? As Kroger ramps up its larger concept, it’s finding some resistance from some communities objecting to sprawling stores in criticism normally aimed at uber-rival Wal-Mart.”  Read more

 

“Land Under San Jose Home Depot Sells for $15.58 Mil” by Nathan Donato-Weinstein at Silicon Valley Bus. Journal. “Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA this Home Depot is a trophy triple-net-leased asset,” James said.”  Read more

 

“Walmart Is Downsizing Its Superstores and Putting Apartments on Top” by Amanda Kolson Hurley at Architectural Record.  “Fort Totten Square (DC), designed by Hickok Cole Architects, is a sharp departure from the retailer’s usual formula. Hickok Cole is placing 345 residential units above a Walmart that, at 125,000 square feet, is hardly small, but is a step down from its “supercenter” format, which averages 180,000 square feet. On top of the Walmart, four stories of apartments will wrap around two large courtyards, one with a swimming pool.”  Read more

 

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“Home Depot Lumbers Into E-Commerce” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ.  “Home Depot’s newest location is 10 times bigger than its average store, stocks three times more items and has no customers.  It’s an online distribution center, for a company that seems the unlikeliest of Internet retailers…Still, Mr. Blake is firm that adding new stores isn’t the answer. “When we get to the point where we’re all in a room and we can’t think of anything to invest in the business to make it better, then you would say, let’s build some more stores,” he said.”  Read more

 

“New Postal Union Leader Really Doesn’t Want Mail Sent From Staples” by Devin Leonard at Businessweek.  “Our goal is not to shut down stamp sales at the giant supermarkets now, but we definitely object to putting post offices in privately run stores—especially when they’re not staffed by postal workers.”  Read more

 

“Home Depot & Walmart Join the Shale Rush” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ.  “In one Wal-Mart store in Williston, N.D., hourlong lines led the retailer to raise wages for cashiers and stock clerks to $17 an hour and bring in staff from nearby stores and other states. Wal-Mart said it has since caught up to demand with local hires.”  Read more

 

“Costco’s Director James Sinegal Unloads $450,320 in Stock” at WKRB.  “Director James D. Sinegal unloaded 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.58, for a total transaction of $450,320.00.”  Read more

 

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“Ow, Canada: U.S. retailers get the cold shoulder” by Anne D’Innocenzio & Charmaine Noronha at AP via Seattle Times.  “Target’s tough time in Canada isn’t unique.  Big Lots is closing its 78 Canadian stores, which it bought just two years ago…Best Buy announced last year it was closing 15 of its 260 stores in Canada and cut about 5 percent of its workforce in the country as it tries to revamp its strategy.  Even Wal-Mart Stores, which have been entrenched in Canada for more than two decades, have seen sales falter.”  Read more

 

“Lowe’s CEO Niblock gets 50% pay increase to $18.7 Mil” by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  “The home improvement retailer disclosed Robert Niblock’s 2013 pay in a securities filing Monday. Niblock’s pay rose from $12.1 million in 2012.  Lowe’s said Niblock received a bonus above his target because of the company’s positive performance in 2013, and that the timing of an additional stock grant also raised his pay.”  Read more

 

Flashback:  “Home Depot Chairman Blake’s total comp steady at $11M” at Atlanta Business Chronicle. ”Blake got about $11 million last year, including a $1.06 million salary (basically flat), about $4.9 million in stock awards (up 6 percent), about $2.4 million in option awards (down 9.5 percent) and $2.6 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation (up 4.7 percent).” Read more

 

“Walmart to Go Not Necessarily a Game Changer for C-Stores” by Ryan Saylor at The City Wire.  “For the convenience store customer, price is very (important). When it comes down to cigarettes, that’s where we get 70% of our top line revenue. Wal-Mart won’t be able to beat us because of state minimums.”…Richmond said often the larger chains are purchasing from the same convenience suppliers as the little guys, meaning prices are nearly identical or even slightly higher.”  Read more

 

“Best Buy’s Top U.S. Store Executive Departs, HR Chief Takes Over” by Steve Alexander at Star-Tribune.  “Seven months after getting a new title, Best Buy Inc.’s president of U.S. retail stores retired and is being succeeded by the retailer’s chief human resources officer…Shari Ballard, the human resources chief, will take on Score’s duties. Ballard, a 21-year employee, will retain the human resources job, which she got last August after leading Best Buy’s approximately 450-store international unit.”  Read more

 

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“Walmart Apology: Speedy Checkouts Allowed English Speakers to Carry More Items than Those Speaking Spanish” by Andrea Noble at Washington Times.  “The discrepancy, first reported by Buzzfeed, was pointed out Monday morning on Twitter when a customer took a photo of a sign…The sign said in English that the speedy checkout was for “25 items or less” and in Spanish for “20 articulos o menos.”…But just as the photo was beginning to incite a passionate reaction among outraged social media commentators, Wal-Mart officials at the company’s corporate headquarters in Arkansas stepped in and took responsibility for what they described as an “honest mistake.”  Read more

 

“U.S. retailers to share cyber threat data after Target attack” at Chicago Tribune.  “U.S. retailers are planning to form an industry group for collecting and sharing intelligence about cyber security threats in a bid to prevent future attacks in the wake of last year’s big attack on Target Corp.  The National Retail Federation said on Monday it will establish an Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or ISAC, for the retail industry in June.”  Read more

 

“Home Depot #1 for Radio Spots (by far), Walgreens #3” at Radio Ink.  “With nearly 62,000 commercials airing on radio stations all across the country, the Home Depot was radio’s number one advertiser (for the week of April 7). GEICO was a distant second with 34,146 commercials followed by Walgreens (30,840).”  Read more

 

“March retail sales sizzle, best in 18 months” at CNBC.  “The Commerce Department said on Monday retail sales increased 1.1 percent last month, the biggest rise since September 2012, as receipts rose in nearly all categories.”  Read more

 

“Office Depot Chief Legal Officer Named among ‘America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel’ “  “Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Elisa Garcia was named among America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel by The National Law Journal.” Read the Release

 

….Walmart’s General Counsel Karen Roberts also Named to Top 50 List.  “But stepping into the top job wasn’t a breeze—Roberts was promoted to general counsel in late 2012 after the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer came under scrutiny for possibly bribing Mexican government officials to speed expansion. As the legal team continues its internal investigations into the matter, her experience heading compliance no doubt helps.”  Read more

 

Random:  “The Truth About Google X:  An Exclusive Look Behind the Secretive Lab’s Closed Doors” by Jon Gertner at Fast Company.  “Failure is not precisely the goal at Google X. But in many respects it is the means. By the time Teller and I speak, I have spent most of the day inside his lab, which no journalist has previously been allowed to explore. Throughout the morning and afternoon I visited a variety of work spaces and talked at length with members of the Google X Rapid Evaluation Team, or “Rapid Eval,” as they’re known, about how they vet ideas and test out the most promising ones, primarily by doing everything humanly and technologically possible to make them fall apart…Read more

 

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