NY Times: Wall Street Sours on Whole Foods Market by Stephanie Strom. “Their single biggest problem is their price image,” said Meredith Adler, who follows the company for Barclays Capital…”The Whole Foods Market brand may never shake that label,” Mr. Mackey said in a wide-ranging interview during a recent trip to New York.” Read more

 

Dollar Tree sells 330 Family Dollar stores to newbie Dollar Express by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. “The divested stores will operated under the Dollar Express banner. Sycamore Partners has offered few details about the new concept.” Read more

 

Kroger Expands “Scan, Bag, Go” Pilot by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Kroger is expanding testing of its “Scan, Bag, Go” pilot in Greater Cincinnati to 15 local stores…the program gives interested shoppers personal scanners as they shop.” Read more

 

Today: Amazon opens first-ever physical bookstore by Jeanine Stewart at Puget Sound Business Journal. “These aren’t metaphorical doors: these real, wooden doors are the entrance to our new store in Seattle’s University Village,” the company said.” Read more  Read Amazon’s letter

 

…Inside Amazon’s first bookstore by Taylor Soper at GeekWire.  See the in-store pics / Read more

 

Whole Foods taps Target Exec to lead non-perishable purchasing at Supermarket News. “(Don) Clark is responsible for all functions of Whole Foods Market’s non-perishable business, including growth through strong supplier relationships, inventory and category management initiatives and the management and expansion of the grocer’s exclusive brands program.” Read the release

 

Nielsen: Majority of Millennials shop Wal-Mart over all other retailers at The City Wire. “75.5% of Millennial consumers shopped at Wal-Mart in the last three-month period. Target garnered 55.6% of the demographic’s shopping trips and Amazon registered 46.8% of their retail business. The rest of the “Top 10 Retailer” list includes: Dollar Tree 38.6%; Kohl’s 30.9%; Dollar General 30.2%; JCPenney 26.4%; Family Dollar 25.6%; Best Buy 25.5%; and Macy’s 22.9%.” Read more

 

…Target closes gap to 2% with upscale millennials via Nielsen See the upscale millennial ranking

 

When It Comes to Coupons, Shoppers Prefer Paper by Molly Blake at NBC News. “Surprisingly even 18- to 24-year-olds, arguably the most mobile and tech savvy generation ever, use paper coupons more than twice as much as any other method.” Read more

 

Macy’s Starts Off Holiday Effort With Wish Fulfillment by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “This time around, the department store chain has produced a three-minute film online featuring a magic pen that grants wishes — like making it snow — and encourages children to believe in the spirit of the season.” See the video / Read more

 

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Paul Ryan Keeps his Distance from Lobbyists but Maintains Friendship with Home Depot’s Kent Knutson by Anna Palmer at Politico. Read more

 

Google X Drones Could Deliver You Something as Soon as 2017 by Mark Bergen at Recode. Read more

 

HEB to offer its 55,000 employees stock at Austin Business Journal. “Beginning Jan. 1, eligible employees will receive a portion of stock worth 3 percent of their salary, plus $100 in stock value for each year they have earned by the end of 2015.” Read more

 

With New CMO, eBay Extends Holiday Season to Become Browsing Destination by Adrianne Pasquarelli at Ad Age. “On Nov. 2, the San Jose, Calif.-based company unveils its Wish Bigger campaign, which will include a single “holiday hub” website address for all seasonal shopping, and a “heatmap” that tracks hot items in different regions.” Read more

 

Amazon Revamps Parental Leave Policy by Nitish Kulkarni at TechCrunch. “…new policy includes 20 weeks of paid parental leave for birth mothers and a novel leave-sharing system that allows employees to share up to 6 weeks of paid leave with a partner.” Read more

 

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