Monday Tipsheet: Target’s Back Burner | U.Armour Shirt Apology | ‘Hands off my hot dog’
Target Puts Some Food Suppliers on the Back Burner by Paul Ziobro at WSJ. “In grocery, the company has a clear idea of what will fit in “signature” and “perform,” but is still working out what will qualify for the middle category. The difference is crucial. Brands that fall into the bottom “perform” category will remain on the shelves but won’t get featured as frequently in circulars or in stores. They will also likely face more competition from Target’s private-label brands, which the chain plans to push heavily.” Read more (Subscription)
Under Armour apologizes for ‘Band of Ballers’ shirt after being accused of disrespecting the military by Marissa Payne at Washington Post. “Your marketing and design team made a mistake and used very poor judgement,” Facebook user Jamie Proffitt wrote. “Man-up and remove the ‘Band of Ballers’ scene from your merchandise.” See the pic / Read more
Family Dollar’s road not taken: Retailer explored going private by Rick Rothacker at Charlotte Observer. “Since Dollar General went private and came back public, Dollar General has been lights out,” Yarbrough, the Edward Jones analyst, said. “Family Dollar has had a lot of hiccups, a lot of problems.” Read more
Walmart.com provides link for subscription-delivery service signup at The City Wire. “Follow the link, enter your email and zip code information and then wait for an invitation from Walmart.com.” Read more
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Announcing Earnings Tomorrow: Walmart, Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods
Pilot recounts plane crash into Costco parking lot as rescuers honored by Michael Chen at ABC 10 News. “The plane clipped the top of a Target store before crashing. Cellphone video captured the moments that followed, with Costco employees and bystanders rushing toward the flames. A Costco truck driver raced to the trucks and got several fire extinguishers.” See the video / Read more
Green diet guidelines trigger food fight (‘Hands off my hot dog’) by Lydia Wheeler at The Hill. “The guidelines recommending Americans eat less meat for “the sake of our health and that of the planet” have led to a flood of tens of thousands of public comments to the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture…Never before has the panel sought to incorporate environmental factors.” Read more
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Alibaba Sued by Luxury Brands Over Counterfeit Goods by Nate Raymond at Reuters via Recode. “The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands owned by Paris-based Kering seeking damages and an injunction for alleged violations of trademark and racketeering laws.” Read more
The most popular stores in America at 24/7 Wall St. via USA Today. “More than half of all shoppers in the country visited a Walmart location in March. No other U.S. store could claim a majority of Americans as customers that month.” See the Top 5 list
Amazon’s Audible hires NPR VP of programming, signaling move into original podcasting by James Risley at GeekWire. Read more
Former Family Dollar exec steps in as CFO at 3D printing company by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Business Journal. “David Styka, who was the treasurer and vice president of finance at Family Dollar until moving to 3D in January, is now the 3D printing company’s chief financial officer.” Read more
Alibaba embraces new visual QR-style codes for offline-to-online transactions by Paul Sawers at VentureBeat. “So rather than bland, black-and-white matrix barcodes, the new codes are capable of embedding colorful images or logos covering 90 percent of the code’s surface.” Read more
Wal-Mart’s celebration evokes family nostalgia be Teresa Moss at Arkansas Online. “The story of the truck has become a legend, Dranow said. He said, at times, spontaneous lines form in the museum as visitors wait to touch the truck’s door handle. “Legend has it, if you touch the door handle, you will be rewarded with the gift of frugality,” Dranow said.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra
Activist: Baltimore Rioters Destroyed ‘Economic Eyesore’ CVS
California lawmakers to vote on banning ‘microbeads’ from personal care products
How a drink for babies became the adult hangover cure of choice
The baby luxury market: $15 million bassinets and more
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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.