Tipsheet: Target +3.4% | Lowe’s US +3.2% | Sam’s #1 Pharmacy
Target Q2 comp sales +3.4% “…comparable digital channel sales grew 34 percent. Same-day fulfillment services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) accounted for nearly 1.5 percentage points of the Company’s overall comparable sales growth.” Press release
…Target Q2 beats expectations on strong sales, stock surges at Yahoo Finance. “Revenue: $18.42 billion vs. $18.25 billion expected. Adj. earnings per share: $1.82 vs. $1.62 expected. Same-store sales: +3.4% vs. +3% expected.” Read more
…Target CEO: The US trade war creates ‘uncertainty’ and ‘complexity’ for retailer at CNBC. Read more
…How Target Packaged a Turnaround by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “The room was no bigger than a walk-in closet, a tight fit for Target CEO Brian Cornell and the team of executives and support staff who were sharing it. Sketchy air circulation made the room feel even more claustrophobic. And its cable-TV feed didn’t work—which meant the gang couldn’t tune in to see just how badly Wall Street talking heads were freaking out about Target’s stock. The chamber, a “greenroom” at a former church turned event space on Manhattan’s Park Avenue, was an uncomfortable place to share an uncomfortable moment…” Read more
Lowe’s Q2 comp sales +2.3% / US comp sales +3.2% Press release
…CNBC: Lowe’s stock surges after beating second quarter earnings and revenue estimates “Adjusted earnings per share: $2.15, vs. $2.01 estimated. Revenue: $20.99 billion, vs. $20.94 billion estimated. Same store sales: up 2.3%, vs. up 1.9% estimated.” Read more
Walmart suing Tesla after seven fires at stores that were using solar panels by Kelly Tyko at USA Today. “One store in Ohio had to be closed for eight days…Walmart says it demanded on May 31, 2018, that Tesla disconnect or de-energize all of the solar panel systems. A fire happened in Yuba City, California, after the solar panels had been de-energized, the suit claims.” Read more
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Urban Outfitters CEO calls second-quarter earnings not one of its ‘finest’ at CNBC. ” (Comp sales) fell 3% during the second quarter…worse than the 2% drop expected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet. Executives said the sales declines were driven by under-performance in women’s apparel, with “product and execution misses.” Read more
J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Pharmacy Satisfaction Study:
Mass – Sam’s #1
Grocery – Wegmans #1
Drug Store – Good Neighbors Pharmacy #1
Gun Sellers Are Sneaking Onto Facebook’s Booming Secondhand Marketplace by Parmy Olson & Zusha Elinson at Wall Street Journal. “To dodge the prohibition, sellers simply list gun cases or boxes at inflated prices. Those postings have become code for actual guns, while in many instances evading Facebook efforts to bar banned items.” WSJ subs.
Online resale store thredUP said on Wednesday it received $175 million in funding at Reuters. “Last week…J.C. Penney and Macy’s announced partnerships with San Francisco-based thredUP.” Read more
Costco to open its first store on Chinese mainland in the Minhang District of Shanghai on August 27 at China Plus. Read more
Grand opening held for Prince store at Minneapolis airport by John Ewoldt at Star Tribune. “Regnier thinks Prince is the rare artist whose legacy can support an airport retail store. “Prince loved Minnesota and fans worldwide loved him,” she said. “We’ve heard of people changing their flights with an MSP connection just to visit the store.” Tiered subs.
Walmart CEO: VR Training Helped Save Lives in El Paso Shooting by Aric Jenkins at Fortune. “I’ve done [the training] myself. And there’s something about doing that through VR that helps you, in some ways, live the experience and understand the steps that you need to take in an active shooter situation,” McMillon told Fortune.” Read more
Amazon HQ2 becomes nation’s most competitive region for home buyers by Monica Nickelsburg at GeekWire. Read more
The Collective Memory of American Shoppers by Kelsey Lawrence at NY Times. “I was photographing a really architecturally stunning entryway to a Lord & Taylor store in Detroit last year when security came over and asked me why I was taking pictures,” said Mr. Fuentz, the Off the Rack founder. “My honest response was: That facade was amazing. But they really didn’t understand I was serious in my admiration for the place.” Tiered subs.
Take a look inside Wayfair’s first physical store set to open inside the Natick Mall this week by Tim Jones at Mass Live. 36 pics
Gamestop Corp. Lays Off 120 Employees at Hollywood Reporter. “The cuts affected nearly 14 percent of the associate base at the company’s corporate headquarters, as well as at subsidiaries such as ‘Game Informer’ magazine.” Read more
Blue Nile Announces Sean Kell as CEO Press release
Home Depot says suppliers are moving manufacturing out of China to avoid tariffs at CNBC. “I’m not aware of a single supplier who was not moving some form of manufacturing outside of China,” said Ted Decker, executive vice president of merchandising.” Read more
Barnes & Noble Named # 1 Most Reputable Retailer in America for Second Year in a Row Press release
Jeff Bezos shows up on stage at Amazon’s epic employee concert, helps introduce Katy Perry by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. “Wooooo! How cool is this?!” Bezos yelled to the cheering crowd. “Are you guys having fun? Me, too. I’m just out here for a moment. I want to say thank you. It was another great Prime Day. I remember it was just a little over 20 years ago, I was driving all the packages to the post office myself. That wasn’t that long ago.” Read more/Pics
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Gamers risk health in bid to be eSports millionaires
Amazon notifies woman by email that she may have taken counterfeit pills
Millie Bobby Brown launching vegan beauty line
Amazon HQ2 Adds $200,000 To Crystal City Home Prices
Fearing tobacco’s fate, palm oil industry fights back
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