“Happened Yesterday:  Walmart CEO Doug McMillon Challenges Suppliers on Sustainability” by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  “In the past decade Wal-Mart has made big steps in the direction toward sustainability, but McMillon said the next leap will likely come from innovations that are aided by total-system thinking. He challenged suppliers and employees to figure out what they could do in their role to facilitate a more sustainable Wal-Mart.”  Read more 

 

“Amazon Prime price hike might not lead to defections; Using Costco as a guide” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times.  “William Blair & Co. analyst Mark Miller studied the membership program at Costco and found that the renewal rates held steady or actually climbed each time (they) hiked fees.  That history leads Miller to believe that Seattle-based Amazon, which is considering raising the annual $79 fee by $20 to $40, won’t likely see a meaningful number of customers bolt from the program.” Read more

 

“Cabela’s co-founder Richard Cabela dies at 77”  “Dick, along with his wife, Mary, and brother, Jim, founded Cabela’s somewhat inadvertently in 1961 when he purchased $45 worth of hand-tied fishing flies while in Chicago on a furniture and housewares buying trip with his father for the family’s Chappell, Neb., furniture store. With the flies not moving off the store shelf, Dick came upon the idea of selling them through the mail.”  Read the release

 

“Who ran the most radio ads last week?  Walgreens #1, Home Depot #3” at Radio Ink.  “Walgreens aired nearly 44,000 commercials during that week…Rounding out the top five were The Home Depot up from number 16 with 33,969 commercials.” Read more

 

“Claim:  Wegman’s is Now the Country’s Largest Seller of Gluten-Free Products” by Stephanie Strom at NY Times.  “Ms. Morris says she does not think people will be “over” gluten-free foods as quickly as they have dumped the cupcake craze.  “The reason I do believe this has legs is that it ties into this whole naked and ‘free from’ trend,” she said. “I think we as a country and as a globe will continue to be concerned about what’s going into our food supply.” Read more

 

“Walmart Allows Walkers into Store for Exercise, Appears to be Unique to Maine Store” by Gillian Graham at Portland Press Herald. “I never thought I’d be walking in Walmart,” Murphy, 68, said halfway through his daily walk. “But it was a no-brainer for me.”  Partners for Healthier Communities, one of three local Healthy Maine Partnerships in York County, has teamed up with Walmart in Sanford to promote the idea of using the 198,000-square-foot store as an indoor exercise track.”  Read more

 

“Hoover, Alabama approves $4.5 million in tax rebates to lure a Dick’s – Field & Stream store” by Jon Anderson at All Alabama.  “Ivey said Dick’s Sporting Goods wants to add 70 Field & Stream stores a year over the next five years. Efforts to reach officials with Dick’s Sporting Goods for comment were unsuccessful.”  Read more

 

“Study:  Sinking dollar in Canada dents number of Canadians heading to U.S. to shop” by Brian Morton at Vancouver Sun.  “Gas is the main thing British Columbians buy in the U.S., with 89 per cent saying they “frequently” or “occasionally” spend money on it.  That was followed by dining out (82 per cent), clothing, shoes and accessories (78 per cent), groceries (73 per cent), places to stay (61 per cent), entertainment (47 per cent), electronics (20 per cent), casino gambling (17 per cent), and furniture (six per cent).  About a quarter of British Columbians have a U.S. mailbox to pick up items ordered online.” Read more

 

“Walmart spends $250,000 in its fight to build superstore in Sioux Falls” by J.L. Atyeo at Argus Leader.  “Walmart has put up $250,000 to defeat two ballot measures that threaten to stop the company from building a supercenter at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue in southern Sioux Falls.  The donation went to the ballot question committee Building a Better Sioux Falls, which mailed a letter to registered voters last week.”  Read more

 

Follow @retaileyeretail