"Happened Yesterday:  Walmart CEO Doug McMillon Challenges Suppliers on Sustainability" by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "In the past decade Wal-Mart has made big steps in the direction toward sustainability, but McMillon said the next leap will likely come from innovations that are aided by total-system thinking. He challenged suppliers and employees to figure out what they could do in their role to facilitate a more sustainable Wal-Mart."  Read more    "Amazon Prime price hike might not lead to defections; Using Costco as a guide" by Jay Greene at Seattle Times.  "William Blair & Co. analyst Mark Miller [...]

  "Cybercriminals don't like Blogger who exposed Target data breach;  Have sent heroin, fecal matter and SWAT team to his home"   by Nicole Perlroth at NY Times via Star-Tribune.  "In the last year, Eastern European cybercriminals have stolen Brian Krebs’ identity a half-dozen times, brought down his website, included his name and some unpleasant epithets in their malware code, sent fecal matter and heroin to his doorstep, and called a SWAT team to his home just as his mother was arriving for dinner.  “I can’t imagine what my neighbors think of me,” he said dryly...Krebs blogs with a 12-gauge [...]

  "Dressing Up Like a Bee and Standing in Front of Home Depot & Lowe's to Protest Pesticides" by Rebecca Harrington at Star-Tribune.  "Rupp...was one of about 30 adults and children handing out cookies and handmade valentines Wednesday to protest Home Depot’s sale of neonicotinoids, a group of pesticides...Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes said in a statement that the company makes alternative pesticides available to customers and is studying the connection between these pesticides and the plight of bees."  Read more   "Walmart logistics exec talks leadership, lessons from Sam" by Kim Souza at The City Wire.  "Chris Sultemeier was the featured [...]

  "Case Study: Walmart’s PR Team and How They Use Twitter; Interview with Walmart's Sr. Director of Digital" by Arik Hanson at Business-2-Community.  "We manage approximately 60,000 mentions a day (these aren’t the mundane like “I’m at Walmart but are more specific to our reputation and major initiatives we have underway). That takes a lot of work, especially for a small team, so we’re constantly monitoring and analyzing where we can engage in the most meaningful way."  Read more   "January Retail Sales Released at 8:30 am ET Today" by Patti Domm at CNBC.  "J.P. Morgan economist Daniel Silver expects [...]

  "Consumer Reports Slams Target:  Says Hacking Fix is "Second-Rate" " by Martha White at Time.  "The publication looked at the offering and says Target “fumbled” when it offered what the publication calls “second-rate credit-monitoring services.”...Consumer Reports can recommend this deal in its present form only as being better than nothing, and only for consumers who understand its significant shortcomings,” the publication says."  Read more   "Claim:  Crime Rates Dropped Quicker in Areas Without a Walmart" by Shaunacy Ferro at Fast Company.  "Overall, there was a sharp decline in crime in the U.S. in the 1990s. It also happened to [...]

    "Mike Rowe Defends Walmart Ad in Fiery 2,648-Word Facebook Response:  ‘Who Gives a Crap About Your Feelings Towards Walmart?’ " by Jonathon Seidl at The Blaze.  “Honestly Kevin, who gives a crap about your feelings toward Walmart?” Rowe asked one man who questioned Rowe’s decision to partner with Walmart, often a major target of those who like to demonize business...“Isn’t this the kind of initiative we can all get behind?” he concluded."  Read more quotes/comments   "Breaking:  CVS Q4 Revenue Up 4.6%, Pharmacy Same-Store Sales Up 4%"  Read the release   "The World's Most Innovative Companies 2014 (Amazon [...]

  'Work is a Beautiful Thing':  Mike Rowe Narrates a Powerful new Walmart Ad you Won't Want to Miss" by Oliver Darcy at The Blaze.  "Former “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe narrates a powerful new commercial released Thursday and it contains one powerful message: “Work is a beautiful thing.”  Who’s it for? Walmart."  See the ad / Read more   "Interview: Canadian Tire’s CEO on Beating Back Target in Canada" by Chris Sorensen at Maclean's.  "Q: There were concerns that retailers such as Canadian Tire were going to get creamed by U.S. competition, particularly Target. But the opposite seems to be [...]

  "Walmart's VP of Mobile/Digital:  "We're not just going after the shiny object" by Donna Tam at CNET.  "We need to make sure we're not just going after the shiny object," Walmart Vice President of Mobile and Digital Wendy Bergh said when asked on Thursday about Amazon's recently added image-recognition search feature. The feature, which Amazon added to its main shopping app, lets users search for products by taking a photo of the item."  Read more    "The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business: Global Ranking (Sam's Rosalind Brewer #39...)" at Fortune.  "By pushing into new territories and inspiring women [...]