Costco December Comp +1% / +5% “Costco reported net sales of $12.45 billion for the month of December, the five weeks endedJanuary 3, 2016, an increase of three percent from $12.13 billion during the similar period last year.” Read the release

 

Marks & Spencer CEO Bolland Out After Holiday Season Disaster by Geoffrey Smith at Fortune. “…same-store sales had fallen 5.8% in the crucial third quarter of its fiscal year…Part of the reason for the poor performance was M&S’s refusal to join a stampede of discounting ahead of the festive season…” Read more

 

Greeters at Texas Wal-Marts have gone from giving stickers to checking gun licenses by Lauren Etter & Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg via Dallas Morning News. “Cashiers or door greeters who see someone with a gun are to alert the highest- ranking employee, who is to approach the customer and ask to see the paperwork.” Read more

 

Rick Harrison of TV’s ‘Pawn Stars’ goes big with new Pawn Plaza in Las Vegas by Jay Jones at LA Times. “Pawn Plaza, Harrison’s new strip mall, recently opened along Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. The store sometimes draws thousands of visitors a day.” Read more

 

MACY’S TO CUT 5,000 JOBS – Closing 40 stores – sales dip 5.2% by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Macy’s said it will record a $200 million charge for its fourth quarter in connection with the restructuring. The company also continues to explore its options for its mall-based stores and flagship real estate in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis.” Read more | Read the release

 

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Amazon to Sell Its Own Brand of Chips Next to Wipes, USB Cables by Jack Clark at Bloomberg. Read more

 

TARGET’S JEFF JONES APPEARS ON CES PANEL – An audience member asked why, after all these years, marketers still send him so much paper he doesn’t want. Jeff Jones, chief marketing officer of Target, responded that for all the hoopla over digital marketing—and he’s a fan of it—old-fashioned techniques like coupons, Sunday inserts, and catalogs still deliver great value to marketers. Consumers, it turns out, like them. Via Adam Lashinsky at Forbes

 

Gilt Groupe to Announce Sale to Saks Fifth Avenue Owner as Soon as Thursday Morning by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “Gilt Groupe is finalizing a deal to sell to Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent company for $250 million…The buyer, Hudson’s Bay Company…” Read more

 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Leadership to Participate at 34th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Read the release

 

RETIRED COSTCO EXEC RECOGNIZED – Governor Appoints Retired Costco Exec to Univ. of Washington Board of Regents by Ashley Stewart at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Gov. Jay Inslee appointed retired Costco executive Joel Benoliel and re-appointed Microsoft executive Joanne Harrell on Tuesday to serve six-year terms on the University of Washington Board of Regents.” Read more

 

40% of millennials have used a pawnshop or payday lender by Jillian Berman at MarketWatch. Read more

 

One Kings Lane, Once Valued at $900 Million, is Likely to Sell for Fraction of That by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “One Kings Lane, the online seller of furniture and home decor that has struggled for the better part of the last two years, has been running a process to sell the company for several months, four sources told Re/code.” Read more

 

Lowe’s Holoroom Helps Customers Visualize the Room of Their Dreams with Virtual Reality Read the release

 

Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts Remains Apple’s Top-Paid Executive, Bringing in $25.8 Million in 2015 by Dawn Chmielewski at Recode. Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

Fortune: 100 Companies That Are Hiring Like Crazy Right Now (Sears #10, Rite Aid #28)

Wal-Mart worker loses arm in Pa. warehouse mishap

CNBC: For Nordstrom, best in class won’t cut it: Analyst

Intel launches x-ray-like glasses that allow wearers to ‘see inside’ objects

Chicago Tribune: Who will win America’s worst employer contest? 

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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