“Walmart Unveils New Shopper Marketing Framework” by Patrycja Malinowska at Path to Purchase. “Andy Murray called on brands to retire the “stop, hold and close” approach to in-store activation. Instead of disrupting shoppers, he said brands should seek to inspire and engage them. In terms of displays and PDQs, the retailer wants more value-added messaging at the shelf. P-O-P materials should have a very clear value proposition. Beyond just communicating value, they should create it, actually delivering a benefit.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart global operations are a testing lab for Walmart U.S. stores” by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Walmart International operates in 15 core formats — compared to three, maybe four in the U.S. (David) Cheesewright said those formats range from a big builders chain in South Africa to small kiosks in Japan and everything in between. “Around a third of our stores are under 25,000 square feet, so much more average size and quite a lot of small stores in our portfolio,” Cheesewright said.” Read more

 

“Bullseye hits the Target, flies first class” by Marney Rich Keenan at The Detroit News. “She was curled up and on a red Delta blanket in her own seat and was incredibly docile with her head resting on the arm rest in full makeup and wearing a bright red collar with the Target logo repeated in bright sparkly rhinestones. Kids called out to their parents as if they were in the presence of a boy band. Several of the flight attendants had their pictures taken with her.” Read more

 

“Wall Street may finally be giving up on Amazon” by Cadie Thompson at CNBC. “The company posted a huge earnings miss for its third quarter on Thursday, reporting a loss of 95 cents a share versus the street’s estimate of 74 cents. And that big miss may be the last straw for investors, analysts said.” Read more

 

“Amazon Employees, Not Investors, Will Have to Pressure Jeff Bezos to Slow Down” by Brad Stone at Businessweek. “Employees unsettled by Amazon’s steadily depreciating stock price are probably the only thing that can force Bezos to slow down. Amazon workers are compensated heavily with stock grants, which are parceled out over four year periods. Promises of great stock rewards motivate employees to stick around amid a grueling work environment.” Read more

 

“Amazon hired 40,000 employees in a year, now has 150,000 worldwide” by Rachel Lerman. “That doesn’t even include the contractors that staff its massive warehouses or the 80,000 holiday employees it said it would hire on a temporary basis this year.” Read more

 

“Target has more options in Canada than you think” by Jonathan Ratner at Financial Post. “If Target stays: “No other Canadian retailer is materially impacted unless Target can actually double their store productivity.” If Target goes: “If Target were to simply pull out, pay the penalties, and let the stores go dark, it’s very good for Wal-Mart, pretty good for Canadian Tire and Loblaw, and not bad for everybody.” Read more

 

“Cabela’s Q3 Comp Sales Down 11.2% (Cycling against Firearms/Ammunition surge from last 2 years)” “For the quarter, total revenue increased 4.1% to $886.0 million; Retail store revenue increased 8.7% to $598.7 million.” Read the release

 

“Etsy Wants a Cut at the Craft Sale” by Jason Del Rey at Recode.”The dongles, which can be plugged into a smartphone or tablet, will be used in conjunction with an Etsy app to allow sellers to accept credit card and debit card purchases while hawking their wares at craft fairs and in other retail settings.” Read more

 

“Walmart grocery pickup test off to a good start” by Carol Angrisani at Supermarket News. “It’s doing well,” Andy Murray, SVP of Creative at Walmart Marketing, said during a keynote presentation Thursday at the Shopper Marketing Conference & Expo in Minneapolis.” Read more

 

“In online sales, could Wal-Mart ever top Amazon?” by Mike Kwatinetz at Fortune. “Given the fact that Amazon is adding sales (in dollars) at 5 times the rate of Wal-Mart online, the question is whether it has enough inherent advantages to continue to significantly outpace Wal-Mart. The answer is yes.” Read more

 

“Ron Johnson’s Startup ‘Enjoy’ Will Offer Online Shoppers Help in Choosing Products” by Daisuke Wakabayashi at WSJ. “Mr. Johnson is keeping most of Enjoy’s plans and strategy secret to avoid tipping off rivals. But he said Enjoy aims to help shoppers develop a connection with new products, in the way that Apple Stores let shoppers try its products. For example, Mr. Johnson said it is hard for customers to understand the capabilities of a new product like a GoPro camera from shopping online.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Sears disputes report of layoffs, store closings” by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “A published report Thursday said Sears Holdings is laying off about 6,000 workers as it closes 110 stores within the next few months, many before Christmas, according to Seeking Alpha, a content service for financial markets.” Read more

 

“WalMart India names Murali Lanka as Chief Operations Officer” at The Hindu. Read more

 

“South Park (San Diego) residents oppose plans for TargetExpress” at Fox 5 News. “Saad Hirmez, who owns the property, said residents had requested higher-end markets like Trader Joes or Whole Foods to fill the space. “It was available for all of them, it was marketed and they apparently passed on,” said Hirmez. Of all the retailers that were interested, Hirmez said Target was the clear choice.” Read more

 

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