Kroger launches ‘Kroger Ship’ delivery service in four cities: Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, and Nashville at CNBC. “Customers can shop online and receive free doorstep delivery on orders of more than $35, or pay a fee of $4.99 per order for smaller orders.” Read more

 

…“The customer is changing rapidly,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief digital officer, in an interview. “It is creating a sense of urgency and huge opportunity for us.” by Heather Haddon at The Wall Street Journal. Subscription

 

Container Store Q1 Comp Sales +4.7% Press release

 

Best Buy expands the number of Teen Tech Centers nationwide by Jackie Crosby at Star Tribune. “With a looming labor shortage compounded by a lack of training in technology skills, Best Buy Inc. said Tuesday it will have opened 21 tech centers around the country by September…with a goal of opening 60 centers across the U.S., Canada and Mexico over the next two years.” Tiered subs.

 

SoftBank funnels $240 million into Brandless’s online grocery business by Katie Burke at San Francisco Business Times. “Since it launched in July last year, Brandless has ballooned to offer more than 300 proprietary products, which have become popular for their $3 price tag. The new investment will boost that figure to 400 items by year end.” Read more

 

Publix warns customers: No animals allowed in shopping carts by Josh Hafner at USA Today. “Any dog inside the grocery store had better be a service animal, and it better not be in the cart.” Read more

 

Macy’s CEO Says the Secret to His Success: “I’m an Avid Learner” by Susie Gharib at Fortune. ““If you were to talk to vendors today, they would say Macy’s is operating with more speed than they every thought we could, based on what we did with structure, what we did with talent,” says Gennette.” Read more/5:48 video

 

Jeff Bezos’ parents invested $245,573 in Amazon in 1995 — now they could be worth $30 billion via Yahoo Finance. Read more

 

**A message from Kidibul – The festive, bubbly beverage made for kids’ parties! 100% natural & sparkling juice in a champagne type bottle with natural cork & wire to pop. Website | PowerPoint | Samples: info@eyeonretail.net

 

Health insurance company launches Canada’s first medical marijuana program with Shoppers Drug Mart via Montreal Gazette. “Manulife says the program will be available as an option for participating group and individual health insurance plans. Under the partnership, Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacists will help Manulife customers navigate the different strains of medical marijuana and the different ways to take it.” Read more

 

50 of the Top U.S. Brands Ranked by Emotional Connection (Nordstrom #32, Ross #35, Old Navy #37, CVS #42, Macy’s #43, Amazon #44, Walmart #47, Home Depot #48) Press Release | Download Report

 

Supervalu and its dissident investor bury hatchet, bringing acquisition one step closer at Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal. Read more

 

Apple Pay is finally coming to CVS and 7-Eleven by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “The news is particularly notable because CVS was one of the first major retailers to snub Apple Pay, choosing instead to launch its own barcode-based mobile payments solution “CVS Pay” back in 2016.” Read more

 

Kroger Names 30-Year Co. Veteran Ken DeLuca Michigan Division President Press release

 

Adults spend more than 11 hours per day interacting with media by Joe Concha at The Hill. “In terms of overall usage, black adults 18+ on average consume nearly 13 and a half hours of media per day—almost two and a half hours more than the average U.S. adult.” Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond pulls cups with ‘ripped off’ NC barbecue design at Charlotte Observer. Tiered subs.

 

Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison helps stuff disaster-relief buckets at HQ by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Business Journal. “It was one of his first quasi-public events since he was named CEO…“I’m being told that over 2,000 buckets are going to California for some of the citizens impacted by the wildfires,” Ellison told the first shift of Lowe’s headquarters employees as they filled buckets.” Read more/Pics

 

Teacher quits after 20 years to become a professional grocery shopper making $100K a year – double his teacher’s salary at Daily Mail. “He joined Shipt part-time in 2015, had some success building up a customer base, and then took a year-long sabbatical to shop full-time two years. Last month, he gave up teaching for good.” Read more

 

Two men in their 70s got into a fight over free Costco samples by Noah Feit at The State. “The 72-year-old man responded by saying “I will do it again!” — then saying to the 70-year-old man, “You’re a jerk,” police reported. The 72-year-old then hit the 70-year-old in the right side of his head and caused his hat and glasses to get knocked off, according to the incident report.” Read more

 

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