Tipsheet: Costco +6.3% | Duluth 1st Underwear Store | Merlo Talks Vaping
Costco October comp sales (ex. gas & f/x) +6.3% (US +6.8% / Canada +6.5% / Other Int’l +3.0%) Press release
Lumber Liquidators Q3 comp sales -3.6% Press release
Facing shorter holiday season, U.S. retailers rev up faster delivery, early deals at Reuters. “The last shortened shopping season was in 2013 – a year when retail chains and delivery companies scrambled to get packages to shoppers in time for Christmas. Retailers’ urgency to avoid a repeat of 2013 is on full display…” Read more
Rent-A-Center Q3 comp sales +4.5% Press release
Mystery shop: Buying alcohol from Walmart’s online grocery pickup at Field Agent. “On a scale from 1-5, with 5 “excellent” and 1 “poor,”…Among mystery shoppers who received their alcohol purchase(s) (n = 16), the average rating was 4.5, with 10 saying the selection was “excellent,” 5 “very good,” and 1 “fair.” Read more
Office Depot Q3 total sales -4.0% Press release
Duluth Trading gets cheeky with its first-ever store devoted only to men’s underwear by John Ewoldt at Star Tribune. “We offend people,” said Ricker Schlecht, a vice president for Duluth Trading…“We get letters. We dance on the line a lot with ball jokes and butt cracks. Some people don’t want to hear it, but we want people to have a smile on their face when they interact with our brand.” The company’s new store (opens Thursday at) the Mall of America.” Tiered subs.
Vitamin Shoppe Q3 comp sales -7.7% Press release
Walmart appoints Meredith Klein as PR director PR Week subs.
Kohl’s, Macy’s turn to pop-up shops and Instagram-worthy displays to try to win the holidays at CNBC. “We have a lot of experimentation [going on],” Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass said during an interview on Wednesday at a press event held at Kohl’s new pop-up shop. The temporary space in SoHo will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday.” Read more/Video
SpartanNash Q3: Retail comp sales +0.1% / Net sales +6.0% Press release
CVS CEO discusses the vaping crisis at CNBC. “CVS CEO Larry J. Merlo tells Jim Camer he worries teen tobacco use is going the ‘wrong way’ with the vaping crisis.” 1:19 video
Ralph Lauren Q2 North American comp sales +2.0% Press release
Burrito Delivered by Bot, as Long as Students Don’t Trap It by Bradley Berman at NY Times. “Kiwi is a work in progress. Its bots frequently lurch in front of pedestrians. The GPS is imprecise, so couriers and customers need to hunt down the robot’s locations, sometimes behind bushes. There are regular reports of minor bot abuse by those protesting high-tech invasiveness.” Tiered subs.
Walmart’s Suarez provides an overview of the company’s global approach to last mile logistics at Logistics Management. Q&A
Save A Lot hopes modern store redesign draws new customers by Michael Calhoun at KMOX. Read more/Audio
Tipsheet Extra
Chicago Mayor vows to get tough to prevent Target-style abandonment of neighborhoods
Chobani’s newest food incubator is boosting veterans’ food businesses
Apple Store revenue grows to 31% of Apple’s income for 2019
Amazon Unveils First French Originals Slate
Hardwood industry pleads for relief from Trump trade war
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