"Lowe's & Home Depot Prepping for Tropical Storm Karen" at WJHG-Panama City Beach.  "It's been a long time since a storm has posed a direct threat to our area.  Emergency Management officials are worried people have become complacent and won't take the Karen seriously.  Workers at Home Depot and Lowe's on Back Beach Road were busy Thursday night, stocking the shelves with hurricane supplies."  See the video / Read more   "Alabama Home Depot Ready for Karen" by Ashley Knight at WKRG News.  "It’s all hands on deck, moving crucial supplies closer to the front doors so customers won’t [...]

  "Home Depot's CFO Carol Tome Speaks at Univ. of Georgia"  Highlights: *  "Our profits are very different...appliances are very low margin...paint brushes - we make a lot of money on those - I probably shouldn't tell you that but we do." *  "Home Depot has a 35% share of power tools, but online Amazon has a higher share." *  "No better time to work with your vendor partners than when you have the #1 market share." *  "Home Depot is redefining exclusivity with our vendors" See the full video   "Target Ranked Among 25 “Most Inspiring” U.S. Cos." by [...]

"Walgreen’s quarterly profit soars 86 percent" at NY Post.  "Revenue from stores open at least a year climbed 4.6 percent in the quarter. Prescription sales, which accounted for about 64 percent of the company’s revenue, were up 6.1 percent. Revenue from the front end, or rest of the store, rising 1.6 percent."  Read more   "How Walgreen Makes Money From Healthier Shoppers" by Kyle Stock at Businessweek.  "The company now has 85 million people enrolled in its loyalty program, launched about a year ago, and boasts that it is the fastest-growing such initiative in the world.  Walgreen carefully crafted the [...]

  "Wal-Mart opens largest online fulfillment center" by Alistair Barr  at USA Today.  "The warehouse, based in Bethlehem, Pa., will be more than 1 million square feet and employ over 350 full-time staff when it opens in the first quarter of 2014. Another new online fulfillment center, based in Fort Worth, Tex., is 800,000 square feet and employs 275 full-time staff. It began shipping orders last week, Wal-Mart said."  Read more   "Home Depot tackles mobile gaming to score sales" by Lauren Johnson at Mobile Commerce Daily.  "The home improvement retailer is launching the app as part of its sponsorship [...]

  "Home Depot CEO's Interview with Fortune" by Geoff Colvin at Fortune. "Retailing is among the industries most disrupted by technology. How is Home Depot adapting its business model?  The Internet does a number of things to retailers. There's a general rule that software eats hardware, so some retailers are very disrupted -- think books, CDs, DVDs, and things like that. Not so much an issue for us: You can't digitize drywall. On the other hand, the expectation of our customer has increased."  Read the full interview   "Retail stores become shipping hubs to battle Amazon" by Alistair Barr at USA [...]

  "It’s Target Versus Amazon in the Battle for Moms" by Brad Tuttle at Time.  "Target wants its moms back. This week, Target rolled out a new diaper-delivery plan and a family friendly on-demand video streaming option. Both services are aimed at wooing moms—in particular, moms who might otherwise give their business to Amazon.  While rivalries among competing retailers are rarely friendly, Amazon.com and Target have a history of confrontation."  Read more   "Home Depot Expands Redbeacon to Boost ‘Do-It-for-Me’ Services" by Chris Burritt at Bloomberg.  "Redbeacon, which connects consumers with painters, plumbers, carpenters and maids, expanded this week through [...]

  "McMillon, Simon top picks as next Wal-Mart CEO" by Kim Souza at City Wire.  "The Wal-Mart Board of Directors meeting scheduled for later this week may include the selection and announcement of Doug McMillon or Bill Simon as the new top boss at Wal-Mart Stores.  A majority of insiders that include analysts, academics, service providers and consultants recently interviewed for this story give the nod to 46-year-old Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart International. If McMillon is not selected, the insiders say Bill Simon, 53, CEO of Walmart U.S., will be promoted to the top job."  Read more   "Wal-Mart Cutting [...]

    "Wal-Mart 'Made in America' drive follows suppliers' lead" by Jessica Wohl at Reuters.  "An examination of the company's "Made in America" campaign suggests Wal-Mart's caught on to a reshoring phenomenon that was already underway.  In many cases, Wal-Mart's suppliers had already decided to produce in the United States, as rising wages in China and other emerging economies, along with increased labor productivity and flexibility back home, eroded the allure of offshore production.  Though wrapped in the stars and stripes, the world's largest retailer's push to bring jobs back to the United States also makes business sense both for [...]