"Saks Fifth Avenue bought by Lord & Taylor owner: sources" by James Covert at NY Post.  "The swanky luxury chain has struck a deal to be acquired by Hudson’s Bay, the Canadian department-store chain that owns Lord & Taylor, sources told The Post.  The deal is expected to be announced as soon as today.  “It’s a done deal — Baker has won his prize,” said one source briefed on the negotiations, referring to Hudson’s Bay chairman Richard Baker, a savvy New York real-estate tycoon said to have coveted Saks even before scooping up Lord & Taylor in 2006."  Read [...]

  "Target Purchases 9 acres @ 6 million for its First Custom Canadian Store" by Barrie Advance at Simcoe County.  "Target has purchased just over nine acres for $6 million at Park Place for its first custom Canadian store.  The deal closed July 12, and construction will begin in September..."This is the first piece of land they've bought in Canada and this will be the first store built from the ground up," said Coughlin."  Read more   "Walmart Basket 2.4% Cheaper Than at Target" by Kim Souza at City Wire.  "The overall branded basket was 2.4% less expensive at Wal-Mart [...]

  "The Wal-Mart Slayer: How Publix's People-First Culture Is Winning The Grocer War" by Brian Solomon at Forbes.  "Family-run Publix is both the largest employee-owned company and the most profitable grocer in America. Those two facts are linked, and they might be the formula for fending off Bentonville’s retail behemoth."  Read more   "Target’s Online Video Campaign to Turn College Kids into Lifelong Paying Customers" by Brad Tuttle at Time.  "The stakes are higher for retailers trying to connect specifically to the back-to-college crowd. These retailers aren’t just trying to sell some merchandise in the short term. They’re hoping to [...]

  "Wal-Mart plans to be an online juggernaut" by Brian O'Keefe at Fortune.  "To align the interests of its retail foot soldiers with Neil Ashe (CEO Global Ecommerce) and his crew, the company has created a system in which managers at all 4,000 Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. get credit for all sales in their zip codes, whether on- or offline. "That creates 1.4 million advocates for the holistic shopping experience," said Ashe."  Read more & see the video:  https://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/23/wal-mart-plans-to-be-an-online-juggernaut/?iid=SF_F_River   "Wal-Mart's plan to beat Amazon" at Fortune.  "At Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference, Wal-Mart Global E-commerce CEO Neil Ashe discusses [...]

  "Walmart Opens 4th College Campus Store at Univ. of Missouri"  by Joe Clougher at The Maneater.  "Since 2011, Walmart on Campus has expanded to Georgia Tech and Arizona State from its origins at the University of Arkansas, just 20 miles from the retail giant’s corporate headquarters...“Really, this is a convenience for the students,” she said. “It will stock basic groceries, health and beauty items and general merchandise all at Walmart’s everyday low prices.”  Hatfield confirmed that the campus store will feature a full pharmacy as well as check cashing services. And unlike most local retailers, she said, it offers [...]

  "Amazon Beats Pinterest In Fight Over .Pin Domain" by Matt McGee at Marketing Land.  "Amazon has beaten Pinterest in a battle over .pin, one of the many new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that are in the process of joining existing domains like .com, .net and .org.  In a decision issued this week, a World Intellectual Property Organization mediator rejected Pinterest’s objection to Amazon’s application to own .pin."  Read more:  https://marketingland.com/amazon-beats-pinterest-in-fight-over-pin-domain-52277   "Digital Coupon Firm Retailmenot in Hot IPO" at WSJ. "RetailMeNot should be distinguished from Groupon, he said. "They help small companies give big discounts sporadically. We help big [...]

  "Target & Its 15,000 Vine Followers"  For those who haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, the idea behind Vine is simple: You create and share six-second videos that play on a continuous loop.  “It offers a constraint that other platforms don’t have,” says Travis. “It’s only six seconds. You can’t shoot something and upload it later. You can’t copy a TV spot and post it. It all needs to happen within the camera phone. That’s a compelling challenge, and we’re excited by the possibilities.”  Read more:  https://abullseyeview.com/target-vine-creativity-6-seconds-at-a-time/   "Woolworth's / Lowe's Inept Merchandising Strategy in Australia" by Adele Ferguson [...]

  "No More Waiting In Line:  Lowe's & Other Leading Retailers Scheduling In-Store Appointments" by Andria Cheng at Market Watch.  "Besides enticing them to come to stores, retailers also survey these customers and then proactively aim more relevant marketing campaigns at them, he said.  The number of shoppers using those tools is expected to double to 50 million this year, he said, adding his company also is expected to triple its retail client account to 90 this year."  Read more:  https://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2013/07/17/best-buy-staples-nordstrom-unveil-online-scheduling/   Street View:  "EBay's Growth Disappoints, Shares Slump" by Gren Bensinger at WSJ.  "Mr. Donahoe said he expected eBay [...]