Fired Amazon employees say company “silenced” them for speaking out about warehouse worker safety at CBS News. “In their first U.S. television interview, two former Amazon employees tell “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil they were fired for their activism on behalf of Amazon warehouse workers.” 6:09 video

 

The Container Store Group Q4 prelim comp sales -3.6% Press release

 

JC Penney in talks for $450 million loan as it eyes Friday bankruptcy filing at CNBC. “The company is planning to file for bankruptcy as soon as Friday, though that timing could still be delayed, one of the people said. It is working on a plan that would contemplate closing 180 to 200 stores while in bankruptcy. The retailer had 846 department stores as of February and employed roughly 90,000 full-time and part-time employees.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney’s board approves awards totaling $9.9 million to keep CEO Jill Soltau and her team at Dallas Morning News. “CEO Jill Soltau, chief financial officer Bill Wafford, chief merchant Michelle Wlazlo and chief human resources officer Brynn Evanson will get prepaid cash incentive awards tied to their pay and performance goals for the rest of this year.” Tiered subs.

 

Walgreens starts global search for marcomms agency at PR Week. Subs.

 

Walmart giving second round of cash bonuses to hourly employees at The Hill. “Full-time hourly associates will receive a one-time bonus of $300 and part-time and temporary employees will get $150…The bonuses, which will add up to $390 million…will go to employees in stores, clubs and offices, as well as drivers.” Read more | Press release

 

Kroger to end ‘Hero Pay’ coronavirus bonus on May 16 at Fox Business. Read more

 

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U.S. e-commerce sales jumped 49% in April, compared to the baseline period in early March before shelter-in-place restrictions went into effect at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Patagonia, Quick to Close, Could be Last to Reopen at NY Times. “Patagonia does not anticipate opening any locations for in-store shopping until June at the earliest and it’s prepared to wait until the fall or even early winter. Even then, it may decide to limit operations to curbside pickup, which it plans to begin offering at 10 stores on May 20.” Tiered subs.

 

Amazon launches a new $90 Fire tablet at CNBC. Read more

 

Costco’s Kirkland and other store brands are having a moment at CNN. “Since the start of the pandemic in the US, private-brand sales grew 29%, outpacing regular-branded product sales, which grew by 24%, according to the most recent data from Nielsen.” Read more

 

Neiman Marcus creditor calls for deal with Saks Fifth Avenue at Fox Business. “The letter, reviewed by Reuters, suggests that combining the two luxury retailers would create between $2.8 billion and $4.7 billion of value. That could ultimately be achieved by Neiman Marcus using bankruptcy proceedings to permanently close at least 22 stores in nearby or overlapping locations to its rival.” Read more

 

World’s biggest shipper expects 25% drop in container demand in Q2 Read more

 

Founder of Borders Bookstores Returns with Dreams of Beating Amazon at Food Delivery at Forbes. “I’ve always been attracted to really big problems, and this has been a really big problem for a long time,” says Borders, whose eight-year-old company, Home Delivery Service, finally came out of stealth mode on Tuesday. “And here it is still today, not really solved.” Read more

 

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