Tipsheet: Target on Today Show | Lowe’s Shutters Express Store | Wmart Internship Close-Up | H.Depot Helps 2-Yr Old
Target Severs Ties With Vendor Over Egyptian-Cotton Dispute by Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg. “The retailer said it discovered last month that 750,000 sheets and pillowcases labeled as Egyptian cotton were actually made with another type of cotton. The retailer pulled the items from its stores, and on Friday it began notifying customers that it will give them a refund on the products.” Read more
…Welspun India shares fell 20 percent, the most in a decade at Bloomberg. Read more
Dick’s Sporting Goods Announces Acquisition Of Affinity Sports “Affinity Sports will provide key services to various youth sports National Governing Bodies and large-scale organizations under the DICK’S Team Sports HQ platform.” Press release
College campuses are the next big retail battleground for Target, Amazon and more by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “…of the 32 smaller store formats Target will have opened by the end of this year, eight are near college campuses, including the University of California-Berkeley, Boston University, Penn State and the University of Chicago.” Read more
Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard to buy CST Brands for $3.67 billion at Reuters. “With this transaction we would strategically strengthen our positioning in both the “sun belt” and the east coast of North America,” Couche-Tard Chief Executive Brian Hannasch said in a statement.” Read more
Wal-Mart internships both a trial and tryout by Robbie Neiswanger at Arkansas Online. “Tess Plyler learned a valuable lesson during her 10-week internship with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Don’t leave food in the refrigerator on Fridays. It won’t be there when you return. “I didn’t know they empty out the fridge,” said Plyler, who will be a senior at the University of Arkansas this year. “So I lost some Tupperware. But I’m OK. I’ve recovered.” Read more
Lowe’s has closed Lowe’s Express – its experimental store it opened a little over three years ago by David P. Willis at Asbury Park Press. “It was the first of its kind, Lowe’s said at the time. And it turned out to be the only one of its kind. The store closed on Sunday night and won’t reopen, a spokesman for Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe’s said.” Read more
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NY Post: Macy’s strikes gold with Bluemercury’s growth by Lisa Fickenscher. “Bluemercury just opened its 12th store in Manhattan, where it sees a market for as many as 40 stores. “We think there is room for a Blue Mercury every 15 blocks,” said Barry Beck, comparing Bluemercury to the ubiquitous Duane Reade.” Read more
Chapel Hill-based gourmet food giant sells for $3.5 million by Lauren K. Ohnesorge at Triangle Business Journal. “Calvert does not plan to make any immediate changes to the Chapel Hill location, according to the announcement. But stores in Raleigh, Asheville and Charleston will close, according to Calvert.” Read more
Amazon Will Now Deliver A Car To Your Doorstep by Kirsten Korosec at Fortune. “This limited campaign—it’ll only be held the last two weekends in August—will give Amazon Prime subscribers living in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas a chance to order a 45- to 60-minute test drive of a 2017 Hyundai Elantra.” Read more
Office Depot CEO to retire; company creates COO, North America at Reuters. Read more
Over the weekend: Today Show features team of kids behind Target’s new back-to-school ads “Claire Jantzen, the 17-year-old director, gives TODAY’s Stephanie Ruhle the scoop…” See the 3:14 video
The Full Transcript Of McDonald’s CEO Interview With Fortune by Beth Kowitt at Fortune. “Fortune got the inside scoop on McDonald’s transition to serving 100% cage-free eggs within the next decade for its September cover story. The tale of what it will take, and how it could change the broader food system…” Read the interview
Mysterious ‘Project X’ points to Amazon drive-up grocery store in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood by Nat Levy & Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Permit filings uncovered by GeekWire show plans to renovate the former Louie’s Cuisine of China site, at 5100 15th Ave. N.W. in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, into a 9,759-square-foot retail space where customers can pick up groceries that they’ve ordered online, in what the project team calls “a new model of grocery shopping.” Read more / See the building pic
Home Depot employees build custom walker for 2-year-old at Fox 4. “He started laughing and then started using his little feet to push himself backwards. I had a big smile. Everybody had a big smile, maybe a couple little tears here and there” For Jessica Johnson, the challenges of a special needs child can sometimes be overwhelming until something like this happens. “I’ve prayed for them that God could bless their families because they’ve definitely blessed ours,” said Johnson.” See the video / Read more
At Kimberly-Clark, ‘Dead Wood’ Workers Have Nowhere to Hide by Lauren Weber at Wall Street Journal. “One former employee said he was initially glad that the company was identifying those who weren’t pulling their weight. Then, after earning top reviews over his decadeslong career, he said he was given a low rating and placed on a performance-improvement plan after missing a project deadline. After that, “no one would talk to me” about other positions, he said.” Read more (subscription)
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Forbes: 2016 Best Companies For Developing C-Level Marketing Leaders
KFC just unveiled an absurd new product — fried-chicken scented sunscreen
Bloomingdale’s to host in-store fitness classes for annual fundraiser
Report: Lyft met with tech giants like Amazon about potential acquisition
No go for Wegmans first D.C. store
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