TargetExpress coming to Chicago in October by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz at Chicago Tribune. “The 24,000-square-foot shop at 401 E. Illinois St., less than one-fifth the size of a traditional Target, will house a Starbucks and carry merchandise geared toward neighborhood shoppers swinging by as they walk or bike home from work, Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker said .” Read more

 

Costco March Comp Sales -2% / +4% Excluding Gas Price Deflation Read the release

 

SWAT Team Called After Woman Steals $8.50 in Groceries from Giant Supermarket and Hides in Ceiling for 7 Hours at CBS Baltimore. “SWAT teams, a mandatory evacuation and a scissor lift–Baltimore County police pulling out all the stops to arrest a shoplifter who lodged herself above the highest walls of the Giant store in Arbutus (MD).” Read more

 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Q2 Sales +35.5% Read the release

 

Bed, Bath & Beyond Q4 Comp Sales +3.7% (vs. 1.7% last year) Read the release

 

***A Message from CLUG: The World’s Smallest Bike Rack is Now Available. The CLUG Bike Clip is targeted at the urban cyclist and the casual enthusiast who are short on storage space for their bikes.  CLUG is a patent pending, high quality product that made the list of 2014 Best Stuff by GQ Magazine in their December 2014 issue.  CLUG is now ready for retail with its 100% recyclable, high volume packaging.  See the video.  See the sell sheet. Contact info@shiftmarketinggroup.net to request a product sample.

 

Amazon files first-ever suit over fake product reviews, alleges Calif. man sold fraudulent praise by Todd Bishop at Geek Wire. “Amazon has filed suit against the alleged operator of several sites that offer Amazon sellers the ability to purchase fake 4- and 5-star customer reviews of their products.” Read more

 

Family Dollar Q2 Comp Sales +0.5% (Street expected 1.7%) Read the release

 

Austin is 6th City to Get Amazon’s ‘Prime Now’ one-hour delivery service by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more

 

Whole Foods makes loan to 10-year-old Austin ‘Shark Tank’ star by Greg Barr at Austin Business Journal. “Last year, BeeSweet sold about 25,000 bottles, thanks in part to its deal with Whole Foods to place the drinks in 10 stores. That agreement was expanded in January to 35 stores in the Southwest region.” Read more

 

Amazon Prime Subscribers Just In It For Two-Day Delivery Deal? by P.J. Bednarski at MediaPost. “44% of U.S. subscribers use Prime Instant Video at least once a week, compared to 55% in Germany and 54% in the U.K.” Read more

 

J.D. Power Ranks Top 10 Kitchen Cabinet Brands (IKEA #1) See the top 10 list

 

Ex-bagger at Cincinnati Kroger rises to division president at Cincinnati Business Courier. “After 38 years with the company, Marlene Stewart was promoted on Tuesday to president of its Dillons division.” Read more

 

The ‘Netflix for Books’ Just Invaded Amazon’s Turf by Davey Alba at Wired. “On Wednesday, (Oyster) announced that it is launching an e-book store on its platform. Oyster says it has corralled all of the Big Five publishers to contribute their book offerings to the service…(Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited) now gives subscribers access to more than 800,000 titles for $9.99 a month. But it doesn’t have the Big Five publishers on board—and it may not be close to striking any deals with them.” Read 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 happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.