Walmart Vows Canada-Wide Visa Card Ban ‘In Coming Months,' But.. by Daniel Tencer at Huffington Post. "...(Walmart) has been very quiet about its plans to further roll out the Visa ban, prompting some observers to suggest the company may be having second thoughts about the fight." Read more   ...Visa plasters Thunder Bay, Ont. with billboards reminding customers that "over 5200" other local stores accept its card by Amy Hadley at CBC News. "Drive down a main street and you might encounter two or three of the ads in the span of just a few blocks." See the billboard outside [...]

  This Morning: Doug McMillon & Marc Lore appear on CNBC "When McMillon met Jet founder Marc Lore in the spring, he said he quickly realized the two were like-minded in many ways. By the time the meeting was over, they had already begun sketching out on a white board how a combination of the two companies could work." See the video interview / Read more   ..."I think we hit it off the first day," Lore echoed. "We just started talking about these amazing plans we had."   Monday: Jet CEO Marc Lore in Recode interview "This was about [...]

  Walmart is buying Jet.com for $3 billion by Jason Del Rey at Recode. "Some senior Jet executives, including co-founder and CEO Marc Lore, will have incentive bonuses on top of that. Lore will continue to run Jet as well as Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce operations after the acquisition closes." Read more   ..."Walmart and Jet will maintain distinct brands, with Walmart.com focusing on delivering the company’s Everyday Low Price strategy, while Jet will continue to provide a unique and differentiated customer experience with curated assortment." Press release   ...Jet.com deal was said to hinge on keeping its founder by Spencer Soper [...]

  Dollar Tree to cut 370 jobs at former corporate HQ of Family Dollar by Katherine Peralta at Charlotte Observer. "Dollar Tree did not say Thursday how many employees worked at the Matthews location, but as recently as January the company had said it was around 1,200. The retailer said 100 of the jobs being eliminated were already vacant." Read more | Press release   Walmart buys 169 acres near Denver Airport for what could be major distribution center by Molly Armbrister at Denver Business Journal. "Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust paid $13.5 million for the land, located near the [...]

  Costco July comp sales -2.0% / +1.0% excluding gas & f/x "Due to the timing of the Independence Day holiday, this year's July results included one less sales day in the U.S. than last year. This shift negatively impacted total Company sales by an estimated 2.5% (3.5% in the U.S.)." Press release   Michelle Gloeckler to exit Wal-Mart for Academy Sports by Kim Souza at The City Wire. "AcademySports + Outdoors named Michelle J. Gloeckler Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer and President of Academy International Limited, its global sourcing entity, effective August 29, 2016." Press release   ...Academy [...]

  Home Depot CEO on CNBC: Millennials  appear to be on a six-year delayed cycle in terms of household formation "Over the past several quarters, about 35 percent of new household formation has come from the tail end of millennials as it relates to homes (Menear) said." See the video interview / Read more   Sam's Club CEO Sits at Head Table with Obamas during Singapore state dinner via U.S. News & World Report. "Among those at the head table with the Obamas and Lees were actors Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell, author Amy Tan, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., [...]

  CVS Q2 Comp Sales +2.1% "Pharmacy same store sales rose 3.9% and pharmacy same store prescription volumes rose 3.5% on a 30-day equivalent basis...Front store same store sales decreased 2.5%, including the effect of the shift of Easter..." Press release   ...CVS's Profit Beats Estimates on Pharma Business at Fox Business. "CVS earned $1.32 per share. The company's net revenue rose 17.6 percent to $43.73 billion, rising by double-digit percentages for the fourth straight quarter. Analysts on average expected profit of $1.30 per share on revenue of $44.28 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S." Read more   Publix Q2 Comp Sales [...]

  Biden visits Saks - stops traffic on Fifth Avenue by Oli Coleman at NY Post. "Fifth Avenue ground to a halt as the block between 49th and 50th was cleared of traffic and eight blacked-out cars screeched up. A crowd of Secret Service agents swarmed outside Saks, whereupon the veep and his wife emerged from a car, waved to confused tourists and went inside." Read more   Target's IT chief set a new direction, starting with smaller budget by Kavita Kumar at Star Tribune. "“I mean we had over 800 projects. Even a company as big as Target doesn’t have [...]