Tipsheet: JCP Ends Chief Merch Role | Bezos Gets Candid | Kroger’s Apparel Brand | CVS FE -2.8%

 

CVS Q3 comps: pharmacy -3.4%, front end -2.8% Press release

 

…CVS tops 3Q profit forecasts, shrinks 2017 expectations via Yahoo Finance. “CVS Health Corp. said Monday that it now expects annual adjusted earnings of $5.87 to $5.91 per share, a forecast that counts charges due to hurricanes. That’s down from a forecast of $5.83 to $5.93 that it made in August.” Read more

 

JC Penney ditches chief merchandising role at CNBC. “Its current CMO John Tighe, will be leaving the company and will not be replaced, the retailer said on Friday…”This simplified structure offers greater flexibility, which is critical to ensuring our assortment remains fresh and relevant, and compels more shoppers to choose JCPenney,” said Penney CEO Marvin Ellison of the change, in a press release.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos shows ‘unprecedented level of candor’ during interview with brother by Josh Constine at TechCrunch. “Jeff’s (grandfather) once tore the top of his thumb off. He had tried to jump out of his moving truck and unlatch the farm’s gate before the car slid through…He was so mad that he tore the top of the thumb off and threw it in the brush, then drove himself to the hospital…Pop just had the docs do a quicker skin graft from his butt. Jeff distinctly remembers how from then on “his thumb grew butt hair”.” Read more

 

Tomorrow’s Gas Station Will Charge Car, Feed You in 10 Minutes by Sandrine Rastello & Mikael Holter at Bloomberg.”A pit stop on a Norwegian highway in the middle of fields between Oslo and the Olympics town of Lillehammer will soon offer a glimpse of the future…At the Circle K in Dal…owners of the next generation of electric cars will within months be able to charge their battery in as little as 10 minutes — about one-third the time it now takes. While they wait, drivers can pop inside and wolf down a made-to-order burrito and other culinary items.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Alexa now lets users shop through Best Buy by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “This isn’t the first tie-in between Amazon and Best Buy. This summer, Best Buy began dedicating parts of more than 700 stores to showcase the abilities of smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home.” Read more

 

Kroger to launch apparel brand next fall at CNBC. “The brand will first roll out across Fred Meyer and Kroger Marketplace stores, which account for 300 locations nationwide, in late 2018. Kroger described the line as “modern,” “playful” and “simple,” and there will initially be sizes for children, young men, juniors, men and women. There will also be a focus on activewear, the company said.” Read more

 

**A message from deVaca – Give coffee drinkers what they want – a great tasting caffeine free, non-GMO coffee substitute. Grown & roasted in Colorado – Fill the natural caffeine free gap in your coffee assortment. Sell sheet & Package pic | Sample now: info@shiftmarketinggroup.net

 

Mills Fleet Farm steps on the accelerator by John Ewoldt at Star Tribune. ““In today’s environment, unique retailers can grow,” Prelle said. “KKR’s investment thesis from the beginning was to grow these stores.”…One new market for the company will be Illinois, where it will more directly encounter one of the few other chains like it in the Midwest, Blain’s Farm & Fleet.” Read more

 

Loblaw could be stoking another supplier showdown by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “Suppliers who use Loblaw’s distribution centres will have to pay a new fee of 0.79 per cent on the cost of goods for all shipments made after Dec. 31…The “strongly worded” letter discourages suppliers from discussing the new fee with Loblaw merchants, BMO Capital Markets analyst Peter Sklar said in a note to clients on Friday.” Read more

 

Amazon is cutting prices of products from third-party sellers to draw sales via CNBC. “Marketing the items at lower prices, however, risks angering Amazon’s third-party sellers, who instead could list their products elsewhere online. The move has drawn attention within Amazon Services’ seller forum.” Read more | WSJ article (subs.)

 

Michael Kors Q2 comp sales -1.8% Press release

 

Zara workers hiding tags in garments with pleas for wages via NY Post. “The tag reads “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.” It urges shoppers to back their campaign and pressure Zara into paying them.” Read more

 

Amazon in Talks for ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series by Daniel Holloway at Variety. “Jeff Bezos is said by sources with knowledge of the situation to be personally involved in the negotiations, which are still in very early stages. No deal has been set. The studio and the Tolkien estate have been shopping a series based on the classic fantasy novels and their assortment of hobbits, wizards, and warriors, sparking a competitive situation from which Amazon has emerged as the frontrunner.” Read more

 

TJX is still paying their employees in Puerto Rico, despite the fact that their stores remain closed via Boston Herald. Read more

 

For the second time in as many years, hackers have compromised Verticalscope.com, a Canadian company that manages hundreds of popular Web discussion forums totaling more than 45 million user accounts at Krebs on Security. Read more

 

Whole Foods Predicts 2018’s Top 10 Food Trends at Fortune. Read more | Press release

 

Dollar General Announces Holiday 2017 Initiatives Press release

 

Amazon doubling Vancouver, B.C. workforce with new office with room for 1,000 people by Nat Levy at GeekWire. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Walmart employee fired after allegedly locking co-worker in freezer

Lego’s ‘Women of NASA’ set blasts off toy shelves

Why Ikea Asked 12,000 People What They Want From AI

Visa, Walmart End Fight Over $7.25B Card-Swipe Settlement (Law 360 subs.)

Jeff Bezos Sold $1.1 Billion Worth of His Amazon Stock

BP, Shell lead plan for blockchain-based energy trading platform

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

**

Eye on Retail Tipsheet is must-read material for 20,000+ retail execs every weekday morning. Tipsheet stories are carefully curated bright and early every morning to ensure fresh and unique content.

 

Subscribe to Eye on Retail Tipsheet here

 

Contact us: Send story tips, press releases and advertising inquiries to info@eyeonretail.net

 

Website: www.eyeonretail.net