Walmart gears up for baby-related sales in effort win Millennial dollars by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “Over the past year or so we have added 20 brands to our baby department after listening to what young parents want,” Diana Marshall, vice president of Walmart’s baby division told The City Wire…it’s committed to lead the baby industry in the areas of product safety, national brands at low prices, and baby-clock shopping – a term Wal-Mart has coined to describe the moment parents find it most convenient to shop.” Read more

 

Target Rolling Out Apple Watch To US Stores On October 18th by Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch. “This morning Target announced that it’s rolling out the Apple Watch to all of its US stores on October 18th. This marks the second big US chain after Best Buy to get the device. Apple Watch will roll out to Target.com later in October.” Read more

 

Home Depot settles gender discrimination claim by Kate Gibson at CBS Moneywatch. “(Home Depot) agreed to pay $83,400 to 46 female job applicants who were either not hired or who found themselves with cashier’s positions instead of sales associate positions…Ann-Marie Campbell, president of the retailer’s south division is a woman, and began with Home Depot as a cashier, (Stephen) Holmes said.” Read more

 

Rite Aid September Comp Sales +1.5% (Front-End -0.1%)  Read the release

 

Neiman Marcus cuts 500 jobs in reshuffling by Maria Halkias at Dallas Morning News. “Some Neiman’s employees and associates who asked not to be named said they were surprised about the timing of the layoffs. One said some people were reassigned and asked to take pay cuts. The layoffs targeted both longtime and new employees. The cuts also included people who recently won top in-house awards.” Read more

 

Former Amazon execs: Working at Amazon a cinch compared to startup life by Jacob Demmitt at GeekWire. “The discussion was moderated by David Streitfeld, the New York Times reporter who co-authored the now famous piece, “Inside Amazon, Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace….” Read more

 

The trouble with those 20 percent off coupons from Bed Bath & Beyond by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “In the most recent quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond reported that its revenue rose 1.7 percent, to $3 billion, but profit fell 10 percent, to $202 million, which company executives largely blamed on “an order of magnitude increase” in expenses related to coupons.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart Considers Open Sourcing Hybrid Cloud Tools by Kim S. Nash at WSJ. “Wal-Mart has been using the tools for two years, in part to reconfigure and add applications to faster, larger clouds during holiday shopping and other periods when activity spikes, said Jeremy King, chief technology officer for global e-commerce at Wal-Mart.” Read more (Subscription)

 

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Amazon adds automatic ordering capabilities to washing machines, dog bowls, printers and more by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire. “Some of the 11 new brands include GE’s new Wi-Fi-enabled washing machine, which will automatically reorder detergent; the Gmate SMART Blood Glucose Meter, which will order more testing supplies automatically; Samsung Laser Printers, which will monitor toner usage; Obe products, which will manage a dog’s food and water consumption and buy pet food when supplies run low…” Read more

 

Here’s What Whole Foods Offers to Laid-Off Employees by Hamilton Nolan at Gawker. “Multiple tipsters forwarded us copies of the letter that Whole Foods gave to employees who have been selected for layoffs…” See the letter / Read more

 

EPA: Tractor Supply Co. sold 28,000 imported ATVs and motorcycles that violated Clean Air Act via U.S News & World. “As part of the settlement the company will pay a $775,000 fine and implement new compliance standards.” Read more

 

Supervalu CEO Sam Duncan to retire by Mike Hughlett at Star Tribune. “The company also announced Thursday that Bruce Besanko, Supervalu’s chief financial officer, has been promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer.” Read more

 

Amazon to halt sales of Apple TV and Google Chromecast, due to lack of compatibility with Prime Video by Tricia Duryee at GeekWire.  Read more

 

J.C. Penney Commemorates Suit Collection With Michael Strahan by Aria Hughes at WWD. “Swanky. It’s not the first word someone associates with J.C. Penney, but the event on Wednesday night that showcased its suit collection with Michael Strahan was exactly that…” Read more

 

Walmart Opens New eCommerce Fulfillment Center in Atlanta, GA  Read the release

 

Tipsheet Extra

The CFO of Home Depot shares her best financial advice – and it isn’t about money at all

Walmart Exec Karen Stuckey Elected Board Chair of Network of Executive Women

‘Publix Enemy #1’ Gets Multiple Items for Free with Price Match program

Home Depot’s oldest employee, turning 91, tells CBC the secret to a long life

A&P reveals $12.6 million in insider payments

Mall of America unveils 1M-square-foot luxury retail addition for 2018

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