Tipsheet: Target +1.2% | Lowe’s US +7.5% | Krebs: “Target didn’t have the butts in the seats” | Bay Area Amazon Drive-Up
Target Q1 Comp Sales +1.2% “Comparable digital channel sales increased 23 percent…First quarter comparable sales in signature categories (Style, Baby, Kids and Wellness) grew more than three times as fast as the company average. The first quarter marked Target’s sixth consecutive quarter of traffic growth, reflecting increases in both stores and digital channels.” Read the release
Fox Business: Target Delivers Mixed 1Q Results “Earnings stood at $1.29 per share in the first quarter ended on April 30. Analysts on average were expecting $1.20 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 1.2 percent, less than the market consensus of 1.6 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more
Lowe’s Q1 Comp Sales +7.3% / US +7.5% “Lowe’s reported net earnings of $884 million for the quarter ended April 29, 2016, a 31.4 percent increase over the same period a year ago.” Read the release
CNBC: Lowe’s Earnings & Revenue Beat Analysts’ Expectations “Lowe’s posted first-quarter earnings per share of 98 cents…Analysts had expected Lowe’s to report earnings of about 85 cents a share on $14.87 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. Sales at stores open more than 13 months rose 7.3 percent, well above the 4.3 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more
Target names Nordstrom executive Mark Tritton as chief merchandising officer by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “He starts June 5…Target also said Tuesday that Jason Goldberger, president of Target.com, will join the retailer’s C-Suite in the newly created position of chief digital officer.” Read more
… Q&A with Mark Tritton via A Bullseye View. “My family and I (Mark and his wife have three kids) have always loved adventures. We’ve lived in different cities, in different states, in different countries. We like to consider ourselves journey takers. For us, the Midwest was a bit unknown, and there’s an excitement to that – a curiosity that we get to explore.” Read more
…Kathee Tesija Departs by Evan Ramstad at Star Tribune. Read more
Bay Area: Amazon planning drive-up grocery store (Next to a new Orchard Supply Hardware) by Nathan Donato-Weinstein at Silicon Valley Business Journal. “…architects are working on an identical concept in San Carlos, at a site at 380 Industrial Road. Notably, public records also directly connect Amazon to the site where the project is planned, providing the first direct proof that it is, in fact, Amazon that is behind the effort.” Read more
**A message from 2016 Sweets & Snacks Expo – The Expo is Sold Out and Debuts Next Week! The 2016 Expo will set an all-time record in volume of confectionery and snack products with more than 720 companies showcasing nearly four acres of product innovation. Don’t miss the one place where more confectionery and snack retailers and manufacturers come together every year. May 24-26, McCormick Place – Chicago. Exhibitor List | 2016 New Exhibitors | Retail execs on the taste panel | Website
Alibaba’s Jack Ma drops out of IACC conference in spat over anti-counterfeiting efforts by Haze Fan at CNBC. “The Chinese e-commerce giant also embarked on a media campaign in China, in which it trumpeted its fakes-busting success and accused the IACC of being “kidnapped by the personal interests” of some of its members.” Read more
Liquidators win at Sports Authority bankruptcy auction by Mark Harden at Denver Business Journal. “The Wall Street Journal reports that the winning liquidation team includes Tiger Capital Group, Hilco Global and Gordon Brothers.” Read more | WSJ article (subs.)
Retailers swap ideas on coping with behemoth Amazon by Angel Gonzalez at Seattle Times. “You’re crazy if you compete against Amazon and you don’t recognize they are bigger, stronger, faster,” said Scott Thompson, the CEO at online shopping service ShopRunner and former head of Yahoo. “They’re playing their sport on their field with their referees and their fans.” Read more
Krebs: Target “Didn’t Have the Butts in the Seats” to Stop Cyberthieves by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Brian Krebs, the cybercrime journalist who first broke the story of Target Corp.’s 2013 data breach, stressed the importance of security professionals when he delivered the keynote lecture Tuesday at the Secure360 Twin Cities Conference. “There’s no substitute for the human,” he said.” Read more
Amazon’s Shareholder Meeting…
Jeff Bezos: Amazon’s goal is to make it ‘irresponsible’ to not be a Prime member by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “You still need a beginner’s mind,” Bezos said. “So, you need all of that domain knowledge and expertise, but you still need to be able to step back and look at something as if it’s your first day on the job. That is so hard and some people are good at it, so you can select for that.” Read more
Home Depot’s Q1 Earnings Call Transcript via Seeking Alpha
Millions more Americans to be eligible for overtime pay by Paul Davidson at USA Today. “Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the salary threshold was originally intended to exempt high-paid executives but instead has denied overtime to low-level retail supervisors and entry-level office workers who often toil 50 to 70 hours a week.” Read more
San Francisco: First U.S. city to require health warnings on advertisements for soda and other sugar-added drinks by Mike Esterl at WSJ. Read more (subscription)
Tipsheet Extra Stories
How Target’s digital chief plans to partner with startups and bring Target into the internet age
‘Make a grocery list’: Feds teach people how to shop for food
Gap’s CEO says Amazon could be a channel to reach customers
Office Depot CEO: ‘It’s been a long and difficult 15 months’
Burberry Wants to Cut Its Operating Costs by 10%
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