Costco's Jim Sinegal on Amazon: "They probably did get the idea (for Amazon Prime) from us" at CNBC.  "I think what will stop them is if, No. 1, the pressure of becoming profitable becomes so great that they've got to change their game plan," he said. "I think that eventually they have to figure out how to become a little more profitable in their business."  See the interview / Read more   "Dollar General CEO departure likely throws wrench into Icahn's plans" by Phil Wahba at Fortune.  "There is no way he or she [Dollar General's future CEO] is [...]

  "Kroger rolls out three new store brands" by Steve Watkins at Cincinnati Bus. Courier.  "Customers are seeing the brands – Psst, Check This Out and Heritage Farm – on hundreds of Kroger’s private-label products.  “These brands all are designed to reflect the good quality and excellent value customers expect from Kroger,” McMullen told the audience. He told me after the meeting that the new brands cover the lower price point of Kroger’s private-label brands." Read more   "Target Announces LEED Certification for all 124 Canada Store Locations" at Nassau News Live.  "Previously, Target announced certification of the first 68 stores and with [...]

  "Home Depot and BJ's Wholesale look to help honeybee population" by Carey Gillam at Reuters via Globe & Mail.  "Home Depot is requiring its suppliers to start such labeling by the fourth quarter of this year, said Ron Jarvis, the company’s vice president of merchandising/sustainability. Home Depot is also running tests in several states to see if suppliers can eliminate neonics in their plant production without hurting plant health...BJ’s Wholesale Club said it was asking all of its vendors to provide plants free of neonics by the end of 2014 or to label such products as requiring “caution around [...]

  "Whole Foods paying $800,000 for overcharging in California" by Shan Li at LA Times.  "Problems included failing to deduct the weight of containers when ringing up fresh food, putting smaller amounts into packages than the weight stated on the label, and selling items by the piece instead of by the pound, as required by law, the statement said."  Read more   "Latest Minnesota push strengthens Walmart where it's weakest" by Nick Halter at Minneapolis/St.Paul Bus. Journal.  "The 420,000-square-foot Mankato distribution center, when it opens in spring 2015, will employ 300 and supply groceries to Wal-Mart stores in the upper [...]

  WSJ:  Target CEO Steinhafel's Final Days - Sr. Execs Huddled on May 2nd - Key Lieutenant Stopped Talking to CEO Entirely by Paul Ziobro and Serena Ng.  "Managers were expected to host regular happy hours or take their teams out for ice cream, one former merchandising employee recalls. At annual performance reviews, some staffers were told they weren’t “fast, fun and friendly” enough...Not long after he took the top job, Mr. Steinhafel severed ties with (former CEO Robert) Ulrich, who had liked to keep retired executives around as advisers. The two have barely spoken since Mr. Ulrich stepped down [...]

  "Home Depot Expands Quirky Alliance in Smart-Home Products" by Steve Lohr at NY Times.  "The Quirky and Wink approach impressed Home Depot enough that it chose Wink as its technology partner. Home Depot now sells 600 smart-home products, six times as many as it did two years ago. “We wanted a partner who could take all these products and make them work together,” said Jeff Epstein, its vice president in charge of home automation products. “Frankly, Quirky and Wink were the only ones who could do that — at least so far.” Read more   Family Dollar:  “I just don’t know [...]

  "Get Ready for Christmas Creep:  Walmart Starts Highlighting Hot Holiday Gifts" by Ashley Rodriguez at Ad Age.  "Walmart held an event for more than 100 long-lead magazine and gift guide editors on Wednesday to showcase what it expects to be top sellers this holiday season...In the past, Walmart pitched media outlets to make it in to their holiday gift guides, which usually close in July. This year, the retailer stepped up its game by gathering the media for a private event...it's still holding its Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals close to the vest. "We have to keep some [...]

  "Rite-Aid: Q1 Front-End Comp Sales Flat"  "The company reported revenues of $6.5 billion, net income of $41.4 million or $0.04 per diluted share, and Adjusted EBITDA of $282.6 million...Same store sales for the quarter increased 3.1 percent over the prior year. Front-end same store sales were flat compared to the prior-year period while pharmacy same store sales increased 4.6 percent."  Read the release   "Kroger expected to post $543M profit in Q1" by Alexander Coolidge at Cincinnati.com.  "Wall Street analysts also forecast that newly added Harris Teeter stores will also power revenues to jump 8.5 percent to $32.6 billion, [...]