Tipsheet: Lowe’s/PetSmart HQ Layoffs | Nordstrom Private? | Target Music | 6-Twelve
Lowe’s lays off over 120 tech workers in Mooresville, will send jobs to India by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “The home-improvement retailer informed affected employees Wednesday morning through early afternoon, according to people familiar with the matter. Many of the affected information technology job functions are being sent to Bangalore, India, where Lowe’s employs approximately 1,000 people in information and technology and analytics.” Read more
Nordstrom shares spike after company announces exploration of going private by Lauren Thomas at CNBC. “The retailer explained that Co-Presidents Blake Nordstrom, Peter Nordstrom and Erik Nordstrom, along with President of Stores James Nordstrom and Chairman Emeritus Bruce Nordstrom, and Anne Gittinger, are a part of the recently formed exploratory group.” Read more
PetSmart laying off employees at Phoenix headquarters by Steven Totten at Phoenix Business Journal. “We are investing for the future and always looking for ways to be more efficient in our business and to better serve our customers. As a result we have made the difficult decision to reduce less than 5% of positions at our corporate headquarters.” Read more
J.D. Power Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Rankings – Ace Hardware #1 (for 11th straight year), Menards #2, Lowe’s #3, Home Depot #4 Rankings/Read more
Amazon Loans More Than $3 Billion to Over 20,000 Small Businesses Press release
…Amazon issued $1 billion in loans in the past year to merchants selling on its marketplace by Spencer Soper & Selina Wang. Read more
Now playing at more Target stores: Background music by Dan DeBaun at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. “Currently, there are 65 Target stores that play music overhead; about half of them are smaller flex-format stores in dense urban areas…Target will add music at 85 remodeled stores and at 30 new stores this year. By the end of 2017, Target will have at least 180 stores that play music.” Read more
Dollarama Q1 Comp Sales +4.6% Press release
Amazon error sends some shoppers to dog photo, not product page at Daily Mail. “‘Sorry something went wrong on our end,’ Amazon said on a page some shoppers were sent to after clicking on items from its U.S. home page. The problems began at around 12:28EDT according to down detector, although by 17:50 pages appeared to be working again.” Read more
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Jos. A. Bank Q1 Comp Sales +3.5% Press release
Lenders who finance luxe shopping chains are nervous for the holidays by Josh Kosman & Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The lending companies, who supply credit to allow the suppliers to make the shirts, pants, shoes and other items, have started to ask their clients for a surcharge of up to 2 percent on shipments to those chains, sources said. The suppliers, while not happy about the added cost, which will cut into their profits, have nonetheless agreed to the terms, sources said.” Read more
Publix and Instacart Expanding Service Across Southeast Press release
Head Of Neiman Marcus’ iLab Answers 4 Questions For Marketing Innovators by Ernan Roman at CMO. Q&A
Popular fashion media brand Who What Wear is launching its own shopping app by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read more
Target Named a Top 5 “Polarizing Brand” by Ben Schiller at Fast Company. “NPR, NBC, Ben & Jerry’s, and Target also score much more highly among Democrats than Republicans (at least 50 places), while the opposite is true for Exxon Mobil, Boeing, Pfizer, Unilever, and AT&T, all of which skew Republican.” Read more
PriceSmart May Comp Sales +1.5% Press release
Alibaba shares surge after CFO’s forecast literally causes investors to gasp at CNBC. “The Chinese conglomerate is now forecasting total sales growth of 45 to 49 percent this year, a target that tops analysts’ expectations by 10 percentage points.” Read more
80% of Sephora store shoppers use a smartphone before or during a shopping trip by April Berthene at Internet Retailer. Read more
Former 7-Eleven employee opens rival ‘6-Twelve’ store (across the street) via NY Post. “But Musa has a lofty goal regarding the fate of his old 7-Eleven. “My goal is to get them to close,” Musa told The Boston Globe. Since he knows what 7-Eleven charges for most items, Musa said his strategy is to simply undercut the big guys by selling everything for less at his own shop.” Read more
Parents of disabled adults horrified by attack on ShopRite employee by Ronnie Polaneczky at Philly Inquirer. “If you didn’t see the Facebook video of Mark Smith being attacked by a gang of gleeful little monsters, please pity those of us who have. We can’t unsee the atrocious images portrayed in the video, which hit 4.6 million Facebook views in just 24 hours before being pulled down on Wednesday.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Cubs reveal more detail about Wrigley Field’s exclusive clubs
Craft brewers question Anheuser-Busch’s foray into publishing
Ethics attorney for Wal-Mart considered for U.S. Attorney for western Arkansas
MIT praises anonymous “no strings attached” $140M gift
96% of Batteries Plus Bulbs’ online orders are picked up in stores
K-mart is on fire in Australia
5 Hispanic Market Segments You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
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