No mail will be delivered today in parts of 10 states as polar vortex chills postal delivery at USA Today. “The USPS announced that no mail will be delivered in parts of Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.” Read more

 

Trader Joe’s is ending grocery delivery services in New York City on March 1 and has no plans to roll out delivery in other markets. by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. Read more

 

FedEx to Start Next-Day Delivery for Orders as Late as Midnight by Thomas Black at Bloomberg. “Less than 1.3 percent of the courier’s total revenue comes from Amazon, (FedEx’s CMO) said — a figure that hasn’t previously been disclosed. The company doesn’t expect that to increase as it sees better prospects in helping customers compete against the e-retailing behemoth.” Tiered subs.

 

Teamsters join fight against Amazon HQ2 by Matthew Flamm at Crain’s New York Business. “We are speaking out against this deal because this notoriously anti-union company is expanding its footprint in New York City,” said George Miranda, president of the Teamsters Joint Council 16. “New York is a union town, and if Amazon wants to plant its flag in our city, it needs to respect our city’s workers.” Read more

 

Walgreens and CVS are offering ways to fix your teeth in their stores at CNBC. “CVS Health is running a pilot with SmileDirectClub to fit people for the start-up’s invisible braces in CVS’ drugstores. Walgreens  opened an Aspen Dental office in one of its Florida stores, with plans to open another this year.” Read more

 

Amazon plans to launch a new Middle East marketplace at CNBC. “Amazon is telling sellers to focus on Amazon’s main site instead of Souq.com, the Dubai-based online retailer it bought for $580 million in 2017.” Read more

 

Walmart, Fanatics launch sports retail platform by Thomas Barrabi at Fox Business. “Fan Shop by Fanatics” will sell hundreds of thousands of items featuring professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA and MLB, Walmart U.S. e-commerce general manager Eric O’Toole said in a blog post.” Read more

 

Amazon to fund computer science classes in more than 130 NYC area high schools by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. Read more | List of schools

 

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Metro estimates loss from romaine outbreak to be around $1 million at Montreal Gazette. Read more

 

Landlords Relish—or Fear—J.C. Penney Store Closings by Esther Fung at Wall Street Journal. “(J.C. Penney) expects to announce details at the end of February when it reports its financial results. Real-estate executives said J.C. Penney could announce as few as 20 or as many as 200 stores will close.” WSJ subs.

 

Kohl’s to open first Weight Watches Studio in-store and add kitchen products in select stores and on Kohls.com  Press release

 

Amazon is cutting funding for some delivery companies by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. “Starting Thursday, Amazon will stop paying dispatch fees to its delivery service partners, or DSPs…Dozens of delivery companies use these fees to employ key positions, called dispatchers, at Amazon delivery stations across the US. The funding changes could wipe out these jobs.” Read more

 

Canada’s Best Employers (Costco #35, Lowe’s #73) at Forbes. List

 

eBay Q4 revenue +6.0% Press release

 

Amazon looks to turn public buses into mobile delivery stations by Ethan Baron at Mercury News via Arizona Daily Sun. “Amazon on Tuesday received a patent for transforming public buses into mobile delivery stations. Customers would simply meet the bus at a convenient stop, and pick up their items from a removable delivery module attached to the vehicle.” Read more

 

Kroger CIO Chris Hjelm to retire August 1, 2019 – Yael Cosset promoted to CIO effective May 1, 2019 Press release

 

Shares in GameStop get hammered after stating they are no longer pursuing a sale of the company. at AP News. Read more

 

Apple  is launching 58 new Today at Apple sessions to beef up its in-store education offerings by Megan Rose Dickey at TechCrunch. Read more

 

Amazon, Facebook and Walmart Need to Watch Their Backs in India by Newley Purnell & Rajesh Roy at Wall Street Journal. “It is a tough time to start a trade debate as India is headed toward national elections before May and few politicians or policy makers are likely willing to side with big foreign firms, observers say.” WSJ subs.

 

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