Former Target Chief Information Officer Lands at SPS by Kavita Kumar at Star-Tribune. “(Beth) Jacob was the chief information officer who stepped down at Target in the aftermath of cyberthieves’ data breach at the retailer. In her new role, she will help SPS Commerce with its strategy as it expands its services around the globe. She starts April 6.” Read more

 

How To Get Paid Faster From Home Depot by Gene Marks at Forbes. “But what if Home Depot comes back to you and says “Look little guy – we value you and we’re happy to pay you earlier. Just find your invoice in our online portal and click the button that says ‘pay earlier.’ It’s as simple as that.” And it really is that simple.” Read more

 

Newly retired Walgreen CEO: Taking cigarettes off the shelf won’t stop smokers by Celia Ampel at South Florida Business Journal. “Bold move by CVS,” (Former CEO Greg Wasson) said Monday, referring to the competing retailer’s decision last year to stop selling cigarettes at its 7,600 stores. “I applaud them for it. I think the bigger question may be … ‘Is there another way a community pharmacy can really help the remaining 18 percent of the population who smokes?'” Read more

 

NY Times: With New Nonstick Coating, the Wait, and Waste, Is Over by Kenneth Chang. “The company announced on Monday that Elmer’s Products Inc. had signed an exclusive licensing agreement for the use of such coatings in glue containers. “We certainly see a chance for a competitive advantage,” said Anthony Spath, associate manager for innovation and business development at Elmer’s.” Read more

 

Fortune: Whistleblower files claim against JC Penney by Jennifer Reingold. “Does Blatchford have a case? It’s hard to say. But he does have in his possession numerous emails from former executives at the company, such as (Ron) Johnson and (Dan) Walker, and says he is planning to subpoena them to testify.” Read more

 

Canadians slow to switch to online purchase-and-delivery retail by Joanne Lee-Young at Vancouver Sun. “Online sales are expected to account for just 4.8 per cent of all retail sales in Canada in 2015, according to new figures from RetailMeNot, which released an international study conducted by the Centre for Retail Research. That is a paltry number compared to similar expectations of 12.7 per cent in the U.S. and 8.4 per cent across Europe.” Read more

 

Amazon sets up logistics company in India to deliver products directly to clients by Harsimran Julka at The Economic Times. “Such a service is already on offer from Flipkart through logistics company eKart, and Snapdeal, which bought a stake in delivery firm Gojavas last week. “We want to change how India shops,” said Samuel Augustine Thomas, director of transportation for Amazon in India.” Read more

 

Senator Schumer: Investigate Lumber Liquidators by Martha C. White at CNBC. Read more

 

Sorry, J. Crew. Female shoppers just aren’t that into you by Sarah Halzack at Washington Post. “We’ve made some mistakes,” (CEO Mickey) Drexler said, including “missteps in our iconic classics.” Drexler said the women’s business has been “challenging” recently and that the fits, silhouettes and color palette of the clothes simply haven’t connected with shoppers the way they had in the past.” Read more

 

Monsanto chief admits ‘hubris’ is to blame for public fears over GM foods at The Independent. “[But] we were so far removed from that supermarket shelf, that was never something we gave a lot of thought to. We never thought about our place in the food chain.” Read more

 

…Monsanto Says It’s ‘Outraged’ by WHO Report Claiming Roundup Weedkiller May Cause Cancer by Jack Kaskey at Bloomberg. “Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley said Monday that the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, reached its conclusions by “cherry picking” data.” Read more

 

Amazon’s video game streaming site got hacked by Arjun Kharpal at CNBC. Read more

 

Family Dollar CEO gives $45 million to build his legacy foundation by Mark Price at Charlotte Observer. “He and his wife plan to look for causes to help, rather than wait for charities to come to them. That will include picking up the phone and personally calling charity leaders with offers of aid, he said.” Read more

 

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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 happening in the world of retail. Contact us at info@shiftmarketinggroup.net.