The Addiction to Discounting at Michael Kors Is Exposed in Court at WSJ. "Michael Kors and the executives who ran his fashion label knew they had a serious problem: Many of the handbags were selling for less than $100, far from the regular price of $450. The designer complained in emails that were revealed in a recent court hearing that the once-hot brand was chasing down-market and unfashionable customers. In one message, Kors wrote the brand was pursuing an old-fashioned customer who wasn’t sleek and definitely not jet set." WSJ subs.   The looming dockworkers strike is mostly up to [...]

    Amazon Plans to Put 1,000 Warehouses in Suburban Neighborhoods at Bloomberg. "The facilities, which will eventually number about 1,500, will bring products closer to customers, making shopping online about as fast as a quick run to the store. It will also help the world’s largest e-commerce company take on a resurgent Walmart Inc." Read more   U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in August, vs 1.0% increase expected at CNBC. Read more   Tensions mount as Walmart Canada starts charging suppliers to pay for its retail revamp at Financial Post. "As of Monday, Walmart is charging a fee of [...]

  Instacart holds firm on its tipping policy as contract workers call for national boycott at CNBC. "Nilam Ganenthiran, Instacart’s president, said the current 5% rate is appropriate as the default, though customers have the option of giving more. “I truly think it’s right for our shoppers, right for our customers and right for the ecosystem,” Ganenthiran told CNBC." Read more   Walmart Expands Its Robotic Workforce to 650 Additional Stores by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. "...bringing its fleet to 1,000. The six-foot-tall Bossa Nova devices, equipped with 15 cameras each, roam aisles and send alerts to store employees’  handheld [...]

  Big Lots Q2 sales +1.6% Press release   Lululemon Q2 comp sales +20% vs. expected +9.6% Press release | CNBC article   Google and Mastercard Cut a Secret Ad Deal to Track Retail Sales by Mark Bergen & Jennifer Surane. Tiered subs.   Ulta Beauty Q2 comp sales +6.5% "Retail comparable sales increased 4.0%, including salon comparable sales growth of 1.7%; E-commerce sales increased 37.9% to $132.8 million." Press release   Walmart will have 30% more toys in stores this holiday season at CNBC. "...and it will offer 40 percent more toys on Walmart.com. At some locations, the physical [...]

  Big Lots Q2 sales +1.6% Press release   Lululemon Q2 comp sales +20% vs. expected +9.6% Press release | CNBC article   Google and Mastercard Cut a Secret Ad Deal to Track Retail Sales by Mark Bergen & Jennifer Surane. Tiered subs.   Ulta Beauty Q2 comp sales +6.5% "Retail comparable sales increased 4.0%, including salon comparable sales growth of 1.7%; E-commerce sales increased 37.9% to $132.8 million." Press release   Walmart will have 30% more toys in stores this holiday season at CNBC. "...and it will offer 40 percent more toys on Walmart.com. At some locations, the physical [...]

  Target Q4 Comp Sales +3.6% "Traffic grew 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter...comp digital channel sales increased 29 percent contributing 1.8 percentage points of comparable growth...healthy comp sales growth across all five of its core merchandise categories." Press release   ...Target shares drop on profit miss, wage hikes offset sales gains at CNBC. "Actual vs. expected: Adjusted earnings per share: $1.37 vs. $1.38 expected. Revenue: $22.8 billion vs. $22.5 billion. Same-store sales: 3.6 percent growth vs. an increase of 3.1 percent." Read more   U.S. clothing, cosmetics on possible EU retaliation list at Reuters. "(The EU) has drawn up a list of 2.8 [...]

  Amazon is putting veteran leaders in charge of its big grocery delivery plans by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "Earlier this year, longtime Amazonian Ben Hartman was chosen to run Amazon Fresh, Recode has learned. Hartman was most recently the technical adviser or “shadow” to Jeff Wilke...Amazon lifer Steve Kessel, a member of Bezos’s leadership team, is also involved in the planning for Amazon grocery store experiments, two sources told Recode." Read more   In a Wal-Mart First, the CEO Turns Pitchman by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. "Google searches for ‘Wal-Mart CEO salary,’ spiked during the summer [...]

  Costco January Comp Flat / +4.0% ex-gas & F/X "Costco reported net sales of $8.32 billion for the month of January...an increase of two percent from $8.15 billion during the similar period last year." Read more   Lowe's $2.3 Billion Bid For Rona Sets Off Political Firestorm in Canada by Phil Wahba at Fortune. "Pierre-Karl Péladeau, the former media magnate (think Quebec’s Rupert Murdoch) now heading the secessionist Parti Québécois, had denounced the deal on Twitter and is calling on the pro-business governing Liberal Party, headed by Philippe Couillard, to block the deal." Read more   ...A BANNER DAY [...]