Tipsheet: FL Empty Shelves | Frank Blake Honored | Springsteen Store Frenzy | Amazon HQ Peek | Target Manhattan
Deadly hurricane sends Florida residents flocking to buy supplies at Daily Mail. “People along the East Coast entered better-safe-than-sorry mode Tuesday, flocking to hardware stores, grocery aisles and gas stations as Hurricane Matthew marched toward Florida.” See pics / Read more
Former Home Depot CEO Frank Blake wins Lifetime Achievement Award by Maria Saporta at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Blake was introduced by his wife, Liz Blake, who spoke of his dedication to his job and how he would get up at 5 a.m. on Saturday mornings to go get training in different departments at the Home Depot.” Read more
Thank Clinton and Trump for Pushing Back Christmas Creep This Year by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz found that, starting in September through Election Day, ad space, particularly in swing states, is running low on inventory and screen time will be competitive for any non-political organizations, according to an NRF spokeswoman. After Nov. 8, holiday ads are expected to ramp up in aggression.” Read more
Target’s New Manhattan Location Is A Big Test for Its Smaller-Store Strategy by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “…it opens its first small-format store in New York on Wednesday…The Manhattan store is in the heart of the affluent TriBeCa district near the World Trade Center…Along with three other smaller stores opening this week in other cities, the Lower Manhattan opening brings to 27 the number of such stores Target has opened since 2012.” Read more
Wall Street Journal: Target Goes After Millennials With Small, Focused Stores by Khadeeja Safdar. “A store in downtown Manhattan is interesting, but is it scalable?” said Barclays analyst Matthew McClintock. “Wal-Mart couldn’t make it work with a better logistical network. It makes you wonder how Target is going to succeed.” Read more (subscription)
Lowe’s Names 2016 Innovation and Vendor Partners of the Year Press release
2016 World Dairy Expo Championship Product Contest Top 3 winners in 75 categories
TEXAS – Buc-ee’s reportedly calls off first out-of-state location by Olivia Pusinelli at Houston Business Journal. “Buc-ee’s would have anchored the Greens at Millerville, a mixed-use development at Interstate 12 and Millerville Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.” Read more
PetSmart Opens 11 New Stores in Q2 2016 Press release
BRUCE – Springsteen drives thousands of Portland fans into a frenzy at book store by Andy Giegerich at Portland Business Journal. “As a testament to Springsteen’s popularity, the website crashed the first day tickets went on sale. Two days later, it was back up and tickets sold out almost immediately. Fans came from all over the country for the chance to shake hands with their 67-year-old idol.” Read more | 10 pics
**A message from Fabe – Pillows hand-crafted in Italy prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy-America Product Connection
More Zika mosquitoes in Miami Beach as state reports six new local infections by Daniel Chang at Miami Herald. “Prior to Sept. 28, Miami-Dade officials refused to identify addresses where they had captured the infected insects, citing a state statute that allows the information to be kept confidential but does not require secrecy. It took a Miami Herald lawsuit for Miami Beach residents to learn they were living beside Zika mosquitoes.” Read more
Camping World moves toward $300 million IPO by Will Racke at Chicago Business Journal. “According to an amended filing placed Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is seeking to raise up to $300 million by selling 11.4 million shares of Class A stock at a price of $21 per share to $23 per share.” Read more
Take a rare peek inside Amazon’s sprawling South Lake Union campus by Casey Coombs at Puget Sound Business Journal. “The Amazon culture of frugality is evident throughout the newly built offices. Amazonians still work on wooden desks made from old doors, but they no longer build them themselves.” See the 21 pics
Sears’s Craftsman Said to Get Interest From Black & Decker at Bloomberg. “Sears Holdings Corp.’s sale of its Craftsman tool business has attracted bidders including Stanley Black & Decker Inc. and Hong Kong’s Techtronic Industries Co., people with knowledge of the matter said…Final bids, which may value the brand at about $2 billion, are due at the end of the month.” Read more
Wall Street Journal: Cabela’s Deal Spurs Uncertainty for Small Nebraska Town by Sara Germano. Read more (subscription)
How Wal-Mart is eating Target’s lunch in the U.S. at MarketWatch. “While we think it’s still early yet, we believe that Walmart’s big upfront spend to grow online, among other steps in recent months, is showing early signs of promise,” said a team of Moody’s analysts led by Charles O’Shea. “Target, in contrast, has fallen harder and has much more work to do before it can regain its footing.” Read more
Toys ‘R’ Us sells FAO Schwarz brand to ThreeSixty Group by Teresa Novellino at New York Business Journal. Read more
Architect behind Amazon’s massive ‘biospheres’ says they aren’t for show by Monica Nickelsburg at GeekWire. “It’s not a set piece,” he said on stage at the GeekWire Summit Tuesday. “It’s not a showpiece. It’s not a showcase for people to come in from the outside. This is for the people that work at Amazon.” Read more
Online holiday sales head for double-digit growth by Tracy Maple at Internet Retailer. “The National Retail Federation projects non-store holiday sales will increase up to 10%, while Deloitte says e-commerce could grow 19% compared with last year.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Rolls-Royce Made a Picnic Basket That Costs $46,000
Brookstone hires an e-commerce veteran as its new CEO
Panasonic reveals the ‘invisible’ TV: Prototype OLED screen turns into transparent glass when not in use
Harvard University dining hall workers go on strike
Newell has dropped metro Atlanta HQ; will now shed businesses, workers
Meijer Shares Early Glimpse of 2016 Holiday Season’s Top 10 Toys
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