"Home Depot CEO says company is a 'very North American business' " at CNBC.  "Frank Blake confirmed his company's decision to pull out of the Chinese market last September.  "Not that China isn't a great market, but we didn't have the answer for the Chinese market and in particular understanding the needs of the Chinese consumer and how we could use our distribution strength to provide them better value," he said."We just never could solve that problem."  Though Home Depot has strong operations in Canada and Mexico, Blake called the company "a very North American business" and said it [...]

  "Costco Same-Store Sales Jump 4% in August" - Company Press Release.  "Costco today reported net sales of $7.95 billion for the month of August, the four weeks ended September 1, 2013, an increase of seven percent from $7.44 billion during the similar period last year.  For the 16-week fourth quarter, the Company reported net sales of $31.8 billion, an increase of one percent compared to net sales of $31.5 billion in the 17-week fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012."  Read more   "Costco's August same-store sales beat estimates" at Reuters.  "Sales at stores open at least a year rose 4 percent, [...]

  "Target Nears Debut Of Streaming Video Service" by Jake Anderson at Twin Cities Business.  "Hints about the new service, called Target Ticket, appeared earlier this year on an online login page, which indicates that the platform is in beta mode and requires a promotional code and “Team Member ID” number to access it.  But technology news outlet TechCrunch recently obtained documents that were reportedly distributed to Target employees—and that indicate that the new service is nearing its official rollout."  Read more   "Lowe’s Names McDermott SVP/General Merchandising Manager, Building and Maintenance"  "Michael P. McDermott will join the company as [...]

  "Sears Hometown profit tumbles 57%" at Chicago Tribune.  "The company, which spun off from Sears last year, earned $9.1 million, or 40 cents per share, off from $21.1 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier.  Revenue rose 2.2 percent, to $656.9 million, on a small increase in sales at established stores and a boost from new store openings."  Read more   "Harris Teeter to employees: Let’s keep unions out" by Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer.  "Harris Teeter’s top executives are warning the grocer’s employees about unions after its acquisition by Kroger Co., a supermarket company whose workforce [...]