“Target’s new elves have a story to tell” by Sabrina Korber at CNBC. “The partnership between the companies began eight weeks ago, when Cornell approached Shechtman at the boutique. She had no idea who he was. “I was wearing sweatpants when I met Brian,” she told CNBC. “I was embarrassed at the time, but maybe I should wear sweatpants more often.” See the video / Read more

 

“Whole Foods gets pushback on new store from Hollywood elites” by Michael Theis at Austin Bus. Journal. “The report centers around the passing this week of a Malibu, California, ballot measure that requires new commercial development greater than 20,000 square feet be approved by public referendum. It also places a 30 percent limit on the percent of chain-store retail tenants allowed to operate in a shopping center.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart ‘Gearing’ Up For College” by Tom Van Riper at Forbes. “In the first move of its kind, Wal-Mart is devoting floor space exclusively to college-themed merchandise in 2,700 stores during the upcoming Christmas shopping season. The gear is expected to roll into the stores on November 17.” Read more

 

“For outdoor retailers, Orange is the new Black” by John Ewoldt at Star-Tribune. “The planning cycle is getting shorter. They’ve compressed their purchasing closer to the actual deer opening date,” said Charlie Davis, vice president of merchandising at St. Paul-based Gander Mountain. “Deer hunters will wait until the week of, or the day before, the actual opening date.” Read more

 

Walmart’s Scott Huff, EVP Merchandising Operations, to Speak at Chamber Event on Dec. 1st  Read more

 

“Whole Foods CIO Says Apple Pay, Instacart Paying Off” by Steven Norton by WSJ. “Mr. Buechel said the firm has processed more than 150,000 transactions using the service since Apple Pay went live last month.” Read more (Subscription)

 

“Best Buy Express kiosks dispense electronics — and lots of profits” by Thomas Lee at SF Gate. “According to a source close to Zoom, Best Buy Express generates anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 a month per kiosk. Do the math and that means the consumer electronics retailer, based in Richfield, Minn., generates roughly between $20 million and $120 million a year in sales off those machines.” Read more

 

“Let’s Call The Amazon Echo What It Is” by Greg Kumparak at Techcrunch. “They want their store “front end” to be floating in the ether all around you, just waiting for you to open your mouth.” Read more

 

“Meet The Network Of Guys Making Thousands Of Dollars Tweeting As “Common White Girls” “ by Ryan Broderick at BuzzFeed. “Cameron Asa is a 21-year-old communications major at the University of Tennessee. He’s also the owner of Tweet Like A Girl, a Twitter account with 1.2 million followers…He said the network  – which has no corporate sponsor backing it — was responsible for the “Alex From Target” sensation on Sunday. “I know for a fact it was the parody accounts that started it,” Asa said.” Read more

 

“Home Depot Hackers Stole 53 Mil Emails Addresses” by Dune Lawrence at Bloomberg. “The hackers went for the 7,500 self-checkout lanes because those machines’ reference names in the computer system clearly identified them as payment terminals, while some 70,000 standard registers were identified only by number, according to the (WSJ).” Read more

 

“Postal Service Will Deliver 7 Days a Week Starting Nov. 17 through Christmas Day” by Hailey Lee at CNBC. Read more

 

“Target taps General Motors executive as chief of compliance and risk” by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Bus. Journal. “Jacqueline Hourigan Rice begins Dec. 1, according to a Target news release. She’ll be a senior vice president and report directly to Cornell.
Rice was most recently chief compliance officer at GM. She worked there for 17 years.” Read more

 

“Kroger Exits Springfield, MO Market” by Steve Watkins at Cincy Bus. Courier. “Kroger Co. has exited a market for the first time in a few years. Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, is selling four stores in Springfield, Mo., pulling it completely out of that market. The stores are part of Kroger’s Dillons chain.” Read more

 

“Food Lion parent to sell Bottom Dollar stores to Aldi” by Jen Wilson at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “Delhaize Group, the parent of Salisbury-based grocery chain Food Lion, has agreed to sell Bottom Dollar Food’s 66 stores to Aldi Inc.” Read more

 

“This is Vudu Spark, Walmart’s very own Chromecast competitor” by Janko Roettgers at Gigaom. “The stick popped up in the FCC database this week, which tends to be a good sign that a release is imminent.” Read more

 

“Canadian Tire profits jump 22 per cent on strong sales everywhere” by Francine Kopun at The Star. “Canadian Tire is on a roll right now, pun intended,” Medline said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday to discuss earnings.” Read more

 

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