Petco unveils multimillion-dollar headquarters by Phillip Molnar at San Diego Union-Tribune. “(Petco unveiled) its new multimillion dollar corporate headquarters in Rancho Bernardo complete with Silicon Valley-level amenities, such as letting employees take cats and dogs to work, extravagant aquariums, employee lounges, a gym, a walking path, dog parks and a cafeteria so nice they call it a “cafe.” Read more

 

…Video of Petco’s new headquarters via CBS 8 See the video

 

Target sticks to its Halloween assortment via CBS News. “We have not made any changes to our store Halloween assortment related to this product,” Molly Snyder said. “At Target, our intent is never to offend any of our guests, and we appreciate their feedback. We have shared this feedback with the merchants for them to consider as they plan for future merchandise assortment.” Read more

 

Costco: Craig Jelinek’s ‘Ketchup’ Moment with Amex CEO by Devin Leonard & Elizabeth Dexheimer at Bloomberg. “…the Costco guys were tickled by how meticulously Amex choreographed his movements. “Ken Chenault would have an advance team come to our office before he visited,” says Paul Latham, Costco’s vice president for membership and marketing…according to people who were briefed by Chenault about the call, and told him that as far as he was concerned, Amex was another vendor, just like the one that sold Costco ketchup. “If I can get cheaper ketchup somewhere else, I will,” (Jelinek) said. Read more

 

Amazon releases ‘hot toy’ list, as analysts predict it will destroy Walmart this holiday season by Molly Brown at GeekWire. “(Fierce Retail) found that “Best Buy, Jet, Target and Walmart all significantly lagged behind Amazon in product assortments, although Walmart had the closest match with 32.9 percent product overlap with Amazon.” Read more

 

Wall Street Journal CEO Council Includes CEOs from CVS and Walgreens  See the list of attendees

 

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Amazon Bets Mexico Street-Market Bargain Hunters Will Go Digital by Patrica Laya at Bloomberg. “I’ve never seen so much interest as now, not just from Amazon and consumers, but from other traditional retailers as well, to invest and come up with online offers,” Juan Carlos Garcia, who heads Amazon Mexico, said in a phone interview.” Read more

 

Walgreens mentioned in WSJ feature on Theranos by John Carreyrou. “Carmen Washington, a nurse who worked at a clinic owned by Walgreens in Phoenix, says she began to question Theranos’s accuracy…She says she raised her concerns with the drugstore operator and Theranos’s lab director, asking for data to show that the company’s finger-prick testing procedures produced results as accurate as blood drawn from a vein. “They were never able to produce them,” she says.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Popcorn companies blamed for bee deaths by Tim Devaney at The Hill. “The Center for Food Safety is calling on two of the largest popcorn manufacturers, Pop Secret and Pop Weaver, to phase out the use of corn seeds that are grown with neonicotinoid insecticides, which they say are harmful to bees.” Read more

 

Can Michael Jordan Sell Sneakers to Women? Nike Hopes He Can by Matthew Townsend & Scott Soshnick at Bloomberg. “There will also be gear for weekend warriors and football fans. Nike’s vision for Michael Jordan’s flagship line is to now extend to categories beyond basketball — all with the goal of doubling the brand’s sales to $4.5 billion by 2020.” Read more

 

Amazon poised to win big as India launches annual festive shopping spree by Nivedita Bhattacharjee at Reuters via Yahoo. “According to website analytics firm Alexa, Amazon’s India website was now ranked the 6th most visited website locally and the 83rd most visited site globally as of Oct. 13, after rising 18 positions over the past three months.” Read more

 

Macy’s to sell snowflake-print suits by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer via USA Today. “The retailer is courting younger men with the slim-cut suit label that originated in Holland. At $99.99 for a jacket, pants and matching tie, Macy’s says the line is an attempt to “bridge the gap between value, quality and style.” See the pics / Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

X-Rated Audio Shocks Customers At San Jose Target Store

Home Depot focuses on color with a new app

Wal-Mart Cost-Cutting Options Seen Including Sam’s Club Spinoff

Christie’s auctioning rare Apple-1 computer, hasn’t been turned on in a decade

Nevada Bans DraftKings, FanDuel as Unlicensed Gambling

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet is created early every weekday morning and read by retail merchants and executives worldwide. We love data, earnings reports, executive presentations and stories off the beaten path that get at what’s really happening in the world of retail. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net