Walmart is using bananas to lure customers through its remodeled supercenter by Chase Purdy at Quartz. “We are learning some interesting things along the way,” McMillon said, noting that most customers do online grocery shopping between 8 PM and 9 PM. There is also an uptick in orders in the middle of the night, often for diapers and formula. “While it’s been a while since my kids were that age, I remember those days well,” McMillon said.” Read more

 

Walmart Q4 Earnings Call Transcript via Seeking Alpha. Read more

 

Harris Poll Releases Reputation Rankings For The 100 Most Visible Companies In The U.S. (Amazon #1, Costco #13, Lowe’s #26…) See the top 100 list

 

U.K. Retail Sales Surged Most in More Than Two Years in January by Jill Ward & Fergal O’Brien at Bloomberg. “The 2.3 percent jump in the volume of sales was almost three times the pace of growth forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The Office for National Statistics said growth was helped by post-Christmas price cutting as retailers looked to clear excess stock.” Read more

 

Amazon to open parcel locker network across Europe at Reuters.”The new jobs include business development manager roles for Amazon Locker in Munich and Paris, European Union technical operations manager for Locker based in Luxembourg, and network development manager roles in Luxembourg, Munich and Paris. “Amazon pickup locations, including Amazon Locker, are exciting, new delivery solutions that we are introducing into the German marketplace,” read the Munich business role ad.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Unveils New Innovation Lab in Heart of Tech-hub Bangalore “LIL-Bangalore will also complement Lowe’s existing Bangalore Global In-house Center, which has been operating since 2014 and has grown to include more than 400 employees working on technology and analytics solutions.” Read the release

 

**A message from PaintPincher – Never Waste Paint Again! The PaintPincher is an ingenious 8-in-1 paint can spatula that recovers paint, stain, adhesives and more from gallon and quart cans, leaving them 99.9% clean. The PaintPincher is great for Pro and DIY painters and can save up to a cup of paint per gallon! See the video | See the sell sheet | Packaging | paintpincher.com Retailers request a sample at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Fortune reveals its 34th annual list of the World’s Most Admired Companies (Amazon #3, CVS #27, Home Depot #31, Target #39…) See the top 50 list

 

PetSmart’s $8.7 Billion LBO Is Already Paying Off For Consortium Led By BC Partners by Antoine Gara at Forbes. “Roughly ten months after PetSmart’s takeover was sealed by a consortium of PE buyers led by BC Partners, the company is returning a whopping $800 million dividend to its new owners. That cash return, equivalent to about 38% of the cost of PetSmart’s take private deal, comes as the retailer has exceeded expectations in increasing profits and sales under its new management” Read more

 

Kroger Announces Retirement of Senior Vice President Marnette Perry via Yahoo. “Kroger announced that Senior Vice President for Retail Operations and Strategic Initiatives Marnette Perry plans to retire on April 29, after 44 years with the company.” Read the release

 

Cabela’s tight-lipped on its future as it reports fourth-quarter earnings by Paige Yowell at World-Herald. “The silence doesn’t mean that the process is dead. Quite the opposite, some hedge fund watchers say.” Read more

 

Cabela’s Exec Transitions to Strategic Advisory Role “Mr. Copeland joined Cabela’s in November 2007 as Vice President of Retail Operations. Since January 2010 he has served as Cabela’s Chief Operations Officer.” Read the release

 

Masters boss Matt Tyson walks away from Woolworths’ home improvement disaster at News.com.au. “Woolworths and Lowes have poured $3.5 billion in Masters, which was not expected to break even until 2020. Both companies are reportedly firing up for a legal dispute over Masters’ final valuation and exit price.” Read more

 

Canadian Tire CFO cites kettles as an example for how goods can be sold more profitably by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “If we have five kettles on a shelf and we used to buy them from four different suppliers, and we do the analytics to figure out which of those five kettles make us the most money, (then executives might decide) we don’t need to sell five kettles from four different suppliers — maybe we need to sell four different kettles from two different suppliers,” he said.” Read more

 

Kroger could be targeting Israel in first overseas expansion by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Business Courier. “Kroger is reportedly teaming with two Israeli investors – Yossi Sagol and Eran Meital – to make a bid for Mega, according to the Haaretz report.” Read more

 

North Texas: WinCo Foods to build new supermarket on old Target site by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. Read more

 

Heavy Metal vest returned to bass player after it turns up at Macy’s by Mahita Gajanan at The Guardian. “Word spread, and soon a Facebook page entitled “Macy’s, Give Back Meshach’s Vest” was created, bringing nearly 5,000 likes in a little more than a week.” Read more

 

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