Tipsheet: 52% of WM Reviews Fake | JCP -24 Stores | V.Secret -53 Stores
JCPenney Q4 comp sales -4.0 (vs. forecasted -4.3%) / Will close 24 more stores Press release
…JCPenney names Michelle Wlazlo chief merchant “Most recently she served as senior vice president of apparel and accessories merchandising at Target Corporation.” Press release
…JCPenney pulls plug on clothing subscription service by Melissa Fares at Reuters. “In December 2017, the department store chain announced a new service through a partnership with Bombfell.com that offered Penney private label and national men’s clothing brands to people who signed up for regular apparel shipments.” Read more
L Brands plans to close roughly 53 Victoria’s Secret stores this year at CNBC. “Victoria’s Secret, where same-store sales fell 3 percent…Bath & Body Works…grew same-store sales by 12 percent.” Read more
WPP hires Walmart executive Jacqui Canney as head of talent management by Matthew Garrahan at Financial Times. “Jacqui Canney will leave her post as chief people officer at Walmart, where she has been responsible for attracting, retaining and developing talent.” Tiered subs.
Amazon Shifts Power to Brands in Fight Against Fake Products by Laura Stevens at Wall Street Journal. “The online retail giant on Thursday launched a new anticounterfeiting program, called Project Zero, that it says would better protect brands from scammers by letting them designate listings for removal, rather than going through a cumbersome reporting process with Amazon.” WSJ subs.
Scourge of fake reviews hitting Amazon, Walmart and other major retailers by Aimee Picchi at CBS. “52 percent of reviews posted on Walmart.com are “inauthentic and unreliable,” Fakespot estimates 30 percent of Amazon reviews are fake or unreliable, the study found.” Read more
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What happened to Julep: How a high-profile online beauty brand went from acquisition to bankruptcy in 2 years by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more
Amazon backs out of massive Seattle office tower by Monica Nickelsburg at GeekWire. “The New York resistance effort mirrored opposition Amazon faces in Seattle. It’s not hard to draw a line between the battles; two Seattle City Council members traveled to New York to warn Amazon opponents about what it’s like to have the company in your backyard.” Read more
Bob Boldt, ad director and designer for Dayton’s and Target, dies at 90 by Erin Golden at Minneapolis Star Tribune. “As a retiree, Boldt kept creating, designing logos and programs for his church…“We knew if he took up residence in front of the church photocopier that he was in development mode,” said Rev. D. Foy Christopherson, a pastor at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.” Tiered subs.
Amazon reportedly taps former Kindle and Flex exec to lead pharmacy group overseeing PillPack by James Thorne at GeekWire. Read more
DSW bets nail salons in shoe stores will lure millennial women at Bloomberg via Crain’s Cleveland Business. “The retailer said Wednesday, Feb. 27, that it’s adding nail salons to five shoe stores this year in Washington; Austin, Texas; and Dublin, Ohio. DSW began testing the concept in 2017 in two locations in its headquarters city of Columbus.” Read more
Best Buy Thanks Fortnite for Boost, But ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. “Best Buy Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry said the Epic Games Inc. battle-royale title lifted sales of all sorts of gaming consoles, PCs and accessories like headphones over the course of the year.” Tiered subs.
Tipsheet Extra Stories
France’s largest sports retailer pulls sports hijab amid threats
The number of outstanding U.S. $100 bills has doubled since the financial crisis
FDA Recalls More Blood Pressure Medication
Martha Stewart partnering with marijuana grower Canopy Growth
Inside Hy-Vee’s New Hybrid Concept
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