THE TALE OF TARGET CANADA – The Last Days of Target by Joe Castaldo at Canadian Business. “(Tony Fisher), 38 years old at the time, was regarded as a wunderkind who had quickly risen through the ranks at Target’s American command post in Minneapolis, from a lowly business analyst to leader of a team of 400 people across multiple divisions. Launching the Target brand in a new country was his biggest task to date. The news he received from his group that February afternoon should have been worrying, but if he was unnerved, Fisher didn’t let on…” Read more

 

#SNOWMAGGEDON2016 – Empty Store Shelves as Panicked Shoppers Ransack Grocery Stores See the pics

 

WASHINGTON POST TALKS RFID: The tiny chip that could power big changes in how you shop by Sarah Halzack. “Levi’s has been an early adopter of this technology in its stores…Anurag Nagpal, director of RFID solutions at software-maker Checkpoint Systems, said recent innovation has made it more feasible to use RFID on products beyond clothing. (In earlier days, Nagpal said, RFID tags did not work well on metal or packages containing liquids.)” Read more

 

comScore: Top 50 U.S. Digital Media Properties for December 2015 (Amazon #4, Walmart #16, Target #31) See the top 50 list

 

Amazon’s lobbying spending skyrockets 91% by David McCabe at The Hill. “The Internet giant’s primary corporate arm spent around $9 million on lobbying in 2015, a 91 percent increase over the $4.74 million it spent the year before. Notably, the company’s spending during the last three months of the year — $2,990,000 — was almost a million dollars higher than in the previous quarter.” Read more

 

Walmart found to have fired striking workers unlawfully by Jose Pagliery at CNN. “An administrative law judge ordered Walmart to give 16 workers their jobs back and pay them for the time they went without work. Walmart must also hold a company meeting at 29 stores to inform workers of their right to strike.” Read more

 

JCPENNEY CEO MARVIN ELLISON SPEAKS TO DALLAS GROUP – New JC Penney CEO sees company turning corner after hardship by Jason Wheeler at WFAA 8 ABC. “We don’t anticipate any significant store closures, but we will allow the business and customers dictate that,” Ellison said. “At the end of the day we want one thing, and that is to create shareholder value.” Read more

 

Cabela’s wants to sell credit card biz before it puts up entire company by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “And since Cabela’s is seeking special conditions to the sale of its credit card operation — the company wants to retain the profit stream from the business — some close to the process think an eventual sale of the brick-and-mortar chain may never occur…Meanwhile, Bass Pro Shops, a rival that in the past has expressed interest in buying Cabela’s, is stuck on the sidelines as banks kick the tires of the credit card operation, sources said.” Read more

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods potential $238M windfall by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “Amid speculation that Sports Authority could be preparing to close up to 200 of its roughly 450 stores, Sterne Agee CRT analyst Sam Poser told investors that 23 percent of Dick’s 600-plus locations are located in the “immediate” vicinity of a Sports Authority shop, “which should provide for rapid same-store sales acceleration once the Sports Authority stores are closed.” Read more

 

Walgreens CEO at Davos: Consumer Drug Prices Should Be Lower “Stefano Pessina, chief executive officer at Walgreen Boots Alliance, discusses the mix of cultures behind Walgreens and the need for lower drug prices for consumers.” See the video

 

** Trade Show Spotlight – ASD Market Week is 9 Shows in 1 Location. The Widest Variety of Goods Anywhere! 

“I go to five different markets – if I had to give up a market this is the last one I’d give up” Retail chain owner. See retail buyer testimonial video. On February 28 – March 2, 2016, discover hot new products and stylish finds from over 2,600 vendors in categories including: fashion & accessories, beauty & fragrance, gift & home, toys & novelties and many more. See show category list | Register Now

 

CVS reaches $450k settlement over alleged sale of expired items by Steve Mocarsky at Times Leader. “Agents allegedly reported finding expired products, including infant formula and drugs made for children, at five of the six CVS stores they visited. CVS employees in two cases also allegedly bypassed a register prompt that was designed to prohibit the sale of expired products.” Read more

 

Billionaire VC says that most companies will eventually pay an Amazon ‘tax’ by Eugene Kim at Business Insider via Yahoo. “I don’t see any cleaner monopoly available to buy in the public markets right now,” he said.” Read more

 

A first look at Nike’s $380M-plus HQ expansion by Eric Siemers at Portland Business Journal. “Nike Inc. on Wednesday said its newly expanded Washington County headquarters will feature buildings that “take inspiration from human movement.” See the two renderings / Read more

 

Dollar General Names Michael Calbert as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board  Read the release

 

Google Paid Apple $1 Billion to Keep Search Bar on IPhone by Joel Rosenblutt & Adam Satariano at Bloomberg. “Apple received $1 billion from its rival in 2014, according to a transcript of court proceedings from Oracle Corp.’s copyright lawsuit against Google. The search engine giant has an agreement with Apple that gives the iPhone maker a percentage of the revenue Google generates through the Apple device.” Read more

 

Ice.com’s New Owners Raise $2 Million To Bring Fair Pricing To The Jewelry Industry by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch. “The online part of jewelry is still in its infancy,” (Proctor) says…”the U.S. jewelry market today is over $80 billion (for fine jewelry and watches combined), the e-commerce portion is…between 5 and 7 percent…” Read more

 

First of its kind Publix project to open on Univ. of South Florida campus by Margie Manning at Tampa Bay Business Journal. “The 29,000-square-foot store will be at the southeast corner of Fletcher Avenue and North Palm Drive, a press release said. It will be fully integrated into a $133 million Student Housing Village.” Read more

 

AmEx’s Chenault Braces for ‘New Reality’ as Profit Declines 38% by Elizabeth Dexheimer at Bloomberg. Read more

 

Postal Service Wants to Grow Experimental Delivery Business by Kenneth Corbin at EcommerceBytes. “Postmaster General Megan Brennan and other senior government officials appeared before a Senate committee on Thursday…it is also actively courting new delivery partners and exploring an expanded menu of services. One is the grocery delivery trial that the agency began a couple years ago in San Francisco, and has since expanded. Brennan said that the agency is in active discussions with prospective new partners in the grocery arena.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Might be Planning Another Rocket Launch this Weekend by Sarah Fecht at Popular Science. “The restriction is to take place between 8 am and 4 pm Eastern on Friday and Saturday this week.” Read more

 

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