“Walmart and Target Cosmetic Alliance Shrouded in Secrecy” by Marc Gunther at The Guardian.  “Their first event, the day-long Beauty and Personal Care Products Sustainability Summit, will be held on 4 September in Chicago…The planners are close-lipped about the summit’s 50-100 participants, although they mentioned that many will be drawn from the retail sector. The guest list includes retail competitors – presumably including CVS and Walgreen’s – as well as consumer products companies.” Read more

 

“Costco Looking to Expand Corporate Facilities” by Peter Clark at Issaquah Press.  “Company leaders want to construct possibly three more buildings on the campus, with anywhere from three to 10 stories each…In the preliminary design, Costco planned to create a connected system of open space and parks in the center of the parcel and on the eastern edge, according to the draft development agreement.” Read more

 

“Lowe’s ProExpress to Deliver Items Direct to Pros” by Ken Elkins at Charlotte Bus. Journal.   “Lowe’s now has a service to deliver last-minute items from its home-improvement stores to its professional customers. Lowe’s ProExpress will dispatch a light-duty truck to customers needing such things as a smoke detector to help pass an inspection.” Read more

 

“Target Canada clarifies national grocery price matching policy” at CBC News.  “Starting Tuesday, consumers can present digital flyers from selected online Canadian retailers and Target will match that price, confirms Lisa Gibson, spokesperson for Target Canada. Those retailers include Walmart.ca, Bestbuy.ca, Futureshop.ca, ToysRUs.ca, BabiesRUs.ca, CanadianTire.ca, Sears.ca and Amazon.ca…However, Canada-wide price matching — which for many consumers is considered the holy grail — is not permitted.” Read more

 

“Amazon to invest $2 billion more in India as Flipkart Raises $1 billion” at Reuters.  “Amazon.com on Wednesday said it will invest a further $2 billion in India just a day after the country’s largest e-tailer Flipkart attracted $1 billion of fresh funds, raising the stakes in a nascent but fast-growing e-commerce sector.” Read more

 

“Why Walmart’s U.S. Head Bill Simon Had To Step Down” by George Bradt at Forbes.  “One of the main practices in Suleiman the Magnificent’s family’s approach to succession management in the Ottoman Empire for over six hundred years was for the new ruler to kill off all his brothers to head off any possible succession disputes. Simon was McMillon’s brother in retail. Suleiman would argue that as soon as McMillon was chosen, Simon’s days were numbered.” Read more

 

“Icahn dumps 35% of Family Dollar shares after Dollar Tree’s acquisition bid” by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. “The total on the sale of those shares comes to $287.5 million. Icahn now owns a 6.03 percent stake in the retailer, with approximately 6.87 million shares.” Read more

 

….Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine here to stay — for now.  “Family Dollar Stores Inc. CEO Howard Levine is sticking around — for at least two years, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.” Read more

 

CNBC:  “A grim long-term outlook for retail … workers” by Allison Linn.  “I don’t think there’s going to be any pressure for retailers to offer significantly better wages or benefits than they’re offering now,” said Jack Plunkett, founder and CEO of the market research firm Plunkett Research.” Read more

 

“Amazon Is Experimenting With A New Homepage Design” at Fast Company.  “Generally speaking, when a small number of users receives a redesign that no one else is getting, the implication is that the design is being A/B tested. So this design may never debut universally. Or it could be heavily tweaked before it’s unrolled.” Read more

 

“Private Equity Firms Not Wagging Their Tail for PetSmart” by Josh Kosman at NY Post.  “The PE firms that have kicked the tires of the 1,340-store chain are having a tough time making the financials work, a source familiar with the situation said.” Read more

 

“Wal-Mart buys another tech start-up, Luvocracy — only to shut it down” by Andria Cheng at MarketWatch.  “Wal-Mart’s tech team, @WalmartLabs, on Tuesday said it had bought Luvocracy, a three-year-old firm and an online community of half a million members that allows consumers to discover and buy products recommended by other people, from their own friends and family to bloggers and other influencers.” Read more

 

“Online Shopping Catches On in India With Buyers and Global Investors” by Max Bearak at NY Times.  “Snapdeal is now on track to handle more than $1 billion in sales this year for over 30,000 merchants across more than 500 categories of goods and services. “We sell a sari every 12 seconds,” Mr. Bahl said…This year, Snapdeal has raised $233 million, with about half coming from the American Internet company eBay.” Read more

 

“Police Hunting For Man Who Stole 9 Lawnmowers From Sears… One Mower At A Time” by Chris Morran at The Consumerist.  “When I first heard about a man wanted in Alabama for allegedly stealing nine lawnmowers from a Sears store, I assumed he’d swiped all the mowers at once with the aid of a truck or moving van. But no, this mower thief had the idiotic bravery to steal the nine mowers one at a time… in the backseat of his sedan.” See the video / Read more

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