Today’s Tipsheet: Kroger Up 3.3% | Rona Sells Division | H.Depot’s “Hot” Tote Bag

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“Kroger raises outlook on stronger 1Q profit” at USA Today.  “The Cincinnati-based company, which also owns Ralphs, Fry’s and Food 4 Less, said sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.3% during the period, excluding fuel.”  Read more:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/20/kroger-raises-outlook/2441337/

 

“Kroger execs talk double coupon impact on earnings call” by Steve Watkins at Cincy Business Courier.  ““We invested the monies that were saved from double coupons into lower everyday pricing,” President and COO Rodney McMullen said on the call. “So if you look in total, it actually had no effect on gross margin. What we found was there weren’t very many customers actually engaged with double coupons”  Read more:  https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/06/20/kroger-execs-talk-double-coupon-impact.html

 

“Rona to sell commercial specialty division in $215 million deal” at Reuters.  “Home improvement and hardware store chain Rona Inc (RON.TO) has struck a deal to sell its plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning business to Emco Corp and expects net proceeds of C$215 million, Rona said on Thursday.”  Read more:  https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-rona-asset-emco-idUSBRE95J0QY20130620

 

“Wal-Mart Challenges Dollar Stores” by Heide Malhotra at Epoch Times.  “With dollar stores and Wal-Mart opening more and more neighborhood stores, possibly saturating America in the near future with these types of stores, this is laying the groundwork for an increasingly competitive environment.  A June 13 Motley Fool article suggests that in the short term, dollar store stocks are still a decent buy, with Goldman Sachs assigning a “buy” rating to Dollar Tree. However, in the long run, the stores may need to slash prices further, which will eat into profit margins.”  Read more:  https://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/119355-wal-mart-challenges-dollar-stores/

 

“Twitter Said To Be Preparing Location-Based Ads For Clicks And Bricks” by Darrell Etherington at Techcrunch.  “Twitter is reportedly working on geolocated promoted tweets to help retailers target specifically consumers within spitting distance of their stores, according to AdAge. The location-based ads might be ready to launch as soon as later this year, the report claims, and would be the perfect means of delivery for spot deals designed to drive foot traffic to brick-and-mortar retailers and other businesses to nearby shoppers.”  Read more:  https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/21/twitter-said-to-be-preparing-location-based-ads-for-clicks-and-bricks/

 

“Optimists Not Wrong This Time on Rite Aid” at WSJ.  “The rally is “rite” on schedule.  Shares of Rite Aid Corp. are up sharply in 2013, as investors bet that the pharmacy chain can emerge from its multiyear profit slump. This year’s 130% gain is faster than those of nearly 60% in the first half of both 2011 and 2012.”  Read more:  https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578555713337554482.html

 

“3D Printing Arbitrage Is The New Hotness” by John Biggs at Techcrunch.  “As the 3D printing space heats up and home printers gain ground, there’s a new breed of startup that aims to grab the transactional costs associated with connecting printers and people. The first one I saw (and used), MakeXYZ.com, launched last February. Now the space is about to be inundated with competitors.”  Read more:  https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/21/3d-printing-arbitrage-is-the-new-hotness/

 

“Home Depot tote bags considered vogue?” by Heather Tooley at Examiner.  “Home Depot tote bags are getting some attention for being the latest “hipster” bag. On June 18, NYbag cites Paper Magazine as stating the Home Depot tote bag is a “hot” accessory. The sudden trend was born in Brooklyn after a few fashionable women showed up at an elite event donning Home Depot accessories.”  Read more:  https://www.examiner.com/article/home-depot-tote-bags-considered-vogue

 

“NRF Welcomes FTC Investigation of Patent Litigation Abuse”  ““Patent trolls are a drain on the economy,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said. “It’s time for Washington to put an end to this abuse of our nation’s laws. Seeing this issue receive top-level attention from the FTC is a significant development.”  Read more:  https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20130620006186&div=-1245645151

 

Thanks for reading…have a great weekend.

 

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