Target is weighing options for Food + Future lab in Cambridge, Mass. by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “The team running it has been looking for outside investors over the last couple months to take over the venture, which also includes a farm in Vermont. An offer surfaced at the 11th hour Tuesday as Target was preparing to shut it down, according to a source familiar with the matter.” Read more

 

PetSmart is acquiring Chewy.com for $3.35 billion in the largest e-commerce acquisition ever by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “The deal is a huge one by any standard — bigger than Walmart’s $3.3 billion deal for Jet.com last year — and especially for a retail company like PetSmart, which was itself valued at only $8.7 billion when private equity investors took it over in 2015.” Read more | Press release

 

Sam’s Club Launches Challenge to Costco’s Wine Business by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “Sam’s, which operates some 650 U.S. clubs, recently introduced an $8 Chardonnay from California’s central coast under its Member’s Mark store brand, and this year will start selling a Cabarnet from Napa Valley, a prosecco and a champagne under that label as part of an initiative announced on Wednesday.” Read more

 

…Sam’s Club shows off brand redo – adds 300 products to Member’s Mark label by Robbie Neiswanger at Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “The reinvention of Sam’s Club’s private label business was evident on the shelves as Chandra Holt, vice president of private brands, led a tour through the Bentonville club earlier this week…” Read more

 

Americans are spending more on their homes than their clothes by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Apparel thought it competed with apparel,” said Richard Kestenbaum, partner in Triangle Capital. “But now it turns out that apparel competes with great restaurants and weekends away” — and a new barbecue pit.” Read more

 

Retailers look past apps to the next frontier of digital shopping: Chatbots by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “FreshDirect said its foray into chatbots in part reflected the changing reality of how customers use their smartphones. “We know that asking someone to download an app, it’s a hard thing to do now,” said Lisa Kolodny, FreshDirect’s vice president of brand marketing and communications.” Read more

 

Underwater warehouses? Amazon’s aquatic fulfillment centers could make it so by Alan Boyle at GeekWire. “Packages could be dropped from the air, parachute down to the water, and then sink to a specific water level based on its density. When it’s time to select a package for delivery, a coded series of acoustic tones could be beamed through the water.” Read more

 

**A message from the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show – get ready for the nation’s largest souvenir show! We bring together 1,300+ booths filled with the latest introductions from every major souvenir and resort supplier, plus countless new resources. New for 2017, the show welcomes a Native American Pavilion, even more made in America products, new Boardwalk section and a special spotlight on Gourmet gifts. Look for new events and educational offerings, too . September 13-16, 2017. Register Now | Exhibitor List

 

Lowe’s, Home Depot End The Week One-Two In Radio Spots at Inside Radio. “Lowe’s had 46,542 ads for the week of April 10-16—markedly lower than Home Depot a week ago, which placed 77,108 spots…Home Depot dips from No. 1 to take the runner-up position, with 41,328 over-the-air ads, according to Media Monitors.” Read more

 

MY STOMACH’S GRUMBLING, AND IT’S FAST – C-stores put a bigger focus on food as they aim to capitalize on a trend by Barbara Soderlin at Omaha World-Herald. “Store manager Dennis Bliss followed the rush of customers with a wet mop, cleaning up the chunks of mud that fell from the men’s work boots. He didn’t mind. Sales are up “tremendously” since the store remodel put food front and center. “They always start at the food,” Bliss said.” Read more

 

Office Depot to Sell Operations in Australia and New Zealand to Platinum Equity Press release

 

Wal-Mart buys the Shoes.com URL and sends web traffic to ShoeBuy by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. “Wal-Mart has bought the Shoes.com domain name and intellectual property that includes the company’s logos and social media accounts for $9 million, according to documents posted on the website of professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc.” Read more

 

VA tests partnership with CVS to reduce veterans’ wait times via Denver Post. “The new program, currently limited to the Phoenix area, comes three years after the VA faced allegations of chronically long wait times at its centers, including its Phoenix facility, which treats about 120,000 veterans.” Read more

 

Grainger Q1 Falls Short, U.S. Sales -1.0% “Overall, the first quarter clearly fell short of our expectations, driven primarily by the stronger than anticipated customer response to our U.S. strategic pricing actions, with a greater volume of products sold at more competitive prices,” said Chief Executive Officer DG Macpherson.” Read more

 

Kroger Names Angel Colón Senior Director of Diversity Press release

 

Primark Plans Biggest Expansion In Decade as Chain’s Sales Soar by Thomas Seal at Bloomberg. “The retailer aims to open 29 stores in the current fiscal year, mainly outside the U.K…Unlike most clothing retailers, Primark relies entirely on old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar stores and has shunned an e-commerce offering.” Read more

 

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Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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