Why Walmart and Big 5 Sporting Goods May Benefit Greatly From Sports Authority’s Demise by Christopher Heine at Adweek. “When it comes to in-store foot traffic, the research showed that Sports Authority shoppers visited Big 5 Sporting Goods locations 5.8 times more than all other sports retailers, while the same customers patronized Walmart 6.9 times more than other big box retailers.” Read more

 

How Home Depot & Interline are becoming ‘one’ by Jensen Werley at Jacksonville Business Journal. “We want one account for customers, one technology platform for everyone, one product catalog and one team working for the same thing,” said Frank Blake, general manager of renovation services for Home Depot, while on a recent visit to Jacksonville.” Read more

 

Walmart says Shipping Pass test gained traction during Prime Day push by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Without specifics, (spokesman) Jariwala said the sign-ups for Shipping Pass quadrupled since the retailer announced the free 30-day trial that preceded its 5-day rollback event which ran from July 11-15. Read more

 

J.C. Penney Gets Aggressive in Appliance War With Sears by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Jefferies retail analyst Randal Konik said in a research note Monday that Penney was offering up to 20% off some appliances and special financing for 18 or 24 months. What’s more, Penney was price-matching and offering free delivery and basic installation on all purchases over $299.” Read more

 

Jim Cramer inspired on TJ Maxx shopping trip at CNBC. “You have to understand, this country has changed. Americans want off-price retailers to give them high quality branded apparel at everyday low prices,” the “Mad Money” host said.” Read more

 

REI outdoor classes free for one weekend by Monica Mendoza at Denver Business Journal. “…this is the first time the company is waiving its fees, which range from $45 to $135, said Jon Frankel, Denver outdoor program market manager. Free weekend is July 30-31 and requires online registration.” Read more

 

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Wegmans committs $150,000 to open exhibit in Buffalo by Todd Clausen at Democrat & Chronicle. “The exhibit is at least the fourth involving Wegmans. The Strong National Museum of Play, the Children”s Museum of Richmond and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. all have exhibits.” Read more

 

Gander Mountain partners with NRA on memberships by Tyler Gieseke at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “…will offer one-year NRA memberships for $30 (regularly $40) in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota stores starting this week. The program will expand to all 163 store locations nationally by September.” Read more

 

Girls are buying more toys than boys by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Sales of toys for girls grew by a whopping 35 percent in the quarter, but sales of toys geared to boys grew by just 4.3 percent — down significantly from the 24 percent gain for boys’ toys in the first quarter.” Read more

 

Russian Consumers Still in Shock as They Cut Back on Food and Medicine by Olga Tanas at Bloomberg. “Billionaire Sergey Galitskiy’s retailer, which operates almost 13,000 outlets in Russia, said the average purchase fell 2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, dropping for the first time since it began disclosing the figures in 2006. Nationwide data due Tuesday will show retail sales in June shrank for a record 18th month.” Read more

 

Melania Trump’s dress from Net-A-Porter sells out in minutes at Daily Mail. “The Slovenian immigrant, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006, wowed in the dress described as a ‘beautiful option for the modern bride’ by the e-commerce site Net-a-Porter. The dress by the London-based Serbian designer Ilinicic retails at $2,190 and promptly sold out following the model’s appearance on the RNC stage.” Read more

 

WSJ: Wal-Mart vs. Visa Showdown by Sarah Nassauer & Robin Sidel. “Ms. Zajac, who previously saw the signs at Wal-Mart warning that they would stop accepting Visa on Monday, says she stocked up on things she likes buying at Wal-Mart in advance and will go to a different grocery store that accepts Visa this week…Ms. Zajac, a chef who briefly worked as a Wal-Mart greeter about 15 years ago, says she and her husband are debating whether to go back if Wal-Mart starts accepting Visa again.” Read more (subscription)

 

Under Armour buys Port Covington land for $70.3 million by Natalie Sherman at Baltimore Sun. “…more than twice what CEO Kevin Plank’s private real estate firm paid in 2014, according to land records. The roughly 50-acre waterfront site includes a Wal-Mart that closed this year and a former Sam’s Club that recently reopened as Under Armour offices. It also includes more than 8 acres of submerged area.” Read more

 

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