Tipsheet: Target Sued Over Giant Red Balls | Bentonville Pilgrimage | Ahold Profit +13%
Stars, shareholders return to Northwest Arkansas for the Wal-Mart annual meeting by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “The Wal-Mart employees peppered the Bentonville square on Monday and Tuesday (May 30 -31) touring the Walmart Museum and the Neighborhood Market located off the square. Roughly 14,000 shareholders are expected to attend this year’s event on Friday (June 3) at the University of Arkansas.” Read more
Mom sues Target over ‘hazardous’ giant red balls outside store by Lla Eustachewich at NY Post. “A New Jersey mom is hitting Target right where it hurts with a $1.6 million lawsuit that claims her son was seriously injured while playing on one of the large, red, concrete balls that are situated outside many of its stores.” Read more
CNBC: Retailers are already nervous about Christmas by Krystina Gustafson. “I expect we’re going to see tremendous discipline on the inventory levels,” said Steve Barr, U.S. retail and consumer sector leader at PwC. “Retailers are being very cautious.” Read more
Ahold profit up 13% as Delhaize merger nears via MarketWatch. “The results come as Ahold is about to close its all-share merger with Delhaize in a tie-up that will create one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. and Europe, with more than 6,500 stores and 375,000 employees.” Read more
Ron Sargent to step down as Staples CEO by Greg Ryan at Boston Business Journal. “Taking his place on an interim basis will be Shira Goodman, a 55-year-old who has been with the office retailer in various roles since 1992.” Read more | Press release
Food Lion co-founder Ralph Ketner dies via Charlotte Business Journal. Read more
Retail Council of Canada Names Top Achievers at STORE 2016 “2016 Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Louise Wendling, former Country Manager, Costco Wholesale Canada…Marketing & Communications – Walmart Canada – “Discover Another Side of Walmart Canada”…” Read the release
**A message from Made in Italy – Fabe’s hand-crafted pillows prevent and relieve neck and back pain. Fabe’s Ergo Praxis pillow supports and aligns the head and neck to prevent cervical pain. Created in cooperation with Ludes University in Switzerland – it gets the body in the right position for a good night’s sleep. 100% Made in Italy. Ergo Praxis Specs | Fabe Website | How our Pillows are Made | Retailers request samples at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net. Italy-America Chamber of Commerce
King Soopers president retires after half a century with the company by Molly Armbrister at Charlotte Business Journal. “Russ Dispense, president of King Soopers and City Market, has retired from his position after 15 years in the post and 51 years with parent company Kroger Co.” Read more
CNN: Report slams Walmart for ‘exploitative’ conditions in Asia factories by Aaron Smith. “Workers at Asia factories that supply Walmart, H&M and Gap are still being exploited in sweatshop conditions, three years after the deadly collapse of a Bangladeshi factory, according to a worker rights group…” Read more
…NY Times: Retailers Like H&M and Walmart Fall Short of Pledges to Overseas Workers by Rachel Abrams. Read more
Under Armour: Sports Authority’s Bankruptcy Will Hurt Sales via Fox Business. “Under Armour said it would post $4.93 billion in sales this year, down from the $5 billion it predicted in April and short of the $5.03 billion analysts have anticipated. Still, the new forecast implies 24% revenue growth this year from last.” Read more
Canada: Some Walmarts cut back on change rooms by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. “The stores that cut back on the number of fitting rooms are located in Truro, Charlottetown and Montreal, said Alex Roberton, a spokesperson for Walmart Canada.” Read more
Saks Fifth Avenue plans Calgary store opening for January 2018 via CBC News. “We’re in this for the long haul,” said president Marc Metrick in an interview Tuesday.” Read more
…Saks president Marc Metrick seeks ‘new luxury’ in Starbucks model by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail. Read more
AI, Trump, and Gawker: Six Highlights From Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Interview by Brad Stone at Bloomberg. “The next industry that will have to worry about the Amazon effect is brick-and-mortar booksellers…Bezos said the company is testing ways to improve the “browsing” experience for books, while also catering to Prime customers. “We have a few experiments we are rolling out,” he said. “We will probably open some more.” Read more
Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club: A bright spot in China by Anne D’Innocenzio at AP via Washington Post. “In China, Sam’s Club has a big advantage. It faces no direct rivals in the club business. Costco has only a small presence in China; it’s launched an online store with China’s online giant Alibaba. Still, it’s a big feat to convince the Chinese to purchase food in bulk; many Chinese shoppers like to buy a little at a time every day…” Read more
Michael Kors’ 4Q Sales Rise 10.9% via Fox Business. “Sales at stores open for at least 13 months rose 0.3 percent. Analysts on average had expected a 0.1 percent rise, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Twitter’s retreat from ‘Buy’ buttons puts its payments partner Stripe in an awkward spot
Target tests new displays, service reminiscent of a department store
Billionaire Alice Walton’s ranch near Fort Worth gets discounted price
Brawl erupts between two couples outside Costco after a fight over a parking spot spills out of control
E-commerce takes a bigger bite of European retail sales
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