Costco #9 Career | Bentonville #1 Cranes | 59% “Keep It”
Ranking the Best Companies for Career Growth (Costco #9 / Target #11 / Lowe’s #14) at WSJ. “Costco, long regarded as a top employer, stands out from its retail peers with high marks for pay and culture, two metrics that often cluster together…Home Depot scores in the highest group for parity, hiring and promotion, and better than most on retention.” WSJ subs.
Kroger Q3 total sales excluding fuel decreased 0.5% Press release
More US retailers adopt ‘keep it’ returns policies to shelter profits in holiday surge at Reuters. “This year, 59% retailers offer so-called “returnless” or “keep it” policies for unwanted products whose returns costs exceed their value, according to returns services firm goTRG…Last year, 500 retail executives said 26% of companies had such policies.” Read more
Academy Sports Q3 comp sales down 8% Press release
Dollar Tree Q3 comp sales: Dollar Tree +5.4%; Family Dollar +2.0%; Enterprise +3.9% Press release
How major retailers and Covid-era nostalgia helped revive the vinyl records industry at CNBC. “When Taylor releases a new record, there may be eight, nine, 10, different variants of that same record — different colors, different combinations, maybe there’s some unique tracks that weren’t included on the digital release, or the CD, but you get it on the vinyl,” Michaels explained. “There’s a lot of fans that say, ‘There are eight different variants. I want one of each, please.’ They’re very supportive.” Read more
The Buckle November comp sales decreased 10.8% Press release
Walmart shifts to India, cuts China imports at Reuters. “The world’s largest retailer shipped one quarter of its U.S. imports from India between January and August this year, according to bill of lading figures shared with Reuters by data firm Import Yeti. That compared with just 2% in 2018.” Read more
Express, Inc Q3 comp retail sales down 4% Press release
Inside Amazon’s new Bellevue office tower at GeekWire. “There is also lots of artwork, colorful hallways, wood accents, modern lighting and furniture, and coffee bars and eateries throughout. And there are views. At 600 feet, the building is currently the tallest in Bellevue, and from a 32nd floor communal space, employees and visitors can easily gaze south at Mount Rainier.” Read more/Pics
Amazon inks new deal with NASCAR Press release
Big Lots Q3 comp sales down 13.2% Press release
Chinese E-Commerce Giant Temu Will Return to the Super Bowl at WSJ. “The wave of spending by China-owned retailers is affecting the overall online ad business. Temu and rival Shein are “almost single-handedly having an impact on the cost of advertising, particularly in some paid channels in Google and Meta,” Etsy CEO Joshua Silverman said during an earnings call with analysts earlier this month.” WSJ subs.
Duluth Trading Q3 net sales decreased 6.1% Press release
Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger had a longtime, special relationship with Costco at Yahoo Finance. “Berkshire Hathaway exited its stake in Costco in late 2020 after selling 4.3 million shares, but Munger retained a personal stake in the company…the value of his total stake in the company to over $111 million…” Read more
Bentonville leads nation in cranes per capita at Talk Business
Meijer sued by tech business in dispute over self-checkout software at Crain’s. “In its three-count complaint, Mad Mobile alleges that Meijer conspired to steal proprietary technology and continues to build out Mad Mobile’s software and business processes, in violation of an agreement between the two companies.” Read more