Thursday Tipsheet: Costco CFO on ‘Secret Codes’ | Wgreens ‘Egg Riot’ | Kroger Goes Big
“Costco CFO Richard Galanti Confirms ‘Secret Codes’, but ‘It’s no Secret Agent Thing’ “ by Lou Carlozo at Reuters. “Galanti cautions against reading too much into the price codes, as Costco’s margins are low enough (in the 10-11 percent range) that a shopper might have more advantage buying a newer item at the “.99” full price. “The question is, do you want something at the end of its season or at the beginning of a new season?” he asks.” Read more
“Walgreens: Chinatown Egg Sale Causes ‘Riot’ “ by Rob Nagle at San Fran Examiner. “Walgreens was offering a sale on eggs, 99 cents for a dozen eggs, and the sale was so successful they almost ran out and customers reportedly fought for what little was left…”They were fighting – fist fighting – over eggs,” he said. Police were called out to the scene to break up the fighting, but the women wouldn’t leave. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Murnin said, “all these 50-, 60-, 80-year-old women fighting over eggs.” Read more
“At Macy’s, lessons from Walmart’s failed RFID attempt” by Mary Catherine O’Connor. “Macy’s began installing RFID infrastructure in all its 850 stores. Starting this month, Connell says, Macy’s is expanding substantially the number of vendors it is asking to ship items that are pre-tagged with RFID. By the end of the summer, the retailer plans to have half of all replenishment vendors sending RFID-tagged merchandise.” Read more
“Kroger bets on bigger stores” by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com. “Shoppers must just love the big concept – since Kroger has added 15 since last summer and is in the midst of building 17 more. Kroger now has 90 Marketplaces in 14 states…But can big get too big? As Kroger ramps up its larger concept, it’s finding some resistance from some communities objecting to sprawling stores in criticism normally aimed at uber-rival Wal-Mart.” Read more
“Land Under San Jose Home Depot Sells for $15.58 Mil” by Nathan Donato-Weinstein at Silicon Valley Bus. Journal. “Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA this Home Depot is a trophy triple-net-leased asset,” James said.” Read more
“Walmart Is Downsizing Its Superstores and Putting Apartments on Top” by Amanda Kolson Hurley at Architectural Record. “Fort Totten Square (DC), designed by Hickok Cole Architects, is a sharp departure from the retailer’s usual formula. Hickok Cole is placing 345 residential units above a Walmart that, at 125,000 square feet, is hardly small, but is a step down from its “supercenter” format, which averages 180,000 square feet. On top of the Walmart, four stories of apartments will wrap around two large courtyards, one with a swimming pool.” Read more
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“Home Depot Lumbers Into E-Commerce” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “Home Depot’s newest location is 10 times bigger than its average store, stocks three times more items and has no customers. It’s an online distribution center, for a company that seems the unlikeliest of Internet retailers…Still, Mr. Blake is firm that adding new stores isn’t the answer. “When we get to the point where we’re all in a room and we can’t think of anything to invest in the business to make it better, then you would say, let’s build some more stores,” he said.” Read more
“New Postal Union Leader Really Doesn’t Want Mail Sent From Staples” by Devin Leonard at Businessweek. “Our goal is not to shut down stamp sales at the giant supermarkets now, but we definitely object to putting post offices in privately run stores—especially when they’re not staffed by postal workers.” Read more
“Home Depot & Walmart Join the Shale Rush” by Shelly Banjo at WSJ. “In one Wal-Mart store in Williston, N.D., hourlong lines led the retailer to raise wages for cashiers and stock clerks to $17 an hour and bring in staff from nearby stores and other states. Wal-Mart said it has since caught up to demand with local hires.” Read more
“Costco’s Director James Sinegal Unloads $450,320 in Stock” at WKRB. “Director James D. Sinegal unloaded 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.58, for a total transaction of $450,320.00.” Read more
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