Tipsheet: Self-Checkout Headaches | Barneys Closes 2/23 | Tesco Stopped Rivals
US retail sales up a modest 0.3% in January at Fox Business. “Sales at furniture stores shot up 0.6%, rebounding from a 1.6% decline in December. Sales at hardware and other building supply stores surged 2.1%, building on a strong 1.3% gain in December. Sales at general merchandise stores…rose a solid 0.5% in January, up from a 0.4% December increase….department store category…show(ed) a tiny increase of 0.1% in January following a 0.6% decline in December.” Read more
Kudlow: New tax cuts will ‘probably come out sometime in September’ at The Hill. Read more
Barneys New York to close all stores for good Feb. 23 at NY Post. “Barneys corporate offices at 575 Fifth Ave. also will close in 10 days, the filing said…Barneys management told staffers that they would receive five weeks of severance pay if they have worked for the company for two years or longer.” Read more
UK regulator raps Tesco for unlawfully preventing rival store openings at Reuters. “Tesco (found) 23 breaches in total…“It’s unacceptable that Tesco had these unlawful restrictions in place for up to a decade…” said Andrea Gomes da Silva, executive director, markets and mergers, at the CMA.” Read more
Stores and Shoppers Agree: Self-Checkout Is Hard by Sarah Nassauer at Wall Street Journal. “As Walmart backed away from weight-based theft detection on its self-checkout machines, it started using a data-gathering camera system made by Everseen Ltd., a technology company based in Cork, Ireland. Walmart said Everseen camera systems are in more than 2,000 stores. The system uses cameras to track product and shopper movement…” WSJ subs.
Canadian Tire Q4 comp sales +4.8% Press release
Wayfair is cutting 550 jobs at CNN. “Sales growth at Wayfair has slowed down in recent quarters…Wayfair’s stock has dropped 20% over the past year. The company has a history of losses, in part because of the high costs of shipping bulky furniture.” Read more
Ace Hardware Q4 comp sales +2.1% Press release
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Apple expands ‘Quick Look’ to let retailers sell things directly in augmented reality by Greg Kumparak at TechCrunch. “Apple previewed the feature at WWDC last year; this week, a handful of big retailers — Home Depot, Wayfair, Bang & Olufsen and 1-800-Flowers — are rolling out their implementations.” Read more
Ahold Delhaize Q4 comp sales +2.3% / online +42.7% Press release
Wawa goes after the dinner crowd with burgers and chicken sandwiches by Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN. “The Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed Wawa’s new foods and was unimpressed. The $5.99 burger was “mushy and gray all the way through, and as perfectly formed as a lab specimen,” it said in its review, while the breading on the $5.49 chicken sandwich was “gummy, moist, flavorless, and devoid of crunch.” Read more
DSW partners with Jennifer Lopez for exclusive shoe collection at MarketWatch. Read more
Jim Cramer: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is bargain stock in a market near its highs at CNBC. “Now that I’ve done my homework … I think [Butler’s] successor is up for the challenge and the stock has become ridiculously cheap here and deserves to be bought.” Read more
Yelp Q4: revenue +10% / net income was $17 million (compared to $32 million in Q4 2018) Press release
A giant project will bring Target and 550 apartments to Miami’s struggling Overtown by Andres Viglucci at Miami Herald. “The plan, which Swerdlow said has full financing from private backers, would represent the biggest financial infusion in history in Overtown, an impoverished, formerly segregated neighborhood that has struggled for decades to attract investment.” Read more
eBay completes sale of StubHub to viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash Press release
‘Hamburglar’ shoplifter sentenced to prison, admits to stealing more than 1,000 times at KGW8. “A KGW investigation in 2017 found retailers and police frustrated by a flawed system that allows shoplifters to re-offend without facing serious consequences…”I know the law. I know the rules. I know what I can and can’t do,” Sanders told a Portland police detective during a videotaped interview in 2016. “Every time I get out of prison, I steal.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra
Wedding dresses delayed at least six weeks due to coronavirus
Unilever to stop marketing to children under 13
Meijer debuts a first-of-its-kind sushi and craft beer bar
Kroger is first supermarket chain to lobby Federal Gov’t on hemp
Couche-Tard Ups Its Bid for Australia’s Caltex
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