What Amazon’s Hire of Former Obama Spokesman Says About Its PR Machine by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "The move signals Bezos’s desire to have a stronger presence inside Washington as Amazon becomes more powerful across industries as varied as warehousing, retailing, cloud computing and publishing. New initiatives such as its delivery drones have also seen it pushing the boundaries of regulation. Amazon lobbying chief Paul Misener is staying with the company, but now reporting to Carney." Read more   Wal-Mart gives up on Twin Cities-area project by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal. "While Wal-Mart has built a [...]

  Wal-Mart CEO talks about pay raises, how customers shop and what he's learned from critics by Anne D'Innocenzio at AP via Star Tribune. "McMillon, 48, spoke with The Associated Press exclusively about the pay and training increases, the fallout from the Bangladesh disaster and other issues that are affecting Wal-Mart. What follows are edited excerpts from a 40-minute interview at Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas." Read the interview   Dollar Tree says Family Dollar stores could be re-branded by Katherine Peralta & Ely Portillo at Charlotte Observer. "Switching Family Dollar stores to Dollar Tree and vice-versa. “Most of the [...]

  Lowe's Q4 US Comp +7.4% "Lowe's today reported net earnings of $450 million for the quarter ended January 30, 2015, a 47.0 percent increase over the same period a year ago...Fiscal year 2015 outlook: Comparable sales are expected to increase 4 to 4.5 percent, the company expects to open 15 to 20 home improvement and hardware stores." Read the release   Lowe's Beats Street at CNBC. "The company posted earnings of 46 cents a share on revenue of $12.54 billion.Wall Street expected the home-improvement behemoth to post earnings of 43 cents a share on revenues of $12.31 billion, according to consensus estimate [...]

  Home Depot Q4 US Comp Sales +8.9% "The Home Depot today reported sales of $19.2 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, an 8.3 percent increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 were positive 7.9 percent." Read the release   CNBC: Home Depot profit rises 36%, warns on currency by Katie Little. "Oppenheimer & Co. Managing Director Brian Nagel told CNBC this was "another very good report from Home Depot" which illustrated both the company's strength from an operational standpoint and signs that the home improvement market [...]

  Most West Coast ports in full swing to make up for lost time at Seattle Times. "Three terminals at the Port of Seattle were full Sunday, with five vessels waiting to be unloaded as most West Coast seaports were back at full operation after a deal was reached Friday with dockworkers...Dockworkers in Los Angeles worked an overnight shift for the first time in weeks Saturday night...It will take six to eight weeks for West Coast ports to recover from the cargo backlog, according to the Port of Oakland and the National Retail Federation." Read more   ...“Just based on [...]

  Fortune: World's Most Admired Companies 2015 (Amazon #4, Costco #16, Walmart #38...)  See the Top 50 list   ...Target falls 19 spots from No. 29 to No. 48 by Nick Halter at Minn./St.Paul Business Journal  Read more   Yesterday: Walmart CEO Appears on CNBC  "We make wage adjustments all the time. We just decided this is a really good moment to be more bold," Doug McMillon said in a "Squawk Alley" interview. "Right now we want to make sure everybody is crystal clear how vital our store experience is to our future." See the video / Read more   Wal-Mart Q4 [...]

  Walmart Q4 Comps: US: +1.5% Sam's (no fuel): +2.0% Neighborhood Market: +7.7% Ecom Sales +22% for the year Read the release   Walmart: We're giving 500,000 people a raise by Myles Udland at Business Insider. "Current and future associates will benefit from this initiative, which ensures that Walmart hourly associates earn at least $1.75 above today's federal minimum wage, or $9.00 per hour, in April. The following year, by Feb. 1, 2016, current associates will earn at least $10.00 per hour." Read more   ...Doug McMillon: "The investment in these initiatives is more than $1 billion for this fiscal [...]

  Wal-Mart de Mexico net profit surges at Market Watch. "Retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico reported a 42% surge in fourth quarter net profit Tuesday...The company, which accounts for around 6% of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s annual sales...reported quarterly net profit of 10.4 billion Mexican pesos ($698 million), as total revenue increased 4.3% to 129.44 billion pesos." Read more   Amazon’s One-Hour Delivery Service Goes Live Across Manhattan by Jordan Crook at TechCrunch. Read more   2015 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index: #1 Price Clubs: Costco #1 Discount: Walmart #1 Home Improvement: Home Depot #1 Sporting Goods: Dick's Sporting Goods See [...]