Tipsheet: WM Recruits Ivy League | Foulkes/Campbell/Wilke @ Summits | Instacart Emergency
Jeff Wilke, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon, spoke at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Tuesday…Wilke said it’s possible that some of Amazon’s existing grocery services will shut down as a result of the Whole Foods deal. “One thing I’ve learned in my 18 years is that nothing is permanent — other than that customers like low prices and not high prices, and a big selection, not a small selection,” he said.” by Taylor Soper at GeekWire. Read more
…On HQ2: “Not everybody wants to live in the Northwest” said Wilke, who grew up in Pittsburgh.” by Nat Levy at GeekWire. Read more
Home Depot’s Ann-Marie Campbell joins Fortune discussion on barriers facing black women in corporate America “Inclusion is not just a professional thing, it’s a me thing” Campbell said. She encouraged leaders to explore their own social circles and befriend people of different races and backgrounds, noting that you can’t have open conversations about many of the issues affecting your employees and your peers without a diverse friend group.” 4:26 video/Read more
CVS Health’s Helena Foulkes at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit by Claire Zillman at Fortune. “CVS is in the process of resetting the front of its stores, replacing some of its candy offerings with healthy snack and protein items. In the hundreds of stores where this transformation has already taken place, consumable sales have increased 9%, Foulkes said.” Read more
Wal-Mart saved $27 million by changing its plastic bags and shortening its receipts by Courtney Reagan at CNBC. “The retailer has been disciplined with expenses, but Biggs warns the hurricanes and some back-end technology spending could cause total expenses to be slightly higher than originally planned.” Read more
…Highlights from Walmart’s Investor Conference by Kim Souza at Talk Business. “Wal-Mart will build fewer than 25 new stores in the U.S. next year — about 15 supercenters and fewer than 10 Neighborhood Market formats. Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran said the U.S. supercenter market is largely built out and the company is now more focused on remodeling 500 stores.” Read more
Wal-Mart Wants to Break Into the Ivy League Recruiting Circuit by Matthew Boyle at Bloomberg. “The purple recreational vehicle rumbled into a parking place across the street from the University of Pennsylvania career fair on a sunny Friday last month. It was the latest stop for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in its recruitment tour of more than a dozen top colleges. Along with free pizza and tchotchkes to take home, the biggest U.S. retailer had a pitch that few Ivy Leaguers have heard before: Come work for Wal-Mart.” Read more
Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by Mya Frazier at Bloomberg. Read more (tiered subs.)
‘Black-ish’ star Tracee Ellis Ross designs a holiday collection for J.C. Penney by Maria Halkias at Dallas News. “The women’s apparel, accessories and home décor items will be in stores Nov. 12, in time for holiday shopping, the Plano-based retailer said Tuesday. It’s the second big tie-in to popular television this year for Penney.” Read more
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Chicago pop tax one step away from repeal after 15-1 test vote by Hal Hardick at Chicago Tribune. “Big Soda’s win here is remarkable, both because Cook County is by far the largest jurisdiction in the country where such a tax was enacted and that it comes after a series of defeats elsewhere.” Read more
Sears Canada going out of business, laying off 12,000 by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star. “Among the first to lose their jobs will be most of the 800 people at head office near Dundas Square, who will be let go next week. Liquidation sales at stores are scheduled to begin Oct. 19 and to take 10 to 14 weeks.” Read more
Amazon is exploring ways to deliver items to your car trunk and the inside of your home at CNBC. “Amazon is in advanced talks to forge a partnership with Phrame, a maker of smart license plates that allow items to be delivered to a car’s trunk, according to a person with knowledge of the potential deal…At the same time, Amazon is developing a smart doorbell device that would give delivery drivers one-time access to a person’s home to drop off items, said two people familiar with the matter.” Read more
Crate & Barrel Teams with Reese Witherspoon by T.L. Stanley at Adweek. “Witherspoon stars in a new Crate & Barrel campaign, launching Tuesday on digital and social media with TV spots following at the end of the month. With the tagline, “Make this season merry and just right,” the ads will run through the holidays and kick off a larger deal between the retailer and the Oscar winner.” See the spot/Read more
Mall owner opts to go dark on Thanksgiving, sticking with a new tradition at CNBC. “CBL Properties will keep the doors of its retail properties closed on Thanksgiving Day for the second-straight year…the closures will affect 62 of its malls and open-air shopping centers.” Read more
How Amazon’s $13.7B purchase of Whole Foods is a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Instacart by Nat Levy at GeekWire. “At this point retailers are coming to us,” Mehta said. “When the Amazon/Whole Foods announcement happened, essentially every major grocery retailer in the country had an emergency board meeting and right after that board meeting they called us.” Read more
…Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta on the future of retail and delivery 34:17 video
Petco Expands Pet Services Offerings to Include Complete Vet Care “…the company’s first veterinary hospital, operated by THRIVE Affordable Vet Care, opened inside a brand new store in Aldine, Texas last week.” Press release
Gap is selling subscription boxes for baby clothes at CNBC. “Each outfit box contains six pieces of clothing, costing $70 but worth $100 or more, according to Gap. Shoppers will have three weeks to decide if they want to keep the selected items. New boxes will ship every three months.” Read more
Ex-Walgreens CEO Took Pride in Staying Grounded by Aine Cain at Business Insider. “At the start of (Greg) Wasson’s career, his father handed him his business card. “He’d written on the back, ‘Greg, always stay humble,'” Wasson said. “I always kept that in my wallet and pulled it out every once in a while.” Read more
Wal-Mart buybacks suggest growth options becoming limited: Former Wal-Mart US CEO Simon at CNBC. Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
4-year-old finds loaded handgun in Macy’s bathroom – points it at father
How Amazon’s Alexa overcame doubters — even within the project team
Why Shop.com says two-click checkout is better than one
Why won’t young workers take jobs in Vancouver?
Nokia kills virtual reality camera & 310 jobs due to the slow development of VR market
Alibaba to invest $15B into a new global research and development program
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