"Rona CEO Warns of Retail "Bloodbath" in Canada" by Marina Strauss at Globe & Mail.  "“In Ontario, it’s a bloodbath for every retailer,” Robert Sawyer, chief executive officer of home-improvement retailer Rona Inc., said at a conference Tuesday in Toronto, organized by Bank of Nova Scotia. “It’s difficult, not only for the hardware business.”  The added stress is felt acutely in Canada’s grocery industry, which is the victim of an essentially “zero-sum game,” Perry Caicco, retail analyst at CIBC World Markets, said in a recent report." Read more   "Target's CMO Places His Bet on Earned Media" by Lindsay [...]

  "Walmart's Cheap Beer Barely Covers Cost" by Minsi Chung and Renee Dudley at Businessweek.  "The markup on a 36-pack of Coors Light cans at a Los-Angeles-area store was 0.6 percent, compared with 16.2 percent for a package of Flaming Hot Cheetos, according to internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Companies typically don’t release information about markups so the March data provide a rare glimpse of Wal-Mart’s alcohol pricing strategy.  Wal-Mart’s push into beer is part of a plan to double alcohol sales by 2016 and seize a larger slice of a U.S. beer market worth about $45 billion."  Read more   [...]

  "At Target, shoppers scramble for 3.1 Phillip Lim bags" by Tiffany Hsu at LA Times.  "Shoppers quickly swooped in to a tight circle around the pile, hovering, agitated, as workers loaded the purses on the display and barked at those who got too close.  As soon as the OK was given, fashionistas by the fistful swarmed toward the bags, creating a 30-second scramble of shouting and flailing arms before the crowd picked the rack clean.  “It was out of control,” (a shopper) said of the throng. “This was painful. It was crazy.”  Read more / See the video   [...]

  "Breaking:  Retail sales fall short, up 0.2 percent in August" at CNBC."  "U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in August even as demand increased for automobiles and other big-ticket items, the latest sign that economic growth slowed in the third quarter.  The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales increased 0.2 percent last month as Americans bought automobiles, furniture and electronics and appliances.  However, they cut back on clothing, building materials and sporting goods."  Read more   "Kroger Q2 Comps Up 3.3%" at Supermarket News.  "Net income for the quarter was up 13.6%, to $317 million, and sales [...]

  "Wal-Mart Stores' CEO Presents at 20th Annual Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference" Read the Transcript (Via Seeking Alpha) See the PowerPoint / Hear the Webcast   "Highlights from Wal-Mart Presentation at Goldman Sachs Retail Conference" by Kim Souza at City Wire.  "Wal-Mart also is using more stores to fill online orders, after piloting that program in recent months. He said the number of stores filling online orders are in the double digits and growing. The locker tests have also been well received as Simon told investors it’s been interesting to see the users’ inclinations to repeat purchases."  Read more   [...]

  "Home Depot Is Accused of Shaking Down Suspected Shoplifters" by Susan Berfield at Businessweek.  "Jimin Chen received two worrisome letters this summer. Both came from a law firm hired by Home Depot. The first demanded payment of $350 to settle claims that he shoplifted from a California store.  According to Chen, in early June he had been wrongly accused of taking two pairs of work gloves (priced at $3.99 each) as he purchased nearly $1,500 worth of merchandise from Home Depot. A second letter demanded $625. Both helpfully included five ways he could pay, and both threatened legal action [...]

  "It's on! Wal-Mart & Sam's ratchet up smartphone turf war" by Courtney Reagan at CNBC.  "The world's largest retailer is expected to unveil details of the largest brick-and-mortar smartphone trade-in program in the U.S., just in time for the anticipated new iPhones.  Starting Sept. 21 in more than 3,600 Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations, consumers can get an instant credit, ranging from $50 to $300, for the trade-in value for more than 100 smartphones. That credit will then be immediately applied to the purchase of a new smartphone." Read more   "Lim line at Target gets an unexpected [...]

  "Target to Open First Stores in Quebec and Nova Scotia" at Digital Journal. "The stores are scheduled to open this fall, and include 14 opening on Sept. 17 and nine opening on Oct. 18. Target currently has 68 stores open across Canada with plans to open a total of 124 locations by the end of 2013."  See list of locations   "Report: Neiman Marcus in advanced talks for $6 billion sale" at Star-Tribune.  "Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Inc. is reportedly in talks to be bought by Los Angeles-based asset manager Ares Management LLP and the Canada Pension Plan Investment [...]