Best Buy Q3 comp sales down 2.9% Press release

 

Abercrombie expects a strong holiday quarter as growth run continues at CNBC. “Sales rose to $1.21 billion, up around 14% from $1.06 billion a year earlier….For the holiday shopping quarter, Abercrombie is expecting sales growth of 5% to 7%, ahead of the 4.8% growth that analysts had expected, according to LSEG.” Read more

 

Target’s Slide From Cheap Chic to Dull Chore at WSJ. “Middleton remembers the excitement of the houseware collections at Target in decades past and the convenience of picking up contact-lens solution at the same time as a designer teapot. Now Target “is kind of like an old friend you kind of wander away from—an old friend who has become boring,” the retired executive said. He goes every few months.” WSJ subs.

 

Dick’s Sporting Goods Q3 comp sales up 4.2% Press release

 

…Dick’s Sporting Goods posts robust holiday guidance at CNBC. “…now expecting fiscal 2024 same-store sales to grow between 3.6% and 4.2%, up from a previous range of 2.5% to 3.5%. That’s ahead of the 3.4% growth that Wall Street analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.” Read more

 

Walmart rolls back DEI under pressure at USA Today. “The retail giant said it would not renew a racial equity center it created following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and it would no longer participate in an annual benchmark index from LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign. Robby Starbuck said he warned Walmart last week he was working on a report about “wokeness.” According to Starbuck, the company then engaged in “productive conversations” to make changes.” Read more

 

Kohl’s Q3 comp sales down 9.3% Press release

 

…Kohl’s CEO will step down. He’ll be replaced by the head of Michaels at CNN. “Ashley Buchanan, the next Kohl’s CEO, has been CEO of Michaels since 2020 and was a senior executive at Walmart and Walmart-owned Sam’s Club for 13 years.” Read more

 

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Target Lost Its Mojo. Hits Like $25 Leggings Are Key to Getting It Back at Bloomberg. “The All in Motion-brand pants have amassed a cult following online since their debut last fall, helping Target’s athleisure business grow by double-digits for the last two quarters. But they so far haven’t been enough to jump-start overall revenue, which will require many more such hits.” Bloomberg subs. 

 

Macy’s says employee hid up to $154 million in delivery expenses, delaying Q3 earnings at AP

 

TikTok influencer arrested after allegedly flaunting shoplifted Target goods on video at NY Post. “Her TikTok page included a get-ready-with-me video from the day of the alleged shoplifting incident and showed her wearing the same outfit and glasses the suspect was wearing in the Target security footage, according to Fox 4 Now.” Read more

 

Walmart’s Mexican unit opens 2,500th store in Bodega Aurrera format at NWA Online

 

Trump says he will quickly impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico at Politico

 

Kroger: Stuart Aitken is stepping down as SVP, chief merchandising and marketing officer. Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger’s senior vice president of operations, will succeed him as chief merchandising and marketing officer. Press release

 

These Bricks-and-Mortar Stores Thrive in an Online World at WSJ. “Online shopping is at a record high. For a change, shopping center owners aren’t threatened. Americans bought $300 billion in retail goods online last quarter, with e-commerce accounting for 16.2% of all retail sales, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That proportion is nearly back to peak levels in 2020, when many stores were closed and cash-flush Americans ordered Peloton bikes and sourdough starters from their couches.” WSJ subs. 

 

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