Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet 5/9/13: Wmart’s next CEO: Doug McMillon may have edge | Target’s Quasi-Cheap-Chic in Canada

 

 

“Pinterest Pins Its Hopes On International Growth, Starts Out With Localizing ‘Pin It Forward’ Campaign To Drive More U.K. Posts” by Natasha Lomas at Techcrunch.  “Pinterest is ramping up its international strategy by kicking off a localisation effort in the U.K. today, tweaking the site so that it deliberately foregrounds U.K. content to U.K. users and also adding a British English language setting to make Brits feel more at home.”  Read more:  https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/09/pinterest-pin-it-forward/

 

“Next Wal-Mart CEO Faces Challenges Sam Walton Never Saw” at Bloomberg.  “Doug McMillon, who has been at Wal-Mart since starting as a summer worker in 1984, is close to the Walton family, three other people said. Simon joined Wal-Mart in 2006, after working in the food and beverages industry…McMillon’s standing with the Waltons combined with his international experience could give him an edge with the board.”  Read more:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-08/next-wal-mart-ceo-faces-challenges-sam-walton-never-saw.html

 

“Whole Foods Mulls Larger Stores, Acquisitions” by Elliot Zwiebach at Supermarket News.  “Chairman / Co-CEO John Mackey: “We expect a sea change in the retail food industry, with smaller independents closing stores or looking to get out, and we see additional opportunities for us to [acquire and] invest in some of those stores.”  Read more:  https://supermarketnews.com/natural-food-stores/whole-foods-mulls-larger-stores-acquisitions#ixzz2SnFzkJ1V

 

“Delhaize Group CEO to step down as Food Lion overhaul boosts profit” by Emily Ford at Salisbury Post.  “Food Lion has been battling for market share in North Carolina, competing against Walmart, Harris Teeter, Aldi and others. Florida-based Publix also is moving into the Carolinas.  In 2012, Food Lion closed 113 underperforming stores and pulled out of Florida. Delhaize America also shut down the Bloom brand.  As part of Delhaize’s succession plan, Beckers will stay in his post until a new CEO is appointed. He will continue to serve on the board after stepping down as CEO.”  Read more:  https://www.salisburypost.com/article/20130508/SP01/130509736/1006/delhaize-group-ceo-to-step-down-as-food-lion-overhaul-boosts-profit

 

“IRI MarketPulse Survey Finds Shopper Sentiment Rebounding in 2013”  “Our latest MarketPulse survey finds that consumers weathered the latest round of economic storms very well and are feeling more optimistic than they have in quite some time. Of course, consumers will continue to be cautious about their spending, but we may see wallets open slightly more as we approach summer.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130508006288&div=-1245645151

 

“Banks become Wal-Mart’s new biggest enemy” by Jason Notte at MSN Money.  “Banks are becoming a fairly regular opponent of Wal-Mart and haven’t been shy about teaming up with some of the chain’s other enemies to block expansion onto their turf. In 2005, banks joined labor unions and community groups to oppose Wal-Mart’s application to open a limited-service bank based in Utah. The retailer eventually abandoned that plan.”  Read more:  https://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=e27c3940-5a47-467e-b558-568c5ce28d5f

 

“The Retailer-Designer Dating Game” by Elizabeth Holms at WSJ.  “For Target, any given collaboration—representing several dozen pieces in a store selling about 100,000 items—isn’t about boosting the bottom line. Rather, each one is an elaborate exercise in brand building, winning the blessing of influential fashion insiders to enhance its own reputation and bring shoppers into stores.  “It makes me think that Target has good taste,” said Molly Luetkemeyer, a Los Angeles interior designer.”  Read more:  https://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-228628/

 

“Target opens doors (in Canada): U.S. retailer a hit for some early-bird shoppers, a disappointment for others” by Tiffany Crawford at The Vancouver Sun.  “”I’m tweeting that I shopped ’till I dropped and I loved it,” she said, with a nod to a cart stuffed full of shopping bags.  “I heard a lot of people say they couldn’t find deals but I guess they just didn’t know what to look for,” she said. Boudreau, who was second in line to get in the store when it opened at 8 a.m., said prices were not as low as in the U.S., but there were deals to be found.”  Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/life/Target+opens+doors+retailer+some+early+bird+shoppers+disappointment+others/8349559/story.html#ixzz2SnL7owXj

 

“Bass Pro Shops Announces Third Canadian Store” at The Outdoor Wire.  “Bass Pro Shops, America’s most popular outdoor store, will locate its third Canadian store in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario as an anchor for The Outlet Collection at Niagara-a 520,000-square-foot shopping center under construction by Ivanhoé Cambridge…The new 80,000 square-foot Bass Pro Shops® Outpost store is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.”  Read more:  https://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/1368000219tk9urb5euyt

 

“Former Ace CEO earns accolade” at Chicago Sun-Times.  “Ace Hardware’s former Chief Executive Officer Ray Griffith is to be inducted into the Home Channel News’ Hall of Fame during the Golden Hammer Awards ceremony.  Griffith, the retired from Ace Hardware, headquartered in Oak Brook, worked for the company in various leadership positions since 1994 before being promoted to CEO in 2005.”  Read more:  https://hinsdale.suntimes.com/business/19953675-420/former-ace-ceo-earns-accolade.html

 

“Can Google Convince Teens To Pay For YouTube Videos?” by Dorothy Pomerantz at Forbes.  “A look at the most-subscribed to channels shows a list of channels that most people over the age of 25 probably know nothing about: Smosh, JennaMarbles, RayWilliamJohnson and nigahiga.  What do all of these channels have in common? Their main audience is teens — people who grew up watching videos for free.”  Read more:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/05/06/can-google-convince-teens-to-pay-for-youtube-videos/

 

Thanks for reading…

 

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