Sam’s Club is opening a club in the Dallas area with no checkout lines at CNBC. “When shoppers walk into Sam’s Club’s newest store, they’ll soon see a shiny blue Mercedes-Benz SUV, a sectional sofa and zero checkout lanes…In the area typically reserved for cash registers, the company will display online-only items as wide-ranging as a 12-foot Christmas tree and a five-carat lab-grown diamond…“It’s kind of the physical manifestation of a journey we’re trying to go on as a company,” Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said, as he showed off the club before its grand opening.” Read more

 

Walmart opens five more veterinary and grooming centers, as it makes bigger push in pets at CNBC. “The new locations in Arizona and Georgia will include veterinary care and grooming. Walmart opened its first pet services center last year in the Atlanta area.” Read more | Press release

 

US candy companies favor gummies, licorice over pricey Halloween chocolates at Reuters. “Consumers have been curbing their cravings for costly chocolate, and the candy companies have faced a double-whammy on their own costs for the treat, first from supply chain snarls during the COVID pandemic and now from a cocoa bean shortage.” Read more

 

At a Brooklyn Warehouse, Robots Are Reshaping the Grocery-Delivery Business at WSJ. “…the company behind this technology says shoppers will save nearly one-third on their grocery bills…Robotic arms pluck plastic bins filled with groceries and deliver them to dozens of robots on the ground. The robots send the items to workers, who pack them into grocery bags before handing them off to Uber drivers for delivery…It is the first location in New York City in more than 20 years for discount grocery chain Save A Lot…” WSJ subs. | Press release

 

7-Eleven, Circle K’s US cigarette sales at risk from vapes, cheap smokes at Reuters. “A Couche-Tard takeover of 7-Eleven owner Seven & i would position the combined convenience store chain to dominate U.S. cigarette sales and try to push tobacco companies for better prices and promotions…” Read more

 

Anything in 10 Minutes: $5 Billion Delivery App Sweeps Latin America at Bloomberg/Yahoo. “We’re not just the only ones in Latin America doing this,” CEO and co-founder Simón Borrero said from the company’s Bogotá headquarters. “We’re the only ones in the world.” That convenience has helped propel Rappi into a $5.25 billion enterprise ubiquitous from Mexico to Argentina.” Read more

 

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Rolls-Royce opens VIP showroom in NYC to cater to its top-tier clients. Take a look inside at CNBC. “Rolls-Royce calls its top level of personalization the “Bespoke” program. Creating a Bespoke Rolls can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the sticker price…To get into the Private Office, customers press a black security screen outside an unmarked building and take a secure elevator to the top floor…” Video/Read more

 

Unsealed order in Amazon antitrust suit lets entire FTC case proceed, dismisses some state claims at GeekWire

 

SKELLY UNDER FIRE – The Battle Over the Halloween Craze That Won’t Die at WSJ. “For enthusiasts who keep the grinning ghouls up year-round, changes were needed, said Lance Allen, the Home Depot official who designed (Skelly). “All of the sudden Skelly is up in the middle of L.A., in the middle of Arizona, in the middle of summer, so we had to go back and retest,” said Allen. Skelly’s bones were updated to make them suitable for year-round elements, including heat.” WSJ subs.

 

Walmart Data Ventures to rebrand Luminate to Scintilla at Talk Business. “…more than 1,200 suppliers and buyers (met) to discuss how data insights can bolster sales.” Read more

 

Costco gold bars selling out quickly – 77% of stores surveyed by Bloomberg sold out of product within first week of October at Fox Business

 

Amazon bets on selling cashierless technology to retailers after pulling it from most U.S. stores at CNBC. “While it’s no longer featuring Just Walk Out as prominently in its own stores, Amazon says it has inked deals with a growing list of customers. More than 200 third-party stores have paid Amazon to install the cashierless system.” Read more

 

Best Buy Taps Disney’s Lisa Valentino as President of Its Ad Business at Adweek

 

Walgreens Appoints Jason Stenta as SVP and Chief Commercial Officer Press release

 

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