“Mike Rowe Defends Walmart Ad in Fiery 2,648-Word Facebook Response:  ‘Who Gives a Crap About Your Feelings Towards Walmart?’ “ by Jonathon Seidl at The Blaze.  “Honestly Kevin, who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?” Rowe asked one man who questioned Rowe’s decision to partner with Walmart, often a major target of those who like to demonize business…“Isn’t this the kind of initiative we can all get behind?” he concluded.”  Read more quotes/comments

 

“Breaking:  CVS Q4 Revenue Up 4.6%, Pharmacy Same-Store Sales Up 4%”  Read the release

 

“The World’s Most Innovative Companies 2014 (Amazon #18…)” by Robert Safian at Fast Company.  “Our staff has spent more than six months gathering and analyzing data. To generate our list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies–and the accompanying top 10 companies in various sectors–we assessed thousands of enterprises. From all that work, I’ve pulled out 12 rising trends. Risk of failure and collapse are always with us. But the culture of innovation across the globe is more robust than ever.” See the Top 50 list

 

“Group Runs Full-Page Ads in Denver & Boulder Pressuring  Trader Joe’s to ‘Get your meat off antibiotics’ “ by Steve Raabe at Denver Post.  “The consumer group said it is asking all retailers to change but is targeting Trader Joe’s because the grocer’s emphasis on private-label products “means it has more control over its suppliers and can use that leverage to increase supply and keep prices competitive.” Read more

 

“Walmart’s eCommerce CEO:  ‘We’re sick’ of talking about Big Data” by Peter Krasilovsky at Local Onliner.  “Six-to-nine months ago, we all sat down and said ‘we’re sick’ of talking” about Big Data. We need to turn Big Data from a noun to a verb, and make it actionable,” said Ashe. “We need it to help us help customers to find one more item; for merchants to sell one more item; to help our fulfillment centers do their job,” Ashe added. “That’s when data becomes actionable.”  Read more

 

“Home Depot opens the first of three e-commerce fulfillment centers, will stock about 100,000 products” by Thad Rueter at Internet Retailer.  “The Home Depot Inc. has opened the first of three expected e-commerce warehouses, this one in Locust Grove, GA, a suburb of Atlanta…The chain also plans to open warehouses in California and Ohio over the next two years.”  Read more

 

“Dick’s Sporting Goods Same-Store Sales Jump 7% in Q4” by Matt Egan at Fox Business.  “We enter 2014 with a robust and growing omni-channel network and exciting merchandising opportunities, which we believe will translate into double-digit earnings growth,” Stack said.”  Read more

 

“Target breach could mean ‘no-growth’ year for clinics” by Katharine Grayson at Minn./St. Paul Bus. Journal.  “Target is experiencing a major distraction with its credit card security breach,” Tom Charland, CEO of Shoreview-based Merchant Medicine, wrote in a report released Friday. “Since retail clinics require significant capital investment and negative cash flow for a time, we may see a no-growth scenario for Target Clinic in 2014.”  Read more

 

“Walmart Will Hold Annual Shareholders Meeting June 6”  “Wal-Mart Stores today announced that the company’s 2014 Annual Shareholders Meeting will be held on Fri., June 6, 2014, at 7 a.m. CDT in Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.”  Read the release

 

“Homeless Camp Near Costco store Gets the Boot” by Sandy Mazza at Daily Breeze.  “The city decided to clear the camps after complaints from Costco management and concerns with overgrown trees and bushes…“It smells horrible,” Cognac said. “You can’t amass 10 dump trucks worth of stuff in the parking lot of Costco. They were given the option of taking what they wanted. If they had just taken out their trash and put it in a receptacle, it wouldn’t have been a problem.”  Read more

 

“Sears Launches ‘In-Vehicle’ Pickup, Order Ready in 5 Minutes or Less”  “To take advantage of the new convenience, Shop Your Way members shop online, completing their purchase via computer or tablet. At check-out, they choose In-Vehicle Pickup and input details of the vehicle they’ll arrive in…In five minutes or less an associate will bring the purchase to the car and verify the purchase using the payment method used online.”  Read the release

 

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