Tipsheet: 9/14/17
EBay partners with fashion marketplace Spring in growing rivalry with Amazon, Wal-Mart at CNBC. “Shoppers will now be able to browse the looks of David Yurman, Rag & Bone, Mango and Chloe on eBay’s website, the same site that lets customers bid on toys, power tools and motorcycles.” Read more
Target has jumped from Apple to Android for sales-floor devices by Marc Reilly at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Apple’s iOS has drawn criticism from store employees for various technical issues — you can see some of the gripes on the unofficial Target Reddit page— and for the lack of changeable batteries. Apparently some Target workers kept holding onto the old PDAs rather than using the Apple handhelds.” Read more
Lowe’s hires former Neiman Marcus & Target executive by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “Lowe’s has named former Neiman Marcus executive Michael West its new executive vice president of supply chain field operations, a position responsible for overseeing the system that helps online orders reach customers quickly and efficiently.” Read more
Why Bonobos thought selling to Walmart was better than going public by Dan Frommer at Recode. “Look at Lululemon’s IPO, look at Michael Kors’s IPO, look at the history of any brick-and-mortar companies, it’s same-store sales and new stores,” Dunn said. “We feel very excited in this new world that we don’t have the pressure to grow that super, super quickly to please a public market story to get the company public.” Read more
Amazon plans mega-warehouse for Mexico growth spurt via CNBC. “The new warehouse is slated to be built in the Tepotzotlan municipality about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Mexican capital, according to four Mexico City real estate professionals familiar with the plans. Expected to be completed next year, the facility would triple Amazon’s distribution space in Mexico, home to around 120 million potential customers.” Read more
Office Depot Names Jerri Devard Chief Marketing Officer “Previously, DeVard was the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for The ADT Corporation.” Press release
Target executives emphasize innovation on week of employee meeting by Jackie Crosby at Star Tribune. “Mike McNamara, Target’s executive vice president, chief information and digital officer, said the fair was a way to show off the spirit of entrepreneurship among the rank-and-file. Monday’s fair was a pared-down version of a quarterly event involving 90 or so products. “Most of the ideas will see the light of day,” McNamara said. “Just one or two are pigs flying — a little far out.” Read more (tiered subs.)
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Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber: ‘I do not believe Amazon is killing retailers’ by Johana Bhuiyan at Recode. “I believe retailers’ bad service is killing retailers. And I think because of that you might not go to the malls as much as you used to.” Read more
Blue Apron CEO Matt Salzberg: We’re not Amazon-Whole Foods, and we’re not trying to be by Tony Romm at Recode.”It’s crazy to think people are all going to get their food in the same way or consume one brand of food for everything they eat all day long.” Read more/Video
Chocolate industry drives rainforest disaster in Ivory Coast by Ruth Maclean at The Guardian. “The Guardian travelled across Ivory Coast and documented rainforests cleared for cocoa plantation; villages and farmers occupying supposedly protected national parks; enforcement officials taking kickbacks for turning a blind eye to infractions and trading middlemen who supply the big brands indifferent to the provenance of beans.” Read more
Minnesota Governor’s call for ‘restrained’ bid for Amazon HQ draws protests by Evan Ramstad & Nicole Norfleet at Star Tribune. “Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. have emerged as complicating factors in Minnesota’s effort to attract Amazon Inc.’s second headquarters, but some Twin Cities tech leaders say the state’s economic future shouldn’t be handcuffed by the two homegrown firms.” Read more
The federal government is worried some refrigerators and coffee pots could pose a national security risk by Shaun Boyd at CBS 4 Denver. “Colorado’s U.S. Senator Cory Gardner among a bi-partisan group of senators who are sponsoring legislation to secure the so-called Internet of Things – everyday devices that are embedded with computer chips and sensors. Gardner says those devices can be used as weapons of mass disruption.” Read more
Here’s What P&G Has Learned Since Demanding Advertising Transparency 9 Months Ago by Lauren Johnson at Adweek. “Pritchard presented a look at his five-point program during the closing keynote of Dmexco, restating that the program is about 60 percent complete…“The reality is that in 2017, the bloom came off the rose for digital media,” Pritchard said. “The reason is the substantial waste in what has become a murky, nontransparent, even fraudulent media-supply chain.” Read more
Target plans to hire 100,000 workers for the 2017 holidays, up 40% from last year at CNBC. Read more
Hundreds of frenzied shoppers flock to Aldi and clear shelves within one hour after it launches its homewares range by San Duncan at Daily Mail. “John was hoping to buy two but ended up with only one despite showing up half an hour before doors opened. ‘It was pretty crazy … too many people … people were grabbing things and putting them aside for their friends,’ he said.” Read more
Ex-Googlers’ ‘Bro-dega’ startup slammed for going after mom-and-pop corner stores by Ethan Baron at Mercury News. “Several people noted that the startup takes as its logo the cat, a feature of many authentic bodegas that will be absent from the ex-Googlers’ high-tech version. “Trying to destroy bodegas with a startup called ‘Bodega’ that has a bodega cat logo is… just awful,” tech entrepreneur Anil Dash tweeted.” Read more
LaCroix Fizzy Water Is Everyone’s Favorite. Nobody Knows What’s In It by Rob Copeland at Wall Street Journal. “Ask LaCroix executives for a definition of essence and you may receive something short of a clear response. “Essence is our picture word,” LaCroix spokesman Rod Liddle said in a written response to questions.” Read more (subs.)
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Amazon $2 Billion Tax Fraud Controversy
Crazed woman ‘bathes’ in fresh produce at Kroger store
Brooklyn’s pizza-lacking pizza festival to refund tickets to all customers
Canadian lifestyle retailer Roots files for IPO
Billboard truck buzzes Amazon’s towers in protest of working conditions for Prime Air pilots
Kroger drops private brand lawsuit against Lidl
Alice Walton forms Art Bridges foundation, seeks to increase access to American art
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