Home Depot Has Better Cyber Security Than 25 US Defense Contractors by Aliya Sternstein at Defense One. “When measured in aggregate, network controls at breached J.P. Morgan Chase and Home Depot, combined with the rest of the retail and financial sectors, rated higher than the top companies supporting the U.S. military.” Read more

 

Amazon patents tech to help you cheat at video games by Emily Parkhurst at Puget Sound Business Journal. “Basically, if you can’t figure out how to beat the level, you can have someone else do it from their own device. Some might call that cheating. Others might say it’s no different than handing the controller off to your friend.” Read more

 

Wal-Mart de Mexico Keeps Up Strong Sales Growth at Nasdaq. “Same-store sales in Mexico…rose 3.6% in June and were up 5.2% in the first six months of the year.” Read the release

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods Opens #618 Read the release

 

Children’s jewelry at Target did not contain high levels of lead, health department says by Carrie Wells at The Baltimore Sun. “Health Department spokesman Michael Schwartzberg said Monday that a staff member misread a lab test of the $6 Hello Kitty necklace sold at the Target store in Canton. The necklace did not violate the federal government’s lead limit for children’s items, he said.” Read more

 

800 to pitch products to Wal-Mart today by Chris Bahn at Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “Wal-Mart is the first to see this. I got my first delivery of socks two weeks ago and sat on them because I wanted Wal-Mart to see them first,” said Jarratt. “They’ve been very, very good to us. Maybe they give me a shot at a couple stores. Maybe not. I don’t know where it will wind up, but I didn’t want to go anywhere else first.” Read more

 

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Appeals court rules against Amazon in dispute over product search results by Todd Bishop at GeekWire. “Watch manufacturer Multi Time Machine Inc. won its appeal against Amazon this morning in a dispute over the way the e-commerce giant displays search results for products it doesn’t sell.” Read more

 

InMarket says nearly 40 percent of Millennial Moms are now beacon-accessible by Barry Levine at Venture Beat. Read more

 

Watch out Amazon…Home Depot narrowing price gap by Dan Berthiaume at Chain Store Age. “According to a recent study from pricing analytics provider 360pi,…” Home Depot was the most aggressively priced home improvement “category killer,” with an average price of just more than 5% above Amazon…Lowe’s, was pricing the sampled assortment at an average of 11%-13% higher than Amazon.” Read more

 

Walmart Canada launches grocery pickup option today by Dan Berthiaume at Chain Store Age. “Starting on July 7, customers will be able to place online grocery orders for select product, including fresh food, for pickup in six stores in the Ottawa area. An additional five stores will offer the service starting on July 21. The pickup fee is $3 and customers will be able to order up to 21 days in advance.” Read more

 

Dollar Tree Completes Acquisition of Family Dollar Read the release

 

Ahold fresh formats executive resigns at Supermarket News. “Ahold USA said Monday Bhavdeep Singh has announced plans to resign as EVP, fresh formats, effective July 17. Succeeding him on an interim basis will be Scott Miller, SVP, operations, the company said.” Read more

 

Confederate “Stand by the Flag” Rally at Walmart Got Heated by Miriam Wasser at Phoenix New Times. “At 3:40 p.m., Walmart management, accompanied by the plainclothes Phoenix Police Community Response Squad, kicked everyone out of the parking lot after enough customers complained about the presence. As the crowd dispersed, a Walmart manager off-handedly told New Times that he thought this was all pretty silly and even a little confusing, “we never sold Confederate flags here,” he said. “We’re not in the south.” Read more / See the pics

 

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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 really happening in the world of retail. See our website at www.eyeonretail.net