The president of Amazon’s fashion division is leaving the e-commerce giant by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Cathy Beaudoin, the longtime Amazon executive leading the company’s fashion division, is exiting the company. Beaudoin joined Amazon eight years ago from The Gap and was tasked with improving the fashion industry’s opinion of Amazon and courting popular name brands to sell on the mass-market e-commerce site.” Read more

 

Schnucks names Dave Peacock new president and chief operating officer by Mike Faulk at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “Peacock’s responsibilities with Schnucks will include management of operations, marketing and the company’s supply chain. Peacock had previously overseen domestic operations for Anheuser-Busch from 2008 to 2012.” Read more

 

LOWE’S INTERNAL MEMO – Internal memo reveals what Lowe’s wants from Congress by Deon Roberts at Charlotte Observer. “The CEO of Lowe’s Cos. says the fees that banks charge stores when customers use debit cards are among the top political issues facing the Mooresville-based home-improvement retailer, according to an internal memo obtained by the Observer.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart files patent for Amazon Dash rival at Reuters. “While Dash buttons still require users to press a physical button separate from the product, Wal-Mart aims to integrate IoT into the products themselves for automatic re-ordering with no user input at all,” the blog post said.” Read more

 

…Wal-Mart Wants to Know When Your Milk Is About to Expire by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “The system proposed by the retailer could use sensors in homes and attached to products like toothpaste, milk or razors to trigger automatic delivery of another box or suggest related products to buy, all while collecting consumer behavior data to tailor marketing, says the application on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.” Read more (subs.)

 

Watch: The first plant goes in the ground at Amazon’s Spheres in downtown Seattle by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire. “GeekWire was on the scene, and we streamed the event live on Facebook (above). Other than through official photographs from Amazon, it’s our first look inside what has become an architectural curiosity on the tech giant’s growing campus over the past couple years.” Video/Pics/Read more

 

Square is rolling out its first debit card by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The prepaid card isn’t linked to your bank account, but instead to the Square Cash app. That means you can only use it to spend money that you are holding in your Square Cash account.” Read more

 

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Nordstrom hires Anne Bramman as CFO by Joann S. Lublin at MarketWatch. “Ms. Bramman, 49 years old, announced her resignation from Avery Dennison Corp…in March after two years on the job. Before that, she worked in the cruise industry for Carnival Corp., and at retailer L Brands Inc.” Read more | Press release

 

Beleaguered Sobeys owner announces sweeping overhaul aimed at $500 million in annual savings by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “We are going to have to have a smaller work force in order to be competitive,” Medline said Thursday. “We are the high-cost competitor, and you don’t have to be too good in business to know that that is not the position you want to be in.” Read more

 

“STUPID” MISTAKES – Camping World CEO says Gander Mountain made “stupid” mistakes by Debra D. Bass at St.Louis Post Dispatch. “The blunt-spoken Lemonis — who stars in “The Profit,” a CNBC reality show — said Gander Mountain overspent on inventory and expanded beyond all common sense into markets where they were cannibalizing their own customer base…“So, yes, we are the beneficiary of someone else’s sloppiness,” Lemonis said.” Read more

 

Macy’s severs ties with Men’s Wearhouse by Andy Brownfield at Cincinnati Business Courier. “The expansion of tuxedo rental shops within Macy’s department stores was halted after 170 of the originally planned 300 outposts were opened.” Read more

 

How Instacart competes against Amazon Fresh and Walmart by Susie Gharib at Fortune. “Mehta tells Fortune’s Susie Gharib when people think about grocery shopping these days, they picture “waiting in checkout lanes or circling around in parking lots. We want people to think about grocery shopping as a joyful activity.” Video/Read more

 

…Shipt announced Thursday it will add nine Florida markets — six markets with Costco home delivery and three with Publix at CNBC. Read more

 

Kroger launches meal kits to compete with Blue Apron at Fox 19 Now. “Prices start at around $14. Right now, they’re only available the Oakley Marketplace store.” Read more | Display Pic

 

Sally Beauty looking for a new president after Sharon Leite resigns by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “Sally Beauty Holdings said Thursday that Sharon Leite, president of its Sally Beauty chain of more than 1,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, has resigned from the company as of May 1.” Read more (tiered subs.)

 

Jeff Bezos sells off $941M of Amazon stock by Casey Coombs at Puget Sound Business Journal. Read more

 

Fashion retailer Express closing its Canadian stores via Toronto Star. “Express Inc. says it’s closing its 17 Canadian stores in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario…Store closing sales will begin in the middle of the month.” Read more

 

Central Grocers files for bankruptcy by Bob Okon at The Herald-News. Read more

 

Victoria’s Secret is at a ‘tipping point,’ getting weaker by the day, analyst says by Lauren Thomas at CNBC. “L Brands said its exit of the swim and apparel categories had reduced total company sales by 6 percentage points, and Victoria’s Secret same-store sales by 10 percentage points this period. CEO Les Wexner’s decision to discontinue Victoria’s Secret’s swim line has eliminated roughly $500 million in annual sales from the business.” Read more

 

Ingles Markets Q2 Comp Sales -0.3% (excluding gas & Easter) Press release

 

Amazon beefs up drone delivery R&D in Cambridge by Natasha Lomas at TechCrunch. “Amazon is expanding its R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK, with a plan to move into a new 60,000sq ft site in the city with capacity for more than 400 staff…By the end of the year, it says it will have more than 1,500 “innovation related roles” in the UK” Read more

 

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