Walmart bribery probe by feds finds no major misconduct in Mexico by Phil Wahba at Fortune. “The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday night that the U.S. Department of Justice, conducting a probe into the matter under the auspices of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, has not found a major smoking gun. The investigation will likely to result in a much smaller case than the government initially expected, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the probe.” Read more

 

WSJ: Wal-Mart Bribery Probe Finds Few Signs of Major Misconduct in Mexico by Aruna Viswanatha & Devlin Barrett. “The three-year investigation isn’t over, but most of the work has been completed, and it is possible the case could be resolved with a fine and no criminal charges leveled against individual Wal-Mart executives, these people said.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Target enlists entrepreneurs to help it think outside the Big Box by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. “None had the typical résumé of a Target executive who climbed up through its ranks. But Target sold all three of them on joining its first entrepreneur-in-residence program, which launched in March. “Literally, I’ve worked for myself for the last 20 years,” said (David) Law, who also founded Speck Products. “So this is the first time I’ve had a boss.” Read more

 

Home Depot: How Ann-Marie Campbell Motivates Her Team  See the video via Fortune

 

Wal-Mart, others speed up deliveries to shoppers at AP via Chicago Tribune. “By mid-November, this place will be humming,” said Justen Traweek, Wal-Mart’s vice president of e-commerce operations and fulfillment.” Read more

 

Is Kroger eyeing another takeover? by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati Enquirer. “Privately-operated Brookshire supermarkets is reportedly putting itself up for sale and at least one analyst thinks Kroger might be a logical buyer. Based in Tyler, Texas, Brookshire operates more than 150 stores in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, generating about $2 billion in annual sales.” Read more

 

Ad Age: Target Gets Into Halloween Spirit With Virtual Reality, Mobile Site by Felicia Greiff. “The virtual reality series, “The House on Hallow Hill,” was created in-house and will be available on YouTube. It includes six videos, starting with an introductory scene to set the tone. In the introduction, a viewer will see a haunted house (a mansion in Minneapolis…). Read more

 

Analysis: A Heavyweight Match Between Dick’s Sporting Goods And Big 5 Sporting Goods by Mark Kusnir at Seeking Alpha. Read more

 

Move Over Apple: Companies, from Walgreens to Walmart, Race to Patent Tech Inventions by Kim S. Nash at WSJ. Read more (Subscription)

 

NY Times: Walmart Chief Defends Investments in Labor, Stores and the Web by Julie Creswell & Hiroko Tabuchi. Read more

 

After undercover sting, Amazon files suit against 1,000 Fiverr users over fake product reviews by Jacob Demmitt at GeekWire. Read more

 

Star Wars Tickets to Go on Sale Two Months Early, Trailer Debuts Tonight by Christopher Palmeri & James Nash at Bloomberg. “Tickets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” go on sale Monday, two months before the movie hits U.S. theaters. Sales will start after a new trailer for the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” saga airs during the “Monday Night Football”. Read more

 

Seattle, NYC and Philly Customers Balk at $299 ‘Prime Fresh’ Amazon Grocery Fee by Dawn Chmielewski at Recode. Read more

 

Remember this teen entrepreneur? He’s raising eyebrows at Walmart at Fox 29. “The Novel Ties made a profit after the first two months in business.The next big step for Shrayus’ company comes sometime this fall when he has the opportunity to open a pop up shop in a local Sam’s Club store.” See the video

 

Tipsheet Extra

Sneak Peek Inside Target’s Sleek, Loft-Like NYC Office

Kroger removes caramel apples from all stores

Costco to add fire to Australia’s supermarket wars, report predicts

Q&A: Madrona’s Tom Alberg on bankrolling a young Jeff Bezos

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