Costco March Comp Sales +1.0% / +4.0% Excluding Gas, F/X "Costco reported net sales of $10.71 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 3, 2016, an increase of three percent from $10.40 billion during the similar period last year." Read the release   Best Buy rolls out same-day delivery in 13 markets by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "It added New York City to the program earlier this year. Then, late last month, it quietly rolled out same-day delivery to the other 11 markets where Deliv operates." Read more   Bed Bath & Beyond Q4 [...]

  Target to move media business from Haworth to GroupM by Nicole Norfleet at Star Tribune. "There have been rumblings that Haworth is in discussions to take over Wal-Mart's media account. A Wal-Mart spokesman confirmed Tuesday in an e-mail: "We have had conversations with Haworth Marketing and Media. They are a great agency with unique capabilities that could be an interesting partner in the future." Read more   ...Longtime Target chief marketer Michael Francis came on board as a marketing consultant at Walmart Jan. 1. ...Mr. Francis had worked with Haworth for many years at Target by Alexandra Bruell & Jack [...]

  Walgreens Q2 same store sales rose 2.2 percent via Reuters. Read more | See the press release   Supreme Court rejects Wal-Mart appeal in employee wage case by Lydia Wheeler at The Hill. "The Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal from Wal-Mart on Monday challenging a $187.6 million judgment in a class action lawsuit. In the case, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v Michelle Braun, hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club had brought a class action lawsuit against the companies, claiming they failed to compensate them for rest breaks and off-the-clock work as mandated in their policies." Read more   Target’s [...]

  Former Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club exec Tom Coughlin has died at The City Wire. "Tom Coughlin, an early executive hire by Sam Walton who rose to the No. 2 spot at Wal-Mart Stores before forced to resign in 2005, has died. He was 67.  Kelly Coughlin, his daughter, said he became ill in the last month and spent the past few weeks at Northwest Health System hospital in Bentonville.“ Read more   ...Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon sent an email to company executives Friday announcing Mr. Coughlin’s death. “Like me, many of you worked with Tom over his more than [...]

  Walmart's Doug McMillon Speaks at Luncheon by Nancy Peevy at The City Wire. "In a speech Wednesday (March 30) at the 11th annual Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Benton County Corporate Luncheon, Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon told 325 Walmart suppliers and community leaders that the retailer is at a critical point. “Wal-Mart is over 50 years old now and retailers don’t typically make it through generational changes because leadership changes endanger the company,” he said." Read more   Rona shareholders overwhelmingly approve $3.2 billion Lowe’s takeover by Ross Marowits at Canadian Press via Financial Post. "The transaction is expected [...]