Tipsheet: Wmart Can. Ditches Visa | Kroger CEO Iview | Camping World IPO | Wgreen Clips Theranos
Walgreens Ends Theranos Relationship, Shutters 40 Blood Test Centers at Forbes. “In a statement released Sunday night, Walgreens said the decision to close its Arizona wellness centers follows an earlier decision in January to cease offering Theranos testing services at its Palo Alto, Calif. location and now “means Walgreens will no longer offer Theranos services at any of its stores.” Read more | Read the release
Camping World files for IPO via MarketWatch. “The RV retailer didn’t specify which stock exchange it would list its shares on, but said they would trade under the symbol CWH.” Read more
LinkedIn shares surge 48 pct on Microsoft deal to buy at CNBC. Developing story
CEO Rodney McMullen sits down for a rare interview with reporter Steve Watkins via Cincinnati Business Courier. “When I go into a store, I always look at how long does it take for me to get hungry? We’re in the business of feeding people. How do our associates engage with customers? Every day we have the opportunity to help 8.5 million people have a better day. Well, are we doing that?” Read the full Q&A
Wal-Mart wage hike to $15 an hour would cost it $4.95 billion via Reuters. “The research was released last week and has so far not been reported widely by the media. It was conducted at the request of OUR Wal-Mart, a union-backed group.” Read more
Barron’s: Williams-Sonoma Is “Amazon-Proof” by Avi Salzman. “The company garners just over half its revenue online and has built a customer database of nearly 60 million households. It calls the stores “billboards for our brands” that inspire customers to shop online. Internet sales also carry higher margins than in-store sales and are growing faster—8.2% versus 4.7% in the most recent quarter.” Read more
Wal-Mart Says It Will Stop Accepting Visa Cards in Canadian Stores at Dow Jones Business News. “We are disappointed that Walmart chose to put their own financial interests ahead of their own consumers’ choice,” (Visa) said. Visa added that it offers Wal-Mart “one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country.” Read more
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Looking for the lowest prices on Amazon? You may have to dig a little. by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “…In fact, the researchers found that 60 percent of those that use real-time pricing have higher prices than other sellers of the same item on Amazon. Most of the time, the price difference is about $1, but Wilson said researchers found “many” cases where the price difference was in the $20 to $60 range.” Read more
Wal-Mart names China boss Clarke to run Britain’s Asda at Reuters. “Wal-Mart has turned to the chief of its Chinese business Sean Clarke to revive Asda, its British supermarket group which has been the biggest casualty in an industry price war that has hammered its sales for nearly two years.” Read more
When the Lone Ranger and Gracie Allen Pitched Their Sponsors’ Products by Pat Borzi at NY Times. “…The archive, which is closed to the public, houses thousands of artifacts in about 3,000 square feet of temperature- and humidity-controlled space. In honor of the company’s 150th anniversary, General Mills made selected items from the archive available to members of the news media.” Read more
Bike thief lassoed by man on horseback at Walmart store at NBC 5 Medford. “I hear a lady yelling, ‘Stop him he stole my bike!’” Robert Borba tells NBC5 News. The champion bull rider could tell the man was getting away, so he got backup. “Grabbed Old Grey from the trailer and went for him.” Rob Roque was landscaping at the big box store when it happened, snapping the pictures of the cowboy hero in action. “He did it so well, I thought man he must be in a rodeo or something, it was perfect,” Roque says.” See the video / Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Police chief buys groceries for mother after boyfriend abandons kids at Walmart
Amazon Prime’s next target customer is the Target customer
Man suffers stroke in Walmart parking lot, says no one stops to help
Is Amazon the next looming battle for Kroger?
Wal-Mart’s younger board members invested heavily in retailer’s stock and turnaround
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