Albertsons/Sprouts Merger? | Saks Data Exposed | Jones Exits Uber | H.Dep VP to Speak
Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting, citing differences over “beliefs and approach to leadership” by Kara Swisher & Johana Bhuiyan at Recode. “Jones, said sources, determined that this was not the situation he signed on for, especially after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced a search for a new COO…Jones’ decision to leave Uber likely won’t surprise people who worked with him at Target. “Jeff does not like conflict,” a source previously told Recode.” Read more
Personal data of Saks customers exposed at BuzzFeed via CNBC. “The pages, which were reviewed by BuzzFeed News in recent days, were taken offline after HBC was contacted for comment on this story. The Saks website also serves logged in customers some pages over unencrypted connections, leaving online shoppers’ information vulnerable to hackers while they browse the site on an open Wifi network. “This is as bad as security gets,” said Robert Graham, a cybersecurity expert and owner of Errata Security, to BuzzFeed News. “Everyone is vulnerable.” Read more
Albertsons Said to Consider Merger With Sprouts by Ed Hammond and Kiel Porter at Bloomberg. “The discussions, which took place in recent weeks, are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private details. The talks have involved a plan to take organic grocer Sprouts private and add it to Albertsons’ portfolio.” Read more
Wal-Mart asks Brazil suppliers to clarify alleged bribes to officials at Reuters. “Brazilian police raided the premises of dozens of meatpackers, including giants JBS SA and BRF SA, as part of a probe into the alleged bribes. In a statement, the Brazilian unit of Wal-Mart said it fully trusts its internal food safety procedures.” Read more
Costco’s South Australian booze battle continues by Madeleine Heffernan at Sydney Morning Herald. “Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone told Fairfax Media that Costco was now seeking a different liquor licence to sell in the state. “It’s a slow process,” he said of the attempt. Costco sells alcohol in NSW, Canberra and Victoria.” Read more
Home Depot VP Bill Lennie to speak at Berry College on March 23 via All on Georgia. “(Lennie) will speak about “Building a Values Based Culture,” March 23 at Berry College. Lennie’s talk begins at 7 p.m. in the Krannert Ballroom and is part of the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership Lecture Series.” Read more
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JACKPOT – Costco pays above-average $20,600 an acre for site of proposed Fremont chicken plant by Barbara Soderlin at Omaha World-Herald. “Costco paid $8,550,000 for the 414 acres of land — about $20,600 an acre. The average price of farmland in east-central Nebraska is $6,330 an acre. “For us, it was a good business transaction, and we’re happy,” said land seller Fred Culp.” Read more
Sears May Blow Through $1.8 Billion In Cash This Year, Yet It’s Still Trying to Hire at The Street. “They’re hiring across the board” but particularly in electronics, Jason Hanold, CEO and founder of Chicago-based human resources executive search firm Hanold Associates told TheStreet. One position Sears could be looking to fill soon is the head of discounter Kmart. Alasdair James, president and chief member officer of Kmart since 2014, has reportedly abandoned the sinking ship.” Read more
Amazon will now tell Prime members what to wear via a new “Outfit Compare” feature by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “Outfit Compare works as you’d think. It prompts shoppers to share two photos of themselves wearing two different outfits they’re deciding between. A minute later, you’ll get a response from an Amazon stylist who will tell you which outfit looks better on you.” Read more
Secretive Billionaire Reveals How He Toppled Apple in China by Yuan Gao at Bloomberg via Yahoo. “I’ve met Tim Cook on several occasions. He might not know me but we’ve chatted a little,” Duan said. “I like him a lot.” Read more
Is fashion’s love affair with see-now, buy-now over? by Danny Parisi at Luxury Daily. Read more
MR. ROBOTO – Jeff Bezos, piloting a giant robot at hush-hush MARS conference by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. “Why do I feel so much like Sigourney Weaver?” Bezos can be heard saying in a video clip from the demonstration, which took place at a hush-hush conference organized by Amazon in Southern California.” Pics/Read more
A Small Table Maker Takes On Alibaba’s Flood of Fakes by Michael Schuman at NY Times. Read more/Video
Massive Target store coming to Midtown Manhattan by Lois Weiss at NY Post. “Target has leased 43,000 square feet for a new store that will open this fall at 112 W. 34th St., across the Street from the Macy’s flagship on Herald Square.” Read more | Press release
Neiman Marcus To Pay $1.6M In Shopper Data Breach Suit by Suevon Lee at Law 360. “…over a December 2013 cyber intrusion that revealed the credit card data of 350,000 shoppers of the luxury retailer, according to a court document filed Friday.” Read more (subscription)
These Are China’s Most Valuable Brands 141 page WPP report
What’s Attacking the Web? A Security Camera in a Colorado Laundromat by Drew Fitzgerald at Wall Street Journal. “Within nine seconds of turning on these things, they get hit,” Steve McGregory, a researcher at security firm Ixia, said of machines that are poorly secured.” Read more (subscription)
Apple’s Next Big Thing: Augmented Reality by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg. “CEO Tim Cook is betting on augmented reality…that he believes will keep his company on top and may even supplant the iPhone.” Read more
Free Seeds Cheerios Are Giving Out Could be Dangerous by Mahita Gajanaan at Fortune. Read more
How Amazon teaches Alexa, and what it hopes the virtual assistant will learn someday by Geof Wheelwright at GeekWire. “Nikko Strom spoke at the AI NEXT tech conference in Bellevue, Wash., this weekend…We have over 100 scientists working on Alexa on speech in general.”Strom said the company didn’t yet have anything to announce on emotion recognition, but that it would continue to be an area of interest.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Gang breaks into Neiman Marcus, steals up to $150K in luxury purses
Ex-Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli’s estate annexed by Sandy Springs
Suppliers hear details on Walmart.com restructuring
This multimillionaire ‘Harry Potter’ star loves Costco
The female farmer whose business success was built on saying no to Wal-Mart
Target’s Swimsuit Model Denise Bidot Embraces Her Stretch Marks
Rite Aid employee bodyslams female ‘shoplifter’ as she tries to punch him
Sunday night blues? 76% said it’s “really bad”
Aldi confirms its plans to keep controversial “self-tipping” measures
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