D.Gen +1K in ’17 | Cabela’s Opens Books | AmEx Teams w/Boxed | LL Bean #1 | 500 Startups Like Target
Cabela’s hunts for potential buyer in Bass Pro Shops by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “The 27-store chain — a destination for hunting, fishing and camping enthusiasts — in the past two weeks opened its financial books to rival Bass Pro Shops and other potential suitors, The Post has learned.” Read more
Forbes: America’s Best Midsize Employers (LL Bean #1, The Container Store #2, Wayfair #15) See the list of 250
Dollar General Plans to Accelerate New Store Openings to 1,000 in 2017 “Dollar General will outline its strategic plans at its 2016 Investor Conference today at 8:00 AM CT” Read the release | Today’s webcast
Target accelerator gets applications from more than 500 startups by Katharine Grayson at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “The accelerator will name 10 winning companies that will move into 8,000 square feet of space at Target Corp.’s Minneapolis headquarters this summer.” Read more | Read A Bullseye View blog post
Chip-Card Payment System Delays Frustrate Retailers by Rachel Abrams at NY Times via CNBC. “Avi Kaner, a co-owner of the Morton Williams supermarket chain in New York, has spent about $700,000 to update the payment terminals at his stores. Trouble is, he cannot turn them on…before the payment systems can work, they must be certified…In the case of Morton Williams, the holdup has lasted several months.” Read more
Toys ‘R’ Us Employee Accused by U.S. of $2 Million Card Theft via NY Times. “According to a criminal complaint made public on Wednesday, Daniel Chon, a director of inbound and outbound transportation, withdrew $1.92 million of “eCash” by logging into Toys “R” Us’ secure “Fleet Card” system without permission on 117 occasions from May 2013 until this month.” Read more
Forbes: Inside Tractor Supply Co.’s $6 Billion Amazon-Proof Business by Kathryn Dill. “Steve Barbarick, Tractor Supply’s chief merchant is rummaging through a bin of weighty grade-5 hexagonal head bolts… Sure, you could buy similar bolts at Lowe’s or Home Depot and pay for them individually, but at the Tractor Supply in Thompson’s Station, Tenn. they are sold in bulk and cost only $3.69 a pound. And at those other stores you couldn’t pick up a four-pack of Diamond Classic Heeled Horseshoes on the same trip…” Read more
REI CEO Elected to Williams-Sonoma Board “Prior to REI, Mr. Stritzke served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Coach, Inc. from 2008 to 2013. From 1997-2007, Mr. Stritzke held several executive positions with Limited Brands, Inc.” Read the release
**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – the Show Floor is Sold Out! The 2016 Expo will set an all-time record in volume of confectionery and snack products with more than 720 companies showcasing nearly four acres of product innovation. The Sweets & Snacks Expo is the one place more confectionery and snack retailers and manufacturers come together to get inspired, make connections and find new best sellers. See all of this year’s exhibitors | 2016’s New Exhibitors | Meet our retail taste testers
At This Supermarket, The Produce Section Grows Its Own Produce by Adele Peters at Fast Company. “At the end of the produce aisle in the Metro supermarket in Berlin, an indoor farming company is testing the ultimate in local food: Greens and herbs are growing inside the store itself. The greens grow inside glowing modular boxes, in a design that the company behind the project, Infarm, says is so efficient that it can finally make vertical farming affordable on a micro scale.” See the in-store picture / Read more
Nordstrom Names Kumar Srinivasan Chief Technology Officer “He was previously co-founder and CEO of Evocalize; chief product & technology officer for Bazaarvoice; and vice president, general manager at Amazon, where he led Amazon Payments Merchant Solutions.” Read the release
AmEx Teams Up With Boxed by Spencer Soper & Jennifer Surane at Bloomberg. “They see Boxed like they saw Costco 20 years ago,” Boxed CEO Chieh Huang said of American Express.” Read more
Consumers set to ramp up home improvement spending by Jeff Daniels at CNBC. “Some investors have started to sour on the home improvement sector with the view that we may be approaching the ‘end of the cycle,’ …RBC Capital Markets analyst Scot Ciccarelli said in a note to clients this week. “This is not our view. Rather, we believe ‘home-related’ investment spending today is only reaching levels where the industry has historically ‘bottomed out’ during prior downturns/recession (at approximately 3.5 percent of total GDP).” Read more
NRF: New Union Organizing Rules Will Have a ‘Chilling’ Effect on Free Speech “Once again, the Obama administration is bowing to labor unions and eliminating a well-established, clear test in favor of an ambiguous and open-ended standard that will lead to confusion for America’s employers,” NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French said.” Read the release
Kohl’s CEO Mansell honored for retailer’s work with Penfield Children’s Center by Mark Kass at Milwaukee Business Journal. “Since the early 1980s, Kohl’s has committed more than $8.4 million to Penfield. In addition, the retailer created the Kohl’s Building Blocks Program, which helps give children access to early educational and developmental programs.” Read more
Ace Hardware CEO Talks to The Street “The big box players are doing very well at the ‘stack it high, watch it fly’ low price style of selling, but then the specialty, convenience, high-touch retailers are also doing very well, and we are fortunate to be in that latter space,” said (John) Venhuizen.” See the video interview / Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Man climbs 80-foot tall Macy’s Christmas tree – hurls apples and pine cones at rescuers
Retired Walmart exec named to USA Truck Board
Instacart Fires Its Delivery Drivers In Minneapolis
Amazon Hosted A Secretive Robotics Conference In Florida
Forbes: Target Preps Launch, But ‘Won’t Apologize’ For Potential ‘Sold Out’ Signs
Harvard Business Review: Women and Minorities Are Penalized for Promoting Diversity
Under Armour’s Portland HQ will be 60% larger than original design