US core capital goods orders post biggest drop in 8 months at CNBC. “Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.9% last month, the Commerce Department said.” Read more

 

Nike⁠⁠ (And Some Resellers⁠) Reportedly Suspend Kobe Bryant Merch Sales To Limit Profiteering at Forbes. Read more

 

How Amazon escapes liability for the riskiest products on its site by Colin Lecher at The Verge. “A recent decision from a federal circuit court has thrown the status quo into doubt. In 2014, a woman named Heather Oberdorf lost vision in one eye after a dog leash she’d ordered from an Amazon Marketplace seller broke as she took her dog for a walk…Oberdorf lost the case in a Pennsylvania district court, but the decision was reversed on appeal…” Read more

 

US home prices accelerate amid dwindling supply of homes at AP. “The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 2.6% in November from a year ago, up from a 2.2% annual gain in October.” Read more

 

Amazon has an orchestra by Chip Cutter at Wall Street Journal. “In the city that birthed grunge and was home to acts such as Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix, the latest musical sensation is the Amazon Symphony Orchestra. With a repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 to Disney’s “Frozen,” Amazon’s nearly 100-employee orchestra is one of a number of acts following in the corporate music-tradition of old industry giants like Boeing Co. and Eastman Kodak Co.” WSJ subs.

 

Former colleague accused of affair with Best Buy CEO denies allegations by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The former colleague Best Buy CEO Corie Barry has been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with has denied the allegation. In a short e-mail to the Star Tribune, Karl Sanft wrote: “The anonymous allegation that I had an affair with Corie Barry is false.” He said he had no further comment.” Tiered subs.

 

**A message from Home & Outdoor cookware – High quality cookware made for the cabin, camping, and the great outdoors. 3X stain and scratch resistance. Retail ready packaging. Sales deck | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Amazon’s big umbrellas renew a stormy old debate about Seattle culture by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. “They cover people and dogs as the dogs — there are so many dogs at Amazon — do their business outside. “The dogs are divas and have to be covered while going to the bathroom,” an Amazon employee said to me while she stood in the rain without an umbrella…The umbrellas, which are big enough to cover at least three people, are available to employees or anyone visiting Amazon HQ.” Read more

 

Amazon asks FCC to give swift approval to Project Kuiper satellite network despite SpaceX opposition by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. Read more

 

Magazine buds from blog over Walmart by Serenah McCay at Arkansas Democrat. “Now social media stars with more than 316,000 Instagram followers, they’re highlighting products they love from (Walmart) in a quarterly magazine. Halford and Jerkins launched whoa, wait. in September with a fall/winter edition, and the spring issue hits Walmart store racks Feb. 2.” Read more

 

Family told to “step away” from Costco sample station due to coronavirus fears at King 5 News. Read more

 

After-party at Jeff Bezos’ D.C. mansion attracts Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump and other notable guests by Kurt Schlosser at DailyMail. “Bezos invited his high-flying friends to his home after they attended the annual, exclusive Alafalfa Club Dinner in DC. Guests arrived in elegant suits and floor-length dresses for the swanky affair Saturday evening, but Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez were nowhere to be seen at the entrance to the 11-bedroom, 25-bathroom grand mansion.” Pics/Read more

 

FDA to Purell: Stop claiming your hand sanitizers eliminate Ebola and the flu at CNN. “Federal regulators also took issue with the company saying that Purell products are proven to “reduce student absenteeism by up to 51%.” Read more

 

Leaked Documents Expose the Secretive Market for Your Web Browsing Data by Joseph Cox at Vice. “An Avast antivirus subsidiary sells ‘Every search. Every click. Every buy. On every site.’ Its clients have included Home Depot, Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, and McKinsey.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

A new Pinterest feature allows users to virtually try on products, starting with lipstick

Casper Sleep IPO slipping over fact it doesn’t make its own mattresses

Verizon is the best wireless carrier, report says

Walmart wants court to rehear case on $55M back pay for truck drivers

Joanna and Chip Gaines Launch New Target Furniture Line

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

**

Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must read material for retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Put your product or service in front of the most powerful retail execs in the world, send advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: eyeonretail.net