Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 3/5/13: Highlights – H.Depot’s Raymond James Conf.; Safeway Overcharges

 

Home Depot Presents at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference (3/4/13)

Presented by Home Depot’s Kevin Hoffman — President, Online

Highlights:

*  50% of Home Depot sales involve online properties in some shape or form

*  Aim to have endless aisles

*  600,000 skus online vs. 35,000 in typical store

*  One in four hit website before entering store

*  2% of sales come from online

*  12 million visits to Home Depot website per week

*  9 new Home Depot stores planned for 2013, 7 of those in Mexico

*  When asked “Where are you taking market share?” responded “paint, carpet, tools and outdoor power”.

*  Contractor represents 35% of sales

Hear and see presentation (registration required):  https://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=63646&eventID=4917131

 

“Target Announces Opening of Three Pilot Stores in Ontario”  “Target today announced that it is opening three pilot stores in Ontario on March 5 at Stone Road in Guelph, Milton Mall Shopping Centre in Milton and Gates of Fergus in Fergus. The three pilot stores are the first Target locations to open in Canada, and the first of 124 Target stores that will open across the country throughout 2013. This marks the final phase in a testing process, which was designed to prepare systems, train team members and determine operational readiness as the first wave of 24 stores soft open across Ontario later in March.”  Read more:  https://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=6414216&access=EH

 

“Leadership shake-up at Save-A-Lot and Shop ‘n Save” by Kavita Kumar at St. Louis Post Dispatch.  “Just a month into his tenure, the new chief executive of Supervalu is shaking up top management at the company…But analysts said Supervalu needs to do a lot more than just change leaders to improve its fortunes.  “They’re probably trying to look for some turnaround specialists to make things better,” said David Livingston, a Wisconsin-based supermarket consultant. “But they have a massive amount of debt. And they have some retail concepts that don’t seem to be resonating with the consumer. So just having some new people in there isn’t going to change that fact.”  Read more:  https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/leadership-shake-up-at-save-a-lot-and-shop-n/article_b6796859-84bf-5c64-8d56-244877100674.html

 

“Hy-Vee makes creative displays” by Kevin Coss at Albert Lea Tribune.  “The snowmobile was one such display, which had to be tethered to support beams in the ceiling to give it the illusion it was floating over the orange stand.  “It seemed to grab a bit of attention,” Shahan said.  Produce Manager Todd Brouwers said the idea for the project came when they realized Arctic Cat offered a snowmobile the same color as January’s yearly theme of orange. He joked the store was feeling pressure to one-up itself on future displays.  “Maybe we’ll hang a four-wheeler from the ceiling,” Brouwers said.”  Read more:  https://www.albertleatribune.com/2013/03/04/hy-vee-makes-creative-displays/

 

“Bill Gates, Amazon’s Bezos among tech’s top billionaires” by Bret Molina at USA Today via Forbes.  “Several notable tech leaders appeared on the Forbes’ billionaires list. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos finished at 19th on the list with $25.2 billion, followed by Google co-founders Larry Page ($23 billion) and Sergey Brin ($22.8 billion) at 20th and 21st, respectively.”  Read more:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/03/04/forbes-billionaires-microsoft-google-facebook/1961879/

 

“Study: Wal-Mart most popular place to find love at first sight” at WGHP 8.  “Romance isn’t dead. It’s just hiding at your local Wal-Mart.  A study of “missed connection” posts on Craigslist, where love-struck hopefuls try to track down and win over a stranger who caught their eye, found that Wal-Mart is the most popular place for people to find love at first sight, according to Psychology Today magazine.”  Read more:  https://myfox8.com/2013/03/04/study-wal-mart-most-popular-place-to-find-love-at-first-sight/

 

“Office Depot is stronger brand than OfficeMax, survey says” by Marcia Heroux Pounds.  “When the No. 2 and No. 3 office supply retailers merge, the combined companies would do well to use the Office Depot name, a branding expert says.  The Office Depot name is a stronger brand in the eyes of consumers than OfficeMax, according to YouGov BrandIndex, a consumer perception research service in New York City and Palo Alto, Calif.”  Read more:  https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-office-depot-brand-20130305,0,1543048.story

 

“Costco dodges economic bullet” at MSN Money.  “Costco Wholesale’s annual sales run above $100 billion, more than twice J.C. Penney’s  and Macy’s combined, and nearly 40% of those of mega-retailer Target.  Yet, Costco’s sales have not been dented by the current downturn or slowdown in sales that most of the nation’s largest retailers have felt.  Costco may not have the perfect model for retail success, but it is close.”  https://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=472d3829-6700-456b-9932-d659654f66c8

 

“Analysts: Kroger Co. poised for acquisitions” at WCPO Cincinnati.  “The Kroger Co has the financial capacity to pull off an acquisition worth more than $2 billion, but company officials and industry observers are hinting that smaller bites are more likely.  Kroger is likely to be asked about potential acquisitions in its March 7 conference call to discuss fourth quarter earnings.  Read more: https://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/business_news/kroger-poised-for-acquistion#ixzz2MfW9lSUE

 

“Monster hits back at lawsuit over teenager’s death” at Seattle Times via AP.  “In an interview with the Associated Press, Monster’s lawyer Daniel Callahan said the company hired a team of physicians to review the medical records in the Anais Fournier case and found that she likely died of natural causes brought on by her pre-existing heart conditions. The team found no medical evidence to show caffeine was a factor, he said.”  Read more:  https://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020483944_apusmonsterenergylawsuit.html

 

“Safeway Prices Too High, According To Investigation” at WUSA 9 (Text and Video). “An investigation by KPIX-TV in San Francisco found that Safeway overcharges more often than other stores surveyed in California. The station reviewed 1,800 scanner inspections over the last five years in California and 11 other states. They found Safeway, and its affiliated stores (Vons, Pavilions, Carrs-Safeway, Dominick’s Finer Foods, Randall’s and Tom Thumb) overcharged in more than 30% of the inspections. Safeway has grocery stores in Maryland, DC and Virginia.”   Read and see more: https://www.wusa9.com/(X(1)A(4C27-hC5zAEkAAAAYzA5YjQ2YzktOTk1Zi00MzVhLTgwMmMtMWUyMTdlZDlkNWY0Q9A_ppj6SQLTPxGfD-rRYaxNP5k1))/news/article/246742/37/Safeway-Prices-Too-High-According-To-Investigation

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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