Target ball Web craze is merrily rolling along by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “If you search the hashtag on Instagram, there over 2,000 pictures from people around the country taking the selfies,” said Byington, 32, of Birmingham, Ala. “It’s crazy.” People sit on the red balls. They stand on them. They do yoga on them. They lay down on them like they’re Superman. And then, they post pictures to Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #targetballing.” Read more

 

Home Depot’s Craig Menear Speaks to MSU Graduates by Terri Hughes-Lazzell at Eli Broad College of Business. “He told them of a time in his career when he was asked to take a lateral move into the supply chain organization. “I was a merchant—the guy who found great products at great value for customers. What did I know, or care, about how the products got from the manufacturer to the store?” he said….“Without taking that risk and gaining invaluable knowledge, I wouldn’t have been prepared to take on overseeing our company’s supply chain transformation, a hugely complex project,” he said.” Read more

 

…Target’s Brian Cornell will Deliver Commencement Address at UCLA Anderson on 6/12/15 “Brian Cornell (BA ’81, Exec Ed CERT ’91,) chairman and CEO of Target Corp., will address this year’s MBA, Fully Employed MBA, and Ph.D. graduates. The graduation ceremony will take place on Friday, June 12, 2015, at 4:00 pm on Wilson Plaza at the UCLA campus.” Read more

 

Wayfair Q1 Total Net Revenue +52.3% “The number of active customers in our Direct Retail business reached 3.6 million as of March 31, 2015, up 49.3% year over year…Aided brand awareness reached 62% in April 2015.” Read the release

 

Alibaba’s buys $56M stake in Zulily by Rachel Lerman at Puget Sound Business Journal. “…buying up a 9.3 percent stake…It is unclear what Alibaba’s plans are with moms-focused flash sales site Zulily, but a source told the Wall Street Journal that Alibaba does not plan to acquire Zulily.” Read more

 

***A message from Mobee: Mobee has over 350,000 GPS Tracked, Smartphone enabled “Bees” located within 5 miles of every retail store in the USA. We detect supply chain issues quickly and issue fix alerts to remedy the problem in hours not months. Our “Supply Chain Fix Alerts” have resulted in post-alert sales increases of up to +35% by getting displays up and product on shelf.  How Mobee works video. See “Fix Alert” example.  Visit website. Contact dowdy@getmobee.com to ask about our “Free Pilot” offer.

 

Retired Kroger executive would own piece of Cincinnati marijuana farm by Barrett J. Brunsman at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Cincinnati lawyer Paul Heldman, who retired last year as general counsel and secretary of the Kroger Co., would own part of a Butler County marijuana farm if a proposal to legalize pot makes it onto the Ohio ballot this fall and wins voter approval.” Read more

 

Kris Jenner Has a ‘Passion’ for Costco, Compares It to a ‘Massage’ by Jackie Willis at ET. “…anyone could make a Costco run for Jenner, but she finds it “sacred” and also sees it as an opportunity for cameras to follow her around as she “picks up salmon with herb butter on her own.” Jenner also “did not trust anyone else to check the date stamp on the oatmeal-raisin cookies to see which were baked most recently.” Read more

 

Reese Witherspoon to Open First Store in Nashville by E.J.Boyer at Nashville Business Journal. “The fashion trade publication Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), which interviewed Witherspoon about the launch, cites the store as 3,000 square feet, and says its decor will mirror Witherspoon’s own home in Nashville.” Read more

 

…Reese Witherspoon Launches Draper James Fashion Line by Rosemary Feitelberg at WWD. “There’s no hotel. I don’t know why people think I’m making a hotel, but I’m not,” she says.” Read more

 

Indianapolis: Kroger’s onslaught will put Marsh under further siege by Greg Andrews at Indianapolis Business Journal. “Marsh’s market share “continues to plummet” and that heavyweights like Kroger and Wal-Mart view the Fishers-based chain as an “ineffectual competitor..(Marsh) now has 74 groceries, down 36 percent from the 116 (in 2006).” Read more

 

Amazon’s Grocery Delivery Business Quietly Expands to Parts of New Jersey by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read more

 

Safeway closing 9 stores in metro Denver by Caitlin Hendee & Mark Harden at Denver Business Journal. “This was a very difficult decision made after long and careful deliberation,” Staaf said. “Ultimately, our business analysis indicated that we needed to cease operations at these locations.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Time: Apple Pay Is Creaming Walmart in the Mobile Payment Wars

Here’s what one shopper learned trying Kroger’s online shopping

Six More McDonald’s Characters That Need a Makeover Now (Mayor McCheese!)

India’s No.2 Offline Retailer, Future Group, Battles Booming Online Rivals

Read Tipsheet Extra

 

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Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.