Target cuts 140 more jobs at Minneapolis headquarters by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "Most, but not all, of those laid off in this latest round of job cuts were in the recently formed “business performance optimization” group...In addition, Target closed 50 open positions...After these latest cuts, Target has laid off about 2,500 workers this year, or about a fifth of the people at its downtown headquarters." Read more   Kroger Q1 Total Sales +0.3% "Total sales increased 0.3% to $33.1 billion in the first quarter compared to $33.0 billion for the same period last year. Total sales, excluding [...]

  Survey: Dads spend more than moms shopping by Robert Channick at Chicago Tribune. "A third of dads say they try to buy products on sale, versus 52 percent of moms..."Discounts are such a point of pride for mom," Bruno said. "For dad, it's the opposite — deals are an insult to his vanity a little bit." Not surprisingly, dads spent an average of $250 more on back-to-school shopping than moms last year, the report said." Read more   Report: Wal-Mart Has $76 Billion in Overseas Tax Havens by Jesse Drucker & Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. "The study, researched by the [...]

  Target’s $1.9 Billion Deal Started With Friendly Dinner by Lauren Coleman-Lochner at Bloomberg. "(Brian) Cornell and CVS’s CEO, Larry Merlo, have known each other for years and are occasional dinner companions...“We would get together for dinner from time to time and we always compared notes in terms of challenges, opportunities,” he said...“Over time, I think we’ll continue to evaluate ways to work together,” Cornell said. Does that include putting CVS brands on Target shelves? “I wouldn’t rule out anything,” he said." Read more   ...Q&A with Brian Cornell via A Bullseye View. Read more   Groups allege Wal-Mart used charitable foundation [...]

  CVS buying Target’s pharmacy, clinic businesses for $1.9b via Boston Globe. "The deal includes more than 1,660 pharmacies in Target stores that will be branded as CVS/pharmacy. The agreement also calls for new Target stores to include a CVS/pharmacy if they are going to offer pharmacy services." Read more   Yahoo Hires Former JCPenney CMO Debra Berman as Top Consumer Marketer by Tim Peterson at Ad Age. "Ms. Berman will start at Yahoo on July 6 and report directly to the company's CMO Kathy Savitt who also oversees the company's media business." Read more   Target’s New Body-Positive Campaign Features [...]

  Doug McMillon Speaks at Retail Conference by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "When our numbers got bigger over the years we weeded out some of the risk takers which are important to the equation. You can manage a department to death,” he added...a participant asked McMillon what he would ask IBM’s Watson to fix or help fix at Wal-Mart. With a laugh, McMillon responded, “How do I get comp store sales up?” Read more   ...“I was at a store in Denver, talking to a store manager and associates on how to make things better, and the manger pointed [...]

  As Not Seen on TV: Wal-Mart Dials Back on Ads in Low-Price Push by Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. "In Sunday newspapers...the frequency of Wal-Mart circulars that advertise specials is down by about half from a year ago. “We are getting back to a place where we are playing offense with price to best serve our customers,” said Deisha Barnett, a spokeswoman for Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart. “We believe that our suppliers’ best investment for our customers is an investment in price, not an investment in co-op advertising or a temporary discount.” Read more   US retail sales jump in May at CNBC. [...]

  Target reveals stock-buyback plan too early by Lisa Fickenscher at NY Post. "A source close to the company said the vendor that posts press releases on the company’s Web site accidentally put up the announcement while testing the link. The company could indeed announce a buyback plan, but it certainly didn’t mean to do so before its board discussed the matter, the source said." Read more   Dollar General Announces Jeff Owen as EVP of Store Operations Read the release   Glassdoor: 50 Highest Rated CEOs (HEB #3, Costco #13...) via The Mercury News. See the Top 50 list   [...]

  Walgreens defends dumping merchandise after landslide by Becky Yerak at Chicago Tribune. "Walgreens is facing criticism for dumping the inventory of a closed Wyoming store in a landfill last week instead of donating it to charity..."This certainly was not a typical situation for us," Walgreens spokesman Phil Caruso told the Chicago Tribune on Monday. "As sad as it is to throw away merchandise, we decided we couldn't donate any items out of an abundance of caution." Read more   Newsweek: Top Green Companies in the U.S. 2015 (CVS #16, Best Buy #35, Home Depot #125...) See the top 500ish list [...]