"Former Walgreen CFO sues company for defamation over forecast error" at Chicago Tribune. "Former Walgreen Co. Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon sued the drugstore operator on Thursday, alleging company executives defamed him in news reports that blamed him for errors in its earnings forecast. Miquelon sued Walgreen in a state court in Chicago claiming that Chief Executive Officer Gregory Wasson and director Stefano Pessina, the company's biggest shareholder, had made "false and disparaging" comments about him in a report by the Wall Street Journal, court documents showed." Read more   "Traffic Stop Near Houston May be Break in Home Depot Data [...]

  "Wal-Mart to add two online fulfillment centers, build fewer supercenters" by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "The new centers will be located in Bethlehem, Penn., and Atlanta, and each will be approximately 1.2 million square feet...Spending on traditional brick and mortar stores has been trimmed by nearly $500 million this year to $11.5 billion. Next year Wal-Mart said it plans to spend between $10.4 billion and $11.4 billion, a reduction of another $600 million." Read more   "Walmart U.S. CEO: "We have cut muscle instead of fat." by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "I have gotten some [...]

  "Amazon Will Open Two Pop-Up Stores in CA Next Week" by Alice Truong at Fast Company. "Amazon confirmed Tuesday that it is opening up pop-up stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, next week for the holiday shopping season. The pop-up stores will carry Amazon-branded e-readers, tablets, smartphones, andstreaming media players. "While customers can already see our products online and at retailers like Best Buy and Staples, we wanted to provide another option to try out our full lineup leading into the holidays," a representative told Fast Company." Read more   Kantar:  And the Retailer with the Lowest Prices is...by Courtney Reagan at CNBC. [...]

  Home Depot's Marvin Ellison Leaves for J.C. Penney:   “I couldn’t pass it up" by Maria Halkias at Dallas Star. "Ellison, 49, will start Nov. 1 but doesn’t become CEO until August. At that point, Ullman, 68, will stay on as executive chairman for a full year. In an interview Monday, Ellison called Penney an iconic brand and said he grew up shopping at the chain. “I couldn’t pass it up,” he said of the Penney job. “I have a lot of respect for what Mike has been able to do the last 18 months, and it shows the [...]

  "Target tries new, bigger strategy for Boston store" by Taryn Luna at Boston Globe. "Target is coming to the Fenway area next year with its own urban-concept store called “CityTarget,” the retailer’s first on the East Coast. But this location will actually be bigger...The CityTarget that will occupy four floors in a building under construction at the intersection of Boylston and Kilmarnock streets won’t just be bigger than the company’s other urban stores. It will be even bigger than an average full-size Target store (and) will cover a whopping 160,000 square feet." Read more / See the location pictures [...]

  "Family Dollar net income plummets 66% in Q4" by Jennifer Thomas at Charlotte Bus. Journal. "From a financial standpoint, fiscal 2014 was one of the most difficult years in our company’s history," Family Dollar Chairman and CEO Howard Levine said during a conference call on the retailer's earnings late Thursday afternoon." Read more   "Family Dollar Q4 Comp Sales +.3%" "Total net sales for the fourth quarter ended August 30, 2014, increased 4.5% to $2.61 billion from $2.50 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 ended August 31, 2013." Read the release   "Step inside Tractor Supply Co.'s [...]

  "Wal-Mart realigns small-store format management, adjusting ‘on the fly’" by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "(Mike Moore) said the team is lean with five senior vice presidents that report to him with specific duties. The team, which had its first meeting this week, are: Larry Mahoney - logistics; Marc Lieberman - vice president of small formats; Brian Hooper - real estate; David Norman - operations over the West; and Glenda Fleming - operations over the East...Moore said this week he received at least 24 requests from suppliers for meetings about Wal-Mart’s small formats. He assured the crowd it’s not [...]

  "Costco Q4 Comp Sales Jump 6%" "Net sales for the fourth quarter were $34.75 billion, an increase of nine percent from $31.77 billion in fiscal 2013. Net sales for the fiscal year were $110.21 billion, an increase of seven percent from $102.87 billion last year." Read the release   "Costco Beats Street - Q4 Profits Rise 13%" by Michael Calia at WSJ. "For the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, the company’s profit rose to $697 million, or $1.58 a share, from year-earlier earnings of $617 million, or $1.40 a share. Total revenue improved 9% to $35.52 billion. Analysts expected [...]