Walmart is retesting Scan & Go in select stores by Kim Souza at The City Wire. “We can’t say how many stores are testing it this time, but it is underway in Rogers and it’s part of Wal-Mart’s efforts to ensure its stores are fast, clean and friendly,” said John Forrest Ales, corporate spokesman for Wal-Mart…The City Wire tested this new service in the Rogers store on Monday (Oct. 5)…” Read more

 

Amazon Is Absolutely Eviscerating Other Retailers Online, New Survey Shows by Jason Del Rey at Recode. “In a survey of 2,000 online shoppers in the U.S., 44 percent of respondents said they go directly to Amazon when looking to buy or research a product online…For comparison’s sake, a 2012 Forrester Research study found that 30 percent of U.S. online shoppers started on Amazon at the time.” Read more

 

Meijer picks new president after predecessor leaves for Academy Sports by Alison Bauter at Milwaukee Business Journal. “Rick Keyes, 46, has been with (Meijer) for 26 years, starting as a pharmacist in a Columbus, Ohio, Meijer store. Co-chairman and co-CEO Hank Meijer said in a press release Keyes has “grown up with Meijer.” Read more

 

Fortune: 100 Best Workplaces for Women (Build-A-Bear #10, Wegmans #54) See the top 100 list

 

South Carolina: Lowe’s disaster recovery in high gear by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Business Journal. “Recovery teams from Georgia, North Carolina and other surrounding states are on the ground in South Carolina now to help unload trucks and staff the stores. Those members will help out in stores in South Carolina that are running with only skeleton crews.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart de Mexico Sales Gain Pace in Third Quarter by Anthony Harrup at Dow Jones Business News. “September sales rose 12.5% from the year-earlier month to 37.3 billion Mexican pesos ($2.23 billion), the company said Monday.” Read more

 

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eBay Restructures Fees and Increases Seller Limits by Ina Steiner at ECommerce Bytes. Read more

 

Fuel Prices Fall, but FedEx and UPS Boost Surcharges by Laura Stevens at WSJ. “FedEx Corp. is raising its fuel surcharge for the second time this year, jolting e-commerce companies…The increase, which takes effect Nov. 2, would add about $170 to the bill for shipping 100 shoeboxes overnight from New York to Atlanta, up from the $67 added by the current surcharge.” Read more (Subscription)

 

Cybersecurity and IT expert becomes 12th director for Home Depot at Atlanta Business Chronicle. “(Linda) Gooden retired in 2013 from Lockheed Martin Corp. as executive vice president of Information Systems & Global Solutions. She has an extensive background in information technology, cybersecurity, operations and finance.” Read more

 

Q&A with Amazon’s India country manager by Jay Greene at Seattle Times. “Q: My understanding of the origin of the cowboys-in-India metaphor is that you presented a review for the business and Jeff Bezos said, “You’re going to fail. I don’t need computer scientists. I want cowboys.” Agarwal: It’s more of an internal story but, yeah, Jeff is one of those visionary leaders who is very good at situational leadership.” Read the Q&A

 

Pinterest Makes Buy Buttons Available to Thousands More Merchants by Jason Del Rey at Recode. Read more

 

Meijer targeting ‘millennial moms’ with new private-label products by Shandra Martinez at M Live. “(Meijer) is merging its Meijer Naturals and Meijer Organics brands intoTrue Goodness by Meijer. The two brands apparently were a headscratcher for shoppers who couldn’t decipher which was the healthier choice.” Read more

 

Costco Contractor To Pay $4.25M To Settle Wage Suit by Matthew Bultman at Law 360. Read more (Subscription)

 

Reese Witherspoon’s clothing startup raises $10 million in funding by Matt Linder at Internet Retailer. “The Southern-inspired clothing and accessories brand, which sells online-only right now, plans to use the money to open its first physical store in Nashville as well as to expand its product offerings.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

A Bullseye View: Check Out What’s Testing at the Minnetonka SuperTarget

Walmart employees in hot water over video of suspected shoplifter

Costco signs 151,104-square-foot lease at Mall of the Americas (Miami)

Bloomberg Markets Top 50 Most Influential (Bezos #15)

General Mills recalls 1.8 million Cheerios boxes on allergy fears

Canada: Walmart to test 7-Eleven stores for 24/7 package pickup

How Coca-Cola has tricked everyone into drinking so much of it

Former Walmart exec to speak at chamber annual meeting

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