Tipsheet: Target Shuts Food Lab | UPS Asks Retail for $ | C.World Gets Gander | CVS Gets Marsh Pharm
Target is shutting down food lab in Massachusetts after all by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “Last week, an offer to buy the Food + Future lab surfaced at the last minute as (Target) was preparing to wind it down. But Target apparently couldn’t come to terms with the buyer….The food lab was the brainchild of one of the outside entrepreneurs that (Casey) Carl brought to Target. Greg Shewmaker, a former Tesco executive, set up the lab to explore how Target could help lead in bringing more transparency to the food system and the supply chain.” Read more
UPS asks retailers to help pay for extra costs when shipments miss forecasts by Paul Ziobro at Wall Street Journal. “UPS cautioned that conversations with retailers are just starting and it is still working to finalize how the surge price will be implemented. “We will handle it on a customer by customer basis, we will look at our costs and that’s the way we’re going to address it,” Mr. Abney said.” Read more (subs.)
Struggling Marsh exits pharmacy business; sells inventory and records to CVS by James Briggs at IndyStar. “Marsh will transfer prescription records to CVS and close its pharmacies by May 5.” Read more
Camping World-led group wins bankruptcy auction for Gander Mountain by Jessica DiNapoli at Reuters. “The value of the winning bid was about $390 million, according to people familiar with the matter…Camping World plans to operate at least 17 Gander Mountain stores as a going concern, the sources said. An auction for Gander Mountain’s remaining more than 100 leases will be held later, the sources said. The consortium also won all of Gander Mountain’s intellectual property and its Overton’s boating business.” Read more
3,000 jobs could be cut as regulators approve Dollar General’s purchase of Dollar Express by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. Read more
Interview with Best Buy’s Chief Digital Officer Bala Subramanian by Todd Bishop & Clare McGrane at GeekWire. Q&A/Podcast
Target’s Queens lease shuts out cosmetic queens Sephora and Ulta by Lois Weiss at NY Post. “Ulta had been in talks to open a store at the Jackson Heights development — talks that got scuttled by Target’s rider, according to a source close to the deal.” Read more
Amid Brick-and-Mortar Travails, a Tipping Point for Amazon in Apparel by Nick Wingfield at NY Times. Read more
With only 3% market share, Canadian discount grocers have ample room to grow by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post via Vancouver Sun. “In Denmark, discount grocers now account for 40% of grocery market share, up from 19% in 2000. In Turkey, growth in the same period has been the most dramatic, accounting for 60% of the market, up from 15%. In the U.K….discounters take up almost 15% of the market.” Read more
Walmart Expands Again In India – But Still Not Able To Open Consumer Stores by Tim Worstall at Forbes. Read more
Walgreen wants to force the FTC’s hand on Rite-Aid deal by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “Walgreen is expected to certify compliance within days, two sources close to the situation said. In doing so, Walgreen will give the FTC 90 days to either clear the $9.7 billion deal, creating the nation’s biggest drug store chain, or sue to block it, a source said.” Read more
Target unveils their largest solar array and it’s shaped like a Bullseye logo by Hayden Packwood at KPNX. Roof pic/Read more
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Country’s largest climbing gym coming to former Sports Authority HQ by Jason Blevins at NY Post. “We have been seeking out those kinds of spaces forever, and almost always landlords wouldn’t even want to hear our pitch”…“Now they look at those kinds of places thinking they don’t want to sign a (retail) lease because they are probably going to be bankrupt in two years. Now they are saying, ‘Well, let me get this knucklehead climbing gym guy instead.’ ” Read more
Shopping mall in Sweden features only reclaimed, reused goods by Patrick Sisson at Curbed. “It may sound too good to be true, but Bergstrom says the numbers show the experiment in second-hand shopping has been a success. Since opening, the mall has drawn about 600-700 people a day, and 2016 sales totaled 8.1 million SEK, or $910,000.” Read more
Urban Outfitters Board Slammed by Group for `Extreme Insularity’ by Lindsey Rupp at Bloomberg.”The directors also have an average tenure of 19 years, compared with an average of 9.4 years for the S&P mid-cap index, according to the letter.” Read more
Vince has ‘substantial doubt’ it can stay in business by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC. “The company operates 54 stores and an e-commerce website. It also distributes its products to roughly 2,300 wholesale accounts.” Read more
Macy’s puts Chicago flagship up for sale — at least the top half of it by Ryan Ori at Chicago Tribune. “The deal could generate as much as $130 million for Macy’s…Macy’s spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz confirmed in an email that the company plans to sell the eighth through the 14th floors of the building, encompassing 700,000 square feet. She did not say how much the company expects the real estate to fetch in a sale.” Read more
Bloomingdale’s will hold yoga classes to attract customers by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “The idea is to get your gear at the store,” Grokker Chief Executive Lorna Borenstein told The Post. “And to think of Bloomingdale’s as making a statement on wellness.” Read more
Big-Name Food Brands Lose Battle of the Grocery Aisle by Annie Gasparro at Wall Street Journal. “We’ve got to maximize return on our shelf space,” said Don Fitzgerald, vice president of merchandising at Mariano’s…Shoppers, he said, are drawn to steamy pasta at the store’s deli counter, rather than a box of dried macaroni with powdered cheese sitting on the shelf for weeks.” Read more (subs.)
Home Depot Settles Investor Suit Over Data Breach by Kat Greene at Law 360. Read more (subs.)
Woman buys purse at Walmart – finds a note from Chinese worker begging for help by Abigail Miller at Daily Mail. “The note’s author writes that he or she is a prisoner in China being forced to work about 14 hours a day with little food or medical attention.” Read more
INCOMING – Teen jumps into fish tank at Bass Pro, injures head, could face charges by Tom McGhee at Denver Post. “The boy jumped from an upper bridge into the main fish tank in the center of the store about 5 p.m., according to an employee.” Read more
New stop sign at Walmart store keeps getting ran over – town not happy by Kiran Chawla at WAFB 9 CBS. “It’s been scratched, taped up, and even run over. It has its own Facebook page with thousands of likes. It’s the latest hot spot for a selfie and even has its own name with a sign taped to it a few days ago reading, “Dear Petey the pole, get well soon.” T-shirts for the stop sign are now for sale in what’s become an overnight tourist attraction in Watson.” Video/Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Walmart self-checkouts mistakenly spit out $20 bills, people line up for $1,100
Customer finds two-inch bolt in Costco pie
Startup helps businesses find blue-collar workers via text
Tesla to stop selling solar door-to-door – will expand retail sales
Even IKEA is studying AI now
Japan’s potato chip crisis hits home as spud shortage strikes snack makers
Coca-Cola says Philadelphia soda tax has led to loss of 40 jobs
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