Target's New Robot Helper Is Busy At Work On Aisle 3 by Jonathan Vanian at Fortune. "Target is testing robots that track inventory on its store shelves including shampoo and laundry detergent. The retail giant is conducting a one-week trial at one of its department stores in downtown San Francisco, according to a source familiar with the matter and confirmed by three store clerks." Read more / See the video   Walmart to hold ‘Open Call’ for technology suppliers as part of tech summit by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "The “Innovation Open Call” event gives selected startups from [...]

  Cabela's Q1: US Comp -3.8% / Retail Sales +7.6% "For the quarter, adjusted for certain items, net income increased 7.3% to $29.5 million compared to $27.5 million in the year ago quarter." Read the release | Will open two new stores   Walmart enforces new ‘Supplier Online Assortment’ initiative by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "Suppliers who sell products in Walmart’s brick and mortar stores have been told to provide the retail giant with photographs, written descriptions and other content such as user comments for the Walmart.com site regardless of whether the supplier sells online...While many large suppliers already [...]

  BOWING TO CRITICISM - Amazon Prime Relents on Same-Day Delivery to Boston Neighborhood by Barb Darrow at Fortune. "Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, home to a high number of minority and low-income residents, was not covered by free same-day delivery unlike virtually every other enclave in and around Boston." Read more   The Target boycott is spiraling out of control by Hayley Peterson at Business Insider. "In a third incident, a man brought his daughter to Target and confronted store management about the policy, saying it made his daughter uncomfortable, then posted about it on Facebook. The post has been "liked" more [...]

  South Africa Goes Berserk for New Walmart Store by Brian Sozzi at The Street. "Lines snaked around the 237,000-square-foot store, and along the street, as people clamored for cheap food and other discounted merchandise. McMillon said the store sold an astounding 1,000 TVs, 400 laptops, 35,663 gallons of milk, and 144,000 rolls of toilet paper on opening day alone." See the line pic / Read more   Target CEO's 2015 Pay Package Totals $16.9 Million via Dow Jones Business News. "...a decline from his $28.2 million in 2014 compensation that included a make-whole incentive package to leave his previous [...]

  Target tests food transparency ideas at Edina store by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "In the produce department, a small research team has put up handwritten signs above strawberries and raspberries, noting which arrived in the store that day and which arrived a week ago. There’s a 50-cent price difference between the two. Nearby are two “smart scales,” on which customers can place a piece of fruit and answer questions on a screen about features they would be most interested in learning about..." Read more   ...TEST PICS - Target's food transparency test via Minnapolis/St.Paul Business Journal See the seven pictures [...]

  A Marriage Gone Bad: Walgreens Struggles to Shake Off Theranos by James B. Stewart. "In every case, Walgreens was blindsided, the insider told me, learning the bad news from media reports or from regulators rather than Theranos itself. This has hardly endeared Theranos to its ostensible partner’s directors and executives." Read more   Conservative group boycotts Target after big-box store announces transgender bathroom policy by Christopher Brennan at NY Daily News. "The American Family Association released a statement urging its members to boycott the big-box store and support a petition that had more than 129,000 signatures as of Thursday [...]

  Walgreens, Duane Reade to pay New York $500G fine after probe found chain overcharged customers by Kenneth Lovett at NY Daily News. "Walgreens also referred to some products as “Smart Buy” or “Great Buy” even when the advertised price was the same as the original retail prices charges. The probe also found Walgreens and Duane Reade offered up “Last Chance” or “Clearance” items but in reality some of the products remained at a reduced price for as much as eight to 10 months." Read more   Ulta CEO's 2015 pay package nearly triples to $18.5 million by Lauren Zumbach at [...]

  Target says transgender people can use bathroom that aligns with their identity by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "Target’s position also extends to its fitting rooms...Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, said it is not a new policy, but the retailer wanted to clarify its position...“It’s a restatement of a policy,” she said. “It’s just us being very overt in stating it.” Read more   Wal-Mart, Visa move to speed up chip card transactions by Kim Janssen at Chicago Tribune. "Visa says a software update called "Quick Chip" will strip as many as 18 seconds from a typical checkout process [...]