Toys ‘R’ Us CEO banking big on ‘Star Wars’ success by Josh Kosman at NY Post. “If (CEO David) Brandon can turn around the financial fortunes of the deep-in-debt toy chain, hit certain financial benchmarks and put it in position for an IPO…he can pocket a whopping $100 million over his five-year contract, sources familiar with the executive’s deal told The Post.” Read more

 

Bezos Takes Hands-On Role at Washington Post by Lukas I. Alpert & Jack Marshall at WSJ. “When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos received an email from a reader complaining about the time it took for the mobile app to load, he immediately fired off a note to the newspaper’s chief information officer. The message was simple: fix it…” Read more (subscription)

 

Philly: Target finds site for 3rd Center City store by Natalie Kostelni at Philadelphia Business Journal. “A Target spokeswoman declined to disclose additional information about the third store at this time but did say “Philadelphia is a priority market for the company.” Read more

 

Costco’s Australian profits surge as sales exceed $1 billion by Sue Mitchell at The Sydney Morning Herald. “In 2016 Costco plans to open its third Sydney store, at Marsden Park, its second in Brisbane and its fourth in Melbourne, at Epping.” Read more

 

Wegmans is ranked No. 1 in Boston-area supermarket survey by Meagan McGinnes at Boston.com. “Surveyed consumers ranked Wegmans number one for quality—and 93 percent of respondents rated it “superior” overall, the Globe reported.” Read more

 

Shipping mania: rushing to deliver millions of holiday gifts by Scott Mayerowitz at AP. “The humming is constant; a low-pitched drone from 155 miles of conveyer belts racing packages in every direction. Boxes shift from one belt to another and bump into a metal wall. Thud. Thud. Thud. In the background, trucks beep and jet engines roar. Forget jingling bells and ho-ho-hos, these are now the sounds of the holidays…” Read more

 

Walmart to Stay Open Until 8pm on Christmas Eve by Chris Matthews at Fortune. “In a press release, Walmart stressed the consumer demand for Star Wars related merchandise.” Read more

 

Bass Pro Shops’ Memphis Pyramid hits 2 million visitors mark by Doug Owen at KY3. Read more

 

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Staff at Amazon’s German warehouses are going on strike in the run up to Christmas by Emma Thomasson at Reuters. “But an Amazon spokeswoman said only a small minority of staff were on strike. “There is absolutely no impact on our customer delivery promise. The vast majority of our employees are working,” she said.” Read more

 

Walmart gives $1.4 billion to charity in 2015  Read the release via Yahoo

 

Target in initial development of its own mobile wallet at Reuters. “However, Target has not tested the wallet in its stores so far, said the third source, who was not authorized to disclose the details.” Read more

 

FTC Rejects Staples – Office Depot Deal “The FTC rejected the company’s offer without making a counteroffer. The company is still willing to continue negotiations with the FTC to reach a settlement that addresses FTC concerns.” Read the release

 

Cramer: Amazon should run the stock market at CNBC. “Cramer envisioned a system where an investor could buy a put option on oil, using Amazon Prime of course, for commission free trading and a pop up would appear that said “If you dislike oil here, you might want to buy a put option on the S&P 500.” Read more / See the video

 

Wayfair.com Mobile App Surpasses 2 Million Downloads Read the release

 

Wal-Mart driver in Tracy Morgan crash to seek dismissal: lawyer by Frank McGurty at Reuters. “Kevin Roper’s rights were violated, his attorney David Glassman said, because a federal court refused to allow him to ask for a stay in a civil suit that the “Saturday Night Live” entertainer brought against Wal-Mart Stores Inc.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra Stories

JCP names new CIO with Target background

Rick Ross’ ‘Black Market’ Allegedly Pulled From Walmart Over Donald Trump Lyric

Tired of renting, Chanel pays a record price for its Rodeo Drive location

USA Today: Internet of Things puts energy grid to test

Politico: How America’s Top Junk-Food City Went on a Diet (and Fattened Its Economy)

Mall of America ‘prepared to use all remedies’ against Black Lives Matter protesters

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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