“Two Arrested at Mexico-U.S. Border in Connection with Target Hack; Canadian Customers Warned” by Christopher Sherman at AP via Star-Tribune.  “Account information stolen during the Target security breach is now being divided up and sold off regionally, a South Texas police chief said Monday after the arrest of two Mexican citizens who authorities say arrived at the border with 96 fraudulent credit cards…Target Corp. on Monday warned some Canadian customers that their personal data may have been compromised when hackers stole credit- and debit-card information from the discount chain’s U.S. operations last year.”  Read more

 

“Kroger Kills Furniture Department Test in VA – Switches to Apparel” by Randy Hallman at Richmond Times-Dispatch.  “The Stonebridge (VA) Kroger Marketplace store will open an apparel department next month, replacing the furniture and home décor department that has been part of the grocery megastore since it opened in December 2012…“We watched closely how customers responded,” said Carl York, spokesman for the Kroger Co.’s Mid-Atlantic division, based in Roanoke. “We really liked what we saw with the apparel department in Virginia Beach.”  Read more

 

“Target store victim receives Costco credit card bearing stranger’s photo” by Doug Miller at KHOU 11 Texas.  “But her sadly common story took a curious twist over the weekend when she received a credit card bearing a unique piece of evidence: a photograph of a strange woman on the back of a Costco membership card.  “I’m looking at the card,” she remembered, her voice cracking with laughter. “And I turned it over and there’s her picture.”  Read more / See the video

 

“Fortune’s 2014 Best Companies to Work for All Stars (Wegmans #2, Whole Foods #4…)”  “Only 13 companies have reappeared on Fortune’s Best Companies list every year since it began in 1998. By consistently investing in employees’ health and well-being to create stellar workplaces, these employers have become perennial Hall of Famers. Meet Fortune’s 100 Best Companies All Stars.”  See the Top 13 List

 

“Lack Of Quality Space Is Becoming A Big Problem For Brick-And-Mortar Retailers” by Matthew Boesler at Business Insider.  “Retailer demand is up and has been for a number of years in some of the strongest performing local economies in the U.S. That demand is heavy for quality, Class A space. Yet, we have now reached a point where little of that type of space remains available in even the slowest recovering marketplaces.”  Read more

 

“Good Walmart PR:  Tomato pickers cite Walmart in wage battle with Publix” by Evan Axelbank at Fox 13 Tampa Bay.  “The Coalition of Immokalee workers is demanding that Publix join other chain food-sellers – like Burger King and Subway – in the fair food program.  It pays pickers another penny per pound picked.  Just this week, Walmart signed on, saying it would improve the lives of workers. Workers say the pressure’s now on Publix.”  Read more / See the video

 

“Why Wal-Mart Just Gave a Raise to Tomato Pickers” by Kyle Stock at Businessweek.  “A penny per pound of produce isn’t much of a commitment, even given the huge pile of tomatoes that Walmart sells. The social capital it will harvest from the announcement—and the ensuing sales that brings—is probably far greater. Plus, it helps Walmart keep pace on the socially responsible supermarket front with the likes of Whole Foods, which is already participating.”  Read more

 

“Target’s Plans Now Call For 10 New Stores, 12 Closures in 2014” by Kevin Mahoney at Twin Cities Business.  “Target recently announced plans to open new stores in Ohio, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts; they will open shortly after Target closes locations in Illinois, Nevada, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Florida.”  Read more

 

“New York City Gets a Luxury Pharmacy” by Mia Taylor at The Street.  “Stanley’s Pharmacy is less CVS, Walgreen’s or Eckerd and more new age wellness destination meets old-fashioned neighborhood drug store and soda fountain.  “Pharmacies have gone so far away from their roots. I felt a mission to bring that back,” says George, a Bronx native…Stanley’s combines a wellness bar that specializes in drinks blended by George with the standard prescription services other pharmacies offer and a wellness library stocked with glossy monthly health, fitness and fashion publications — all in an atmosphere that is California cool meets 1970s retro.”  Read more

 

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