Tipsheet: Wmart Mexico Looted | Visa/Wmart Feud Ends | Mac Naughton New F.Dol Pres | JCP -0.8%
Walmart and Visa put an end to their public Canadian feud by Barbara Shecter at Financial Post. “Carla Hindman, a spokesperson for Visa, confirmed that Visa cards will be accepted “as a form of payment in all Walmart stores across Canada” as of Friday.” Read more
Looters Storm Mexico Wal-Mart, Chedraui Stores on Gas Hike by Doug Alexander at Bloomberg. “Looters sacked at least 250 stores across seven Mexican states, reflecting growing unrest over a 20 percent hike in gasoline prices.” Read more | Looting pics via Daily Mail
Amazon’s funky Treasure Truck makes trek from Seattle to bring deals to Vegas by John Cook at GeekWire. “…appeared at CES today in the Central Plaza right in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It was prime placement for the mobile retail unit, and attendees seemed to be gobbling up the merchandise from the oddly-designed vehicle.” Read more
JCPenney Holiday Comp Sales -0.8% “The first three weeks of November proved to be challenging in stores…However, the business improved and overall comp sales for the six-week period from Thanksgiving week through the end of December were positive. During the holiday season we saw strength in appliances, outerwear, boots, toys, Sephora and fine jewelry. However, weakness in women’s apparel continued to impact our performance.” Press release
Ex-Walmart Exec Named President at Family Dollar by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “Family Dollar, announced Thursday that Gary Philbin has been promoted to enterprise president of Dollar Tree, and that veteran retail executive Duncan Mac Naughton will take his place as president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar.” Read more | Press release
BEST BUY EARNINGS WIPED OUT? – Retailers Risk Multibillion-Dollar Earnings Hit Under GOP Tax Plan by Susan Pulliam, Sarah Nassauer & Richard Rubin at Wall Street Journal. “Among the companies whose earnings are calculated to take a hit under the so-called border-adjusted tax proposal are Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale, Genuine Parts and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The earnings hit to six big retailers could total nearly $13 billion, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Scot Ciccarelli, with Best Buy Co.’s annual earnings wiped out.” Read more (subscription)
Gap Stock Jumps 10% On Surprisingly Good December Results by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “…companywide comparable sales rose 4% in December…The big improvement was led by the performance of Old Navy where comparable sales rose 12%.” Read more | Press release
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Barnes & Noble holiday sales sink as coloring-book fad fades at Bloomberg via Denver Post. “Same-store sales sank 9.1 percent for the nine-week holiday period.” Read more
Walgreens Boots CEO: No Plan B for Rite Aid Merger by Sharon Terlep & Anne Steele at Wall Street Journal. “We don’t want even to think the deal could not be approved after so many months, after we have given so much information and have had a good relationship with the people of the FTC,” Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina said during a call with analysts.” Read more (subscription) | Walgreens Q1 ’17 earnings call transcript
Postal Service to end shipping services in 500 Staples stores by Donna Goodison at Boston Herald. “The USPS decision follows a three-year protest and boycott campaign by the American Postal Workers Union, which views the “Approved Shipper Program” deal as a privatization of the USPS.” Read more
Fred’s Pharmacy December Comp Sales -3.4% Press release
Walmart has acquired a Zappos competitor to boost Jet.com’s shoe business by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Walmart has purchased the online footwear retailer ShoeBuy for approximately $70 million.” Read more
The Buckle December Comp Sales -15.5% Press release
Amazon Alexa VP throws subtle shade at Google Home exec over Echo’s lead by Monical Nickelsburg at GeekWire. “Before Chandra finished, George jumped in with, “In your hotel room in Vegas.” It was such a subtle dig, imperceptible unless you knew the Wynn hotel here in Las Vegas recently announced it would equip each of its 4,748 hotel rooms with Amazon Echo devices. Chandra took the comment in stride. “Exactly,” he said, chuckling.” Read more
Heavy Metals, Lead Found in Popular Protein Bars at Fox Business. “PowerBar 20g, Vega Sport, Simply Protein, and Pure all exceeded California Prop 65’s limit of 0.5 mg of daily lead intake in one serving.” Read more
Tipsheet Extra Stories
Transgender Target voyeur sentenced
Megadeth co-founder now selling coffee in Minnesota town
Retro trend sweeping tech industry as CES turns 50
Walmart shopper injured while chasing ‘unsafe’ shopping cart sues for $500K
‘Star Wars’ Braintrust Sets Meeting to Plot Leia’s Life After Carrie Fisher’s Death
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