Tipsheet: Target Media Opening | Election Looting | 25% Done Shopping | Sam’s Robots
ELECTION LOOTING – U.S. retailers secure stores as worries about election unrest mount at Reuters. “Aon…told Reuters the majority of retailer clients it surveyed are considering boarding up stores because they are worried about looting around the election…“You’d be foolish to think the worst is over. We all watch the news,” said Bob Moraca, principal at Rock Security Group and former vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation.” Read more
Head of Target’s Media Business to Leave at Ad Age. “The face of Target’s media business is leaving the company at a time when competitors are ramping up their own offerings. Kristi Argyilan, president of Roundel, will depart the Minneapolis-based chain on Oct. 30. Target is conducting an external search for her replacement, a spokeswoman says.” Tiered subs.
PayPal to allow cryptocurrency buying, selling and shopping on its network at Financial Post. “PayPal hopes the service will encourage global use of virtual coins and prepare its network for new digital currencies that may be developed by central banks and corporations, President and Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in an interview.” Read more
The Container Store Group Q2 net sales +5.0% Press release
1 in 4 Americans already finished buying all their gifts: Lending Tree “Among the consumers buying ahead of time, over 44% of them were parents with children under 18. Nearly half of the consumers also have household incomes of $100,000 or more.” USA Today
Fortune’s Most Powerful Women International (H&M CEO #4) Top 50 list
Sam’s Club is putting robot janitors in all of its stores during the pandemic at CNN. “Sam’s Club…has already deployed hundreds of the robotic scrubbers. With the addition of 372 new robots, the company will soon have a scrubber in each location. It will also implement one of Brain Corp’s accessories that will allow them to analyze shelf inventory.” Read more/Video
Amazon extends remote work policy for office employees to June 2021 at GeekWire. Read more
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Whole Foods now offers free one-hour grocery pickup at all US stores at The Verge. “Orders costing $35 or more are eligible, and thousands of items including fresh produce, meat and seafood, and other staples are available for pickup.” Read more
JCPenney CEO says company expects to exit Chapter 11 ahead of holiday season at CNBC. “(JCPenney) reiterated plans to have Brookfield and Simon own and operate its retail assets. Meanwhile, 160 of its real estate assets and its distribution centers will become part of separate property holding company owned by a group of its lenders.” Read more
Walgreens Seeks Progress, Not Perfection, During Pandemic Adweek subs.
After Amazon Split, FedEx Chases Bigger Cut Of Online’s Booming Returns Business at Forbes. “(FedEx) has partnered with startup Happy Returns to accept items from 150 participating retailers — including Rothy’s, Everlane, Untuckit, Revolve, Steve Madden and Draper James — at 2,000 FedEx Office locations. The arrangement (starts) at the end of October…” Read more
Kohl’s Announces Launch of New Private Label, Specialty Athleisure Brand Press release
JPMorgan Chase takes on Square and PayPal with smartphone card reader, faster deposits for merchants at CNBC. “Our competition either doesn’t have same-day funding, or they charge for it,” Max Neukirchen, CEO of JPMorgan’s merchant services arm, said in an interview. “We think it’s a great differentiator for businesses because getting money into their account quickly is so important as they manage their cash flow.” Read more
Etsy enables millions of US shoppers to ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ with Klarna Press release
Tipsheet Extra
Travis Kalanick’s ‘ghost kitchen’ firm has spent $130M on real estate
Int’l Labor Organization says garment industry should do more to help workers
More than 7 in 10 Gen-Zers report symptoms of depression during pandemic
FedEx readies COVID-19 vaccine delivery pipeline
U.S. set to announce legal action on opioid maker
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