Walmart is developing a personal-shopper service for rich moms — and a store with no cashiers by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “A new Walmart subsidiary, called Code Eight, has recently started testing a personal shopping service for “busy NYC moms,” according to multiple sources, with the goal of letting them get product recommendations and make purchases simply through text messaging…Multiple people familiar with the project tell Recode that one goal of the initiative is the creation of physical stores that would operate without checkout lines or cashiers.” Read more

 

HGTV Teamed With Wayfair to Create Its First Special Co-Produced With a Brand Partner by Jason Lynch at Adweek. “The show, which airs at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, will feature furnishings and décor from Wayfair.com.” Read more

 

Bed Bath & Beyond Q3 Comp Sales -0.3% Press release

 

Home Depot CEO Craig Menear Talks Retail with Marketplace Radio “Ryssdal: What is your, I guess, worst nightmare, right? But what’s the thing that keeps you up at night? Menear: Actually, the thing that keeps me up right now is the amount of change that’s happening in our business and being able to continue to make the change that we need to have happen, to stay ahead of where the customer is taking us and be able to continue to execute at the level we’ve been executing at.” Listen/Read Q&A

 

Finish Line Q3 Comp Sales +0.8% Press release

 

2018 could be a breakout year for Amazon’s private labels at CNBC. “A recent study by L2…has identified more than 40 private brands associated with Amazon…Twenty-nine of those labels are in the apparel space…Cooper Smith, an analyst at L2, has further noticed that Amazon is beginning to call out in search results which brands it owns, labeling items under “Our Brand.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart’s Last Remaining Bearish Analyst Upgrades Stock by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. Read more

 

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Amazon spins a giant roulette wheel every week, and whoever’s group it lands on needs to do a presentation by Matt Weinberger at Business Insider. “For years, the blog says, AWS has held a regular meeting between senior leadership and individual product groups, with every manager sharing metrics and other updates in a 15-minute slot. Yet as AWS has grown from two services to 120 “it has become a big meeting.” Wheel pic/Read more

 

Loblaw’s $25 price-fixing mea culpa won’t shield it from lawsuits by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. Read more

 

Sam’s Club gains city approval for 140,000-square-foot layout center in Bentonville by Paul Gatling at Talk Business. “The new building will replace the existing 130,000-square-foot layout center in Springdale, inside a former Sam’s Club store at 2008 S. Thompson St. Bringing the layout center closer to Sam’s Club headquarters will obviously be more efficient for merchants who do business with the retailer.” Read more

 

Amazon Brings Web Browsing to Fire TV Press release

 

Macy’s adds eBay exec to C-suite by Andy Brownfield at Cincinnati Business Courier. “In her new role, which is effective Jan. 8, (Jill) Ramsey will be in charge of product and revenue for Macy’s online store, macys.com and the Macy’s app…She will report to Macy’s president Hal Lawton.” Read more

 

Fate of Barneys New York flagship up to arbitrator by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. “Ashkenazy and Barneys declined to comment, but sources said Barneys’ ability to stay on Madison is critical since the flagship accounts for at least one third of the 24-store chain’s total revenues.” Read more

 

Hearth & Hand with Magnolia Introduces 140 New Pieces at Target Next Week Read more

 

Amazon Among Companies Being Accused of Age Discrimination Over Ads Placed on Facebook via Fortune. “Several U.S. employers engaged in age discrimination by placing recruitment ads on targeting younger workers, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by a communications industry labor union.” Read more

 

True Value finds value in social media ads to boost store sales by April Berthene at Internet Retailer. “Within the next year, True Value is moving its marketing budget to be 100% digital, from just 30% to 40% currently, says Dave Elliot, senior vice president of marketing for True Value Co.” Read more 

 

Feihe International Inc. is set to buy Vitamin World Inc. out of bankruptcy for $28 million by Anthony Noto at New York Business Journal. “Feihe, the largest domestic-brand baby formula supplier in China, plans to operate Vitamin World’s remaining 156 stores.” Read more

 

As millennials embrace renting over owning — even clothes — stores are taking notice by Alejandra Reyes-Velarde at LA Times. “A recent testimonial thanked Omni, which currently operates only in the Bay Area, for delivering an air purifier during the October fires that blanketed the region with smoke. “Going to a wedding, going out for date night, going kite surfing in Kauai — you don’t need to own everything in the interim period,” McLeod said.” Read more

 

Naughty Walmart ad accidentally printed in ‘Alvin Advertiser’ newspaper at ABC 13. “Instead of reading “Save money. Live better,” a Walmart ad read instead “Save money. Screw people over.” Video/Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Woman accused of trying to rob Target during ‘Shop with a Cop’ event

7-Eleven CEO Joseph DePinto Sees Amazon as ‘Co-Opetition’

Amazon delivery drivers a popular target for thieves

Mom Holds a Nurse-In at Walmart After She Was Asked to Leave for Breastfeeding

AT&T kicks off trial of its 5G wireless at Gaines’ retail playground in Waco

Amazon pulls ‘irresponsible’ infant circumcision training kits from sale

Ex-Lululemon employee claims ‘sexual predator’ boss raped her

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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