Source: Dollar General waving the white flag in battle for Family Dollar by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Business Journal. “It seems that Dollar General is throwing in the towel when it comes to acquiring Family Dollar. The company did not raise its bid or offer any reassurance to Family Dollar shareholders that the deal would close — instead, it said it needed more time.” Read more

 

Kroger eyeing major acquisition, analyst says by Steve Watkins a Cincinnati Business Courier. “All signs point to management’s willingness to make a major acquisition,” Carol Levenson wrote in a report last week analyzing Kroger’s bonds. She’s director of research at New York-based corporate bond research firm Gimme Credit.” Read more

 

15 years of training Walmart supplier analysts by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Can you imagine all the universities, including the University of Arkansas, that would like to have this access to Retail Link? It was given to NWACC for the purpose of training up an analytical retail workforce and it has not been duplicated,” Halliburton said.” Read more

 

Sellers Need Amazon, but at What Cost? by Angus Loten & Adam Janofsky at WSJ. “Mr. North of Terapeak said he cautions people who are just getting into the game that “it’s more competitive than ever” to be a third-party merchant on Amazon. “Larger merchants and retailers have become far more present online, and you’re competing with low-cost shipping and same-day shipping.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Why Whole Foods, Dollar General, and Panera have all been sued over a tiny hiring technicality by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “Employers are getting tripped up by a little-known law related to background checks, and it’s costing some of them serious time and money. When it comes to background checks—dare we say it—the devil is in the details.” Read more

 

New Cuba rules could flood island with U.S.-made goods by Alam Gomez at USA Today. “One of the surprises in the rules that go into effect Friday allows U.S. companies to sell “tools, equipment, supplies and instruments for use by private-sector entrepreneurs” in Cuba…”Americans can actually go down there on a business trip, market their products, research the market,” Oleynik said. “And they’re already asking about it. I’ve got clients climbing out of the woodwork asking questions. It’s a hopping day.” Read more

 

Target will cut U.S. jobs next by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “We are going evaluate each of those positions on a case-by-case basis,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said. “We don’t have details today, but we expect there will be a reduction in headcount in the U.S. related to the Canada news.” Read more

 

Brian Cornell Addresses Questions About Exiting Canada at A Bullseye View. “Target Canada business had reached the point where, without additional funding, it could not continue to meet its liabilities. Simply put, we were losing money every day.” Read more

 

Target tries to soften blow with unprecedented employee fund by Jeff Gray & Tim Shufelt at Globe & Mail. “But in what bankruptcy lawyers say is an unprecedented move, Target Canada’s U.S. parent has set up a trust fund of as much as $70-million to be kept completely separate from the restructuring process and to cover its employees’ severance payments. Most are to receive 16 weeks pay, Target says” Read more

 

Target’s Canadian retreat leaves a 20-million-square-foot hole by Tasmin McMahon at Globe & Mail. “Some predicted that several stores may have to be demolished, others carved into several smaller locations and some, particularly in Western Canada, may struggle to find any tenants amid the turmoil of sinking oil prices.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart, Sears ‘sad’ to see Target go by Lisa Wright at Toronto Star. “We are sorry to see a competitor leave the Canadian marketplace as we believe competition is ultimately good for customers,” said Andrew Pelletier, Walmart Canada’s vice-president of corporate affairs and sustainability.” Read more retailer quotes

 

Cramer on Target at Seeking Alpha. “You don’t just parachute into a foreign country and open 130 stores at once and expect great results,” Cramer said. “It has proven to be one of the dumbest moves of all time,” he added, targeting previous CEO Gregg Steinhafel for the flawed Great White North strategy.” Read more

 

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